The Mafia are a network of individuals or a group of
associates in the world of organized crime. Mafia movies deal with organized
crime and it’s seen that these movies often highlight the life of a crime
figure. Gangster films or mob films, as they are called, garnered a lot of
interest during the 1930’s and 1940’s when the streets of New York and Chicago
witnessed the growth of crime and bootlegging of alcohol, with gangsters, bank
robbers, hooligans and thugs large on the street. Real life criminals such as
Al Capone, Machine Gun Jelly, Baby Face Nelson were subjects of these mafia
movies and helped in popularizing the gangster film genre. These money hungry
profligates were widely identifiable by the general public.
The storyline of these mafia movies is essentially about
gang wars wherein gangsters seek power, wealth and respect of the society.
These films depict violence as seen in the underworld by highlighting the rise
and downfall of violent, psychopathic criminals. It’s seen that the gangsters
of this particular genre of movies are immoral, womanizing and self-destructive.
Based on the life of Al Capone, “Scarface
(1932)” is one of the greatest gangster movies that starred Paul Muni as a
grossly immoral, vicious profligate whose ambitious and violent nature
ultimately leads him to destruction. However, the audiences loved the depiction
of bloodshed, lawlessness, violence and betrayal shown on-screen.
The earliest mob films can be traced back to D.W. Griffith’s
silent film, “The Musketeers of Pig
Alley” that introduced the genre of mafia movies. “Little Caesar”, a classic, is the story of a young man from a
small town whose ambition to make it big in the world of gangsters gets him
killed after having achieved some remarkable highs, and was one of the first
movies to deal with the criminal underworld. This particular movie paved the
way for other great gangster movies such as Scarface, Public Money and The
Finger Points.
It’s seen that Hollywood was largely associated with the mob
directly in 1930s when money laundering and extortions were common. The mafia
saw a huge potential for financial growth in the film industry and decided to
move into the film industry. Since the 1930s, the mafia has browbeaten actors,
producers and directors for financial gains and power in the society.
The Mafia exists in different parts of the world and there
are many organizations similar to the Mafia that exist such as Irish Mob,
Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza. Out of these, the Irish Mob, one of the oldest
organized crime gangs in the U.S, is widely recognized as the most influential
part of the mafia movies genre. Irish mob gangs such as ‘The Westies’ and ‘The
Winter Hill Gang’ were dreaded on the streets of the U.S. These gangs were
active during Prohibition by organizing gambling, prostitution rackets,
narcotics trafficking and smuggling in cities such as Chicago and Boston. “Gangs of New York”, starring Leonardo
DiCaprio is one of the best Irish mob gang movies of all time that depicts the
birth of Manhattan and the bloodshed, carnage filled gang wars was rather, well
received by audiences.
Prohibition in the United States was the period in which
there was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of
alcohol that began in 1920 and ended in 1933. Though the intention was to
eliminate bootlegging and businesses that manufactured and sold alcohol, it
paved a way for organized bootlegging by Mafia groups. Thus, this period
actually saw the organized crime flourish in the States. The Mafia movies that
were made during the Prohibition era such as
“The Public Enemy” and “The Roaring
Twenties”, garnered a lot of interest in the 1930’s. The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman
is the story of a young Irish man’s rise in the criminal underworld set in the
Prohibition era. The depiction of the violence and bloodshed caused by the
hoodlums of the underworld was accurate and the critics were astounded by
lifelike portrayal of these young hoodlums by Woods and Cagney.
The Godfather, one
of the greatest mafia movies of all time has seen remarkable critical and
commercial success in Hollywood and was able to make a strong impact on the
public. Elements of this movie can be seen in almost all organized crime movies
of today and its influence on motion pictures can be clearly seen. The
Godfather, Francis Ford Capolla’s masterpiece is all about family, loyalty,
greed and relationships that is hardly ever shown in other mafia movies.
In conclusion, Hollywood mafia movies have been highly
successful because of their mass appeal and the critical role that they play in
American culture.
Here is a clip of one of the famous mafia movies ever :
