O Capone Desaparecido

'The Lost Capone' is a small budget made-for-tv movie about the Capone brothers. Four of them: Ralph, Frank, Johnny, and the notorious gagnster, Al Capone. Only not all of them followed in big Al's footsteps into gangsterhood.

The Capone crime family, as told through this story, originated throught he brothers. Their father seemed to run a respectable barbershop, despite not making much money. Growing up on the streets of Brooklyn, the Capone boys were growing up as street tough kids and making their reputation there.

Under the mistaken belief that during one of their midnight rumbles with some rivals, he killed a man, Johnny Capone (played by that handsome fellow, Adrian Pasdar) leaves town and both his family and the life of crime behind. He bums around for awhile in odd sorts of occupations such a traveling with the circus and then a tour in the first World War (this is only mentioned, not shown) before winding up in Nebraska, where his good-nature and tough attitude lands him a job as the small town's new Marshall.

The three Capone brothers assume their brother is dead as Johnny completely falls out of contact with his family. He left his old life in Brooklyn behind to start over again, fresh, as Richard Hart, town Marshall. And he's good at what he does, cleaning up the gangsters rolling through town with supplies for the speakeasies and gin joints in this Prohibition-era story. And Richard Hart isn't going to let the trash take over his town.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the tough as nails Al Capone (Eric Roberts), and his two brothers, Ralph and Frank, are behind all of these gangsters that are forcefully trying to drive in the liquor to these towns. And they plan to get it done, whether by bribery or death. They meet their match however, when they find out that some unknown town Marshall isn't one to accept those bribes, and he isn't backing down, either. They have yet to discover that Richard Hart is actually their long-lost brother, Johnny Capone. It is a question of how far Al Capone will go to get what he wants. And whether Johnny, knowing that his brothers are behind these deals, is going to back down for the sake of family over the town's trust. Richard Hart can be just as though when he has to.

Based on a true story, this is an interesting and rather unknown side of the life of Al Capone. At least for me, not being alive during his time, or even within the few years after his death when these kinds of stories might have been more publicized. As for the movie itself, despite being a small-budget film, it turned out to be pretty good as well. I thought Eric Roberts did tend to slop up a few of Al Capone's more aggressive moments, but I'm not sure if he was just trying to emulate Al Capone's behavior or manner of speaking. And for such a vicious gangster, they painted this pathetic, sympathetic picture of him at the end (because Al Capone died of Neurosyphillis, so he was nearly completely delusional at the end).

Nonetheless, it is probably a lesser known story about the Capones, and a surprising one, as well, given that Al, Frank, and Ralph decided to become first generation mobsters, while simultaneously competing with their brother, Johnny, who chose the life of law enforcement.

The film covers almost a lifetime of the notorious Capone family with a limited budget that gets in the way. Concentrating on the wronged youngest Capone's flight from family business, the movie bounces back and forth between Chicago and rural Nebraska. Character development suffers as expected with so much rush to cover the vast time span. While I like Eric Roberts, his portrayal of Al Capone comes across as similar to any one of dozens of bad guy characters he has played. "The Lost Capone" is not a bad film, just one that could have benefited from a bigger budget, and a little script tightening. ................. - MERK

Another movie where a twist of historical fact can prove fascinating and make for as much, if not more entertainment than some that take pains to stick to the facts. After a street fight during which a rival is killed, Al dupes brother Jimmy into believing that he committed the crime. Jimmy leaves New York on the run, landing in a small midwestern town, where almost inadvertently, he becomes sheriff. Hearing of his older siblings "success", and longing to renew familial ties, He makes a trip to the windy city. The meeting that ensues leaves Jimmy with a choice, does he remain on the good side of the coin? Or does he take advantage of his brother's offer of easy money, wine , women, and song? A splendidly scripted movie, and the actors bring off the story in magnificent fashion. TV movies should aspire to be this good.

I went and bought an ex-rental, and saw that it was a 'buy one, get one free' deal. Thus, I grabbed this when I saw Eric Roberts name on the cover, but it sat unwatched for maybe 8 months or so, probably because the cover of the Australian video release doesn't make it look overly interesting.

I'm glad I decided to watch on a whim however, as it is well worth taking the time to view. The setting and story is very interesting, and Adrian Pasdar is very good as the 'good' brother (Jimmy) of Al Capone.

Eric Roberts doesn't get much to do as Al for the most part except do his usual menacing routine, but he is fantastic in the final scene.

Certainly worth a rental if you can find a copy of this at your local video store, and they haven't all been given away with other ex-rentals yet.

The Lost Capone is at something of a disadvantage. It was made for TV and it shows. It is based on fact, so it is obliged, more or less, to keep to the straight and narrow. And it tells a story based in a world which has been done to death. But oddly it is better than it has a right to be and given its limitations - TV budgets are far lower than the sums thrown at movies - it is rather good. For a start the three main roles of Jimmy, Al and Ralph Capone are handled by three actors - Adrian Pasdar, Eric Roberts and Titus Welliver - who know what they are doing and do very well with a rather meagre script. It also cleverly avoids veering into cliché which in lesser hands could so easily have happened. (There was only one line where I winced. I think it was when the girl Jimmy left behind says something along the lines of 'it could have been so different'.) I feel that had the writer/director John Gray gone for pure fiction and just used the rather quirky detail that a brother of Al Capone ended up this side of the law, then he might well had been able to introduce those elements - motivation and greater characterisation being the main ones - which make a film more interesting. The film's TV heritage is also apparent in a little syncopation in Jimmy Capone's character development: just why he becomes almost obsessed with fighting the good fight against Prohibition and exactly why this once gentle man seems to be turning into a bully - in one scene he is knocking six bells out of a suspect and has to be stopped by his deputy - are never established. Given the high quality of the rest of the production I feel John Gray would have taken the trouble to do so, but didn't quite have the resources. Given the TV brief of 'telling the story of the honest Capone' Gray is rather hamstrung. Admittedly, there is a great deal of tinkering with the factual detail: Jimmy wasn't the 'little brother' and was, in fact, older than Al. And Frank was gunned down by a huge posse of cops rather than in a gangland slaying. And the Indian sidekick who is made a deputy strikes me as being pure fiction. But none of that matters too much. Gray had his brief and within those limitations he and everyone else doesn't do too badly at all. At the end of the day The Lost Capone is a damn sight better than a great deal of the other dross made for TV. Worth watching to remind yourself that 'made for TV' isn't always that bad. Shame Gray didn't have a bigger budget and producers with more ambition.