-Paul Muni

Paul Muni: Scarface and Beyond

I remember when I watched my first Paul Muni film, Scarface (1932). I thought he was the worst actor of all time. I couldn’t understand his body movements and speech. It’s only in retrospect, and through viewing other films, it was an entire, complete physical and mental characterization. Then I saw him in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) and was struck by his edge, vulnerability and naive thinking. I was surprised, to say the least, that there were, to my knowledge, no Paul Muni fan sites out there. An actor of his standing needs more appreciation, which I why I want to make one for him.

Other than Actor: The Life and Times of Paul Muni, I couldn't locate any other Paul Muni biographies. So to write his story, I pulled together information from the books I own about his contemporaries, along with any other information I could find on him, including the film articles on the Turner Classic Movies website.

As an actor, Muni even left a young Marlon Brando speechless when they worked together in 1946, and while Brando praised Muni throughout his life, Muni certainly didn’t return the favor, but he didn’t have to. An actor of Muni’s standing, probably the best actor the stage or screen has ever known, has no need to give credit to a man wrongly cited as the “greatest actor of all time.”

For his talent and refusal to conform to Hollywood’s standards, I hope this site serves well as one of the rare Paul Muni websites on the web.