IMDb RATING
6.8/10
20K
YOUR RATING
The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.The classic gangster story of Bugsy Malone told with an all-child cast.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 11 nominations total
Florence Garland
- Blousey Brown
- (as Florrie Dugger)
Sheridan Earl Russell
- Knuckles
- (as Sheridan Russell)
Albin 'Humpty' Jenkins
- Fizzy
- (as 'Humpty' Albin Jenkins)
Jeff Stevenson
- Louis
- (as Jeffrey Stevens)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Alan Parker and Paul Williams collaborated on this fun kid's musical, with a cast including Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. Most of the songs are mimed by the kids to adult voices (with the exception of Foster's My Name is Tallulah') but the story a group of gangsters who wipe out rival gangs with splurge guns is fast-paced and inventive.
This is certainly one of the best films aimed at children to come out during the 1970s, and has a lot to offer for a general audience, too. Parker of course would move on to more successful musicals aimed squarely at a mature audience (The Commitments, Evita) as well as a range of other things, but this is a well-filmed and interesting piece of work.
This is certainly one of the best films aimed at children to come out during the 1970s, and has a lot to offer for a general audience, too. Parker of course would move on to more successful musicals aimed squarely at a mature audience (The Commitments, Evita) as well as a range of other things, but this is a well-filmed and interesting piece of work.
I haven't seen this movie since it originally came out, but I have never forgotten it. I fully recommend all ages to watch it. The writing is great. Very original. To this day I have not seen ANY movie that can be compared to it.
I remember my father announcing a family plan to see this movie the year it came out, when I was 9. I didn't want to go--a gangster movie with kids? I thought it would be scary, or worse, boring. But the decision had been made, and I reluctantly went along to the theater. As it turned out, my father was right to take us: "Bugsy Malone" became one of my favorite childhood movies. My brother and I were given the soundtrack LP for Christmas that year (I still have it), and we learned all the songs.
I've since seen the movie as a grownup, and I still think it's very well-made. It wasn't until I was older that I could appreciate the acting, and the sophisticated production design (though I knew when I first saw the movie that it had a very clever script). My only quibble is the filmmakers' decision to have adults sing all the songs--it's a bit bizarre to hear grownup voices coming out of children, and after a while you start to notice that the voices sound the same, since they didn't cast different singers for each character (Paul Williams himself does most of the vocal work). It makes the film feel more low-budget than it should.
Mickey Dolenz directed a stage version of the film in London years later, which I was hoping had all-singing kids, but apparently the songs were pre-recorded. High schools now perform the show, however, so at last the voices will match.
Any kid that's interested in old Hollywood should be given a chance to see this film.
I've since seen the movie as a grownup, and I still think it's very well-made. It wasn't until I was older that I could appreciate the acting, and the sophisticated production design (though I knew when I first saw the movie that it had a very clever script). My only quibble is the filmmakers' decision to have adults sing all the songs--it's a bit bizarre to hear grownup voices coming out of children, and after a while you start to notice that the voices sound the same, since they didn't cast different singers for each character (Paul Williams himself does most of the vocal work). It makes the film feel more low-budget than it should.
Mickey Dolenz directed a stage version of the film in London years later, which I was hoping had all-singing kids, but apparently the songs were pre-recorded. High schools now perform the show, however, so at last the voices will match.
Any kid that's interested in old Hollywood should be given a chance to see this film.
This is a very cute and enjoyable movie, quite possibly the only one in a very small sub-genre in the genre of gangster films-a musical gangster movie cast entirely with children. The cast is notable principally by the presence of Jodie Foster (as a side note, this was released the same year as was Taxi Driver!) and Scott Baio, the musical score was done by Paul Wiliams (who was nominated for an Oscar for his efforts here) and the costumes are quite nice. One thing about the music: I've seen this several times and I still can't be sure if the cast is singing or if the singing is dubbed. I think it's dubbed, as the numbers are almost stiltedin nature. Still fun-just put your brain on neutral and enjoy. Well worth watching.
Interesting that the average age of the child actors in this film is 12. I was 12 years old when this film came out in 1976, and saw it in the theater. What fun! Well, it isn't quite as much fun as it was then (it's a kid's movie in every sense of the term), but still enjoyable to watch. Jodie Foster demonstrated a 'star quality' presence even then, and although the songs were poorly dubbed, they were good songs.
Recommended for kids of any age (sorry for the bad cliche) if you like watching something fun and different -- especially if you want to see a truly original take on the gangster theme. My younger brother has this on VHS tape, and I just plugged it into the VCR and watched it again today.
8/10
Recommended for kids of any age (sorry for the bad cliche) if you like watching something fun and different -- especially if you want to see a truly original take on the gangster theme. My younger brother has this on VHS tape, and I just plugged it into the VCR and watched it again today.
8/10
Did you know
- TriviaThe pedal-driven cars could achieve a maximum speed of around ten miles (16 kilometers) per hour. They were all custom-built by hand and each cost around the same amount of money as a regular road-going Mini at the time.
- GoofsWhen Blousey returns for the second time to Fat Sam's for an audition, Knuckles opens the door. He tells Blousey, "He's busy lady. Come tomorrow" in an English accent. Throughout the movie, he has an American accent.
- Alternate versionsTwo Bugsy Malone video discs are available [9/9/2013] in the U.S.: a 10/11/2005 Region 1 "import" DVD (UPC 4895033728429) distributed by Panorama Entertainment having a feature runtime of 89 minutes (1:29:44) and a 9/9/2008 "All Regions" BD (UPC 5037115290830) distributed by ITV Studios (formerly, in part, Granada Productions) with a feature runtime of 93 minutes (1:33:51 that includes running a 9 second Granada International logo clip, not on the DVD, before and after the movie, 1:33:33 + 00:18). ITV Studios was formed in 2009 by the merger of Granada Productions and Carlton International. Ironically, the DVD case cover lists a 94 minute runtime and the Blu-ray case cover lists an 89 minute runtime. The only differences between the two presentations, once the 18 seconds for the Granada International logo clip is subtracted from the BD time, is (1) after the Rank gong is struck the second time, the text "The RANK ORGANISATION presents" is superimposed over the gong in the BD version while the text "THE RANK ORGANISATION" is superimposed over the gong in the DVD version, (2) the DVD runs the movie about 4% faster than the Blu-ray disc, and (3) the DVD has 1.33:1 aspect (640 pixels x 480 pixels), letter boxed on all four sides to 1.62:1 aspect ratio (596 pixels x 367 pixels) while the BD has 1.78:1 aspect (1920 pixels x 1080 pixels). Both disc conversions appear to have used "pan and scan" cropping from the film's 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Sometimes the cropping appears similar, but other times, one may crop the height mostly from the top while the other mostly from the bottom. The feature on the Blu-ray disc runs at 24 Hz. Although the DVD runs at 60 Hz, the speed-up is similar to the 4.3% speed-up when 24 frame/second film is transferred to 50 Hz Pal format using 2:2 pulldown and may point to a 50 Hz master in its past.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Chto? Gde? Kogda?: 1990 Winter Series. The Second Game (1990)
- How long is Bugsy Malone?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Bugsy Malone
- Filming locations
- Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory, 119-129 King's Road, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK(bar scenes; Dock 17, now demolished)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £575,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,783,840
- Gross worldwide
- $2,839,373
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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