10 Gangster Movies That Mess With Your Brain
9. Bugsy Malone (1976)
Directed by Alan Parker, who would later become more famous for The Commitments and Angel Heart, this odd, odd little musical is loosely based on the Prohibition era in the United States, and the gangster culture that sprang up around the illegal sale of liquor.
Why is it odd? Well, the film was marketed towards children and families, and starred nothing but children in every role, from the leads (including Scott Baio and a thirteen year old Jodie Foster) to every extra - all dressed in period clothing, carrying tommy guns that fired custard. To be shot with one was to be splurged, a kiddie-friendly paintball-style equivalent of being machine-gunned to death.
Bugsy is hired to help speakeasy boss Fat Sam in his dealings with archrival Dandy Dan, whos been splurging his men. At the end of the film, a splurge fight takes place in Fat Sams place, everyone becoming liberally covered in custard until the piano player begins to play, and the cast all sing along together, realising that they dont need to quarrel and can be friends.
With a plot that echoed the grim, bleak conceits of film noir and musical numbers dotting the narrative, it's difficult to see who on earth Bugsy Malone was supposed to be for. Children wouldn't understand the plot, and adults were - quite rightly - properly creeped out by the young teens wandering around in adult clothes, simulating hard-boiled speech while miming choreographed musical numbers to pre-recorded songs sung by adults.