Lepke (film)

Lepke
Lepke
Directed by	Menahem Golan
Screenplay by	Wesley Lau; Tamar Hoffs;
Story by	Wesley Lau
Produced by	Yoram Globus; Menahem Golan;
Starring	Tony Curtis; Michael Callan; Anjanette Comer;
Cinematography	Andrew Davis
Music by	Kenneth Wannberg
Production; company	AmeriEuro Corp
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	June 11, 1975;
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$900,000

Lepke is a 1975 film starring Tony Curtis as the Jewish-American gangster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter.^[4] It is often regarded by film critics as one of Tony Curtis's most underrated movies and one of his finest performances ^[who?]

Cast

Tony Curtis as Louis "Lepke" Buchalter
Anjanette Comer as Bernice Meyer
Michael Callan as Robert Kane
Warren Berlinger as Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro
Gianni Russo as Albert "Lord High Executioner" Anastasia
Milton Berle as Mr. Meyer
Vic Tayback as Charlie "Lucky" Luciano
Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Marion
Vaughn Meader as Walter Winchell

Production

Menahem Golan had been a successful filmmaker in Israel and had ambitions to break into Hollywood. Lepke was to be the first of four films he intended to make there. Golan said he chose Lepke as a subject because he grew up on American gangster films of Bogart and Cagney. "I was afraid to touch a contemporary American subject and be disgraced like Miloš Forman and Antonioni," he said in a 1974 interview. "If you go back to the old then at least you and the young people are starting on the same foot. And besides, Lepke was a Jewish gangster rather than an Italian."^[3]

It was Curtis' first feature in a number of years - he had been working in TV and on the stage. Curtis called it "the best role I've ever had. Helluva colorful character and I age from 26 to 45 and die in the electric chair. And, you know, the guy who gave me the part came from Israel. No Hollywood producer would cast me for it."^[5]

Filming took place at Culver City studios.^[6]

In his 2008 autobiography American Prince Curtis admitted becoming heavily addicted to cocaine during filming; this addiction would last for a decade and significantly derailed his already troubled film career.^[7] His mother died during filming.^[8]

Golan intended to make two more period gangster films in succession to use the same sets and costumes to save money but only The Four Deuces was made - the third, Kill the Dutchman about Dutch Schultz, was not made until 1992.^[9]

Release

The film was sold to Warner Bros for $1.75 million.^[2]

References

^ "Lepke". Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^ ^a ^b Andrew Yule, Hollywood a Go-Go: The True Story of the Cannon Film Empire, Sphere Books, 1987, p. 10. ISBN 978-0722193891.
^ ^a ^b Israeli Film-Makers in New Land Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 2 Mar 1974: a8.
^ "Lepke (1975)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^ Thomas, Bob (1 April 1974). "Tony Curtis bitter about former 'friends'". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 30.
^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: 'Pedestrian' Rights Acquired Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 08 Feb 1974: e18.
^ Curtis p 303-304
^ Curtis p 298
^ Thomas, Bob (1 April 1974). "Israel shows his chutzpah in films". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 53.