Bugsy Malone (1976)

March 1, 2018 5:39 PM

A classic gangster story of big-city gangsters, Bugsy Malone is told with an all-child cast, starring teen sensation Scott Baio and 14-year-old Jodie Foster as the va-voom vamp Tallulah. Directed by Alan Parker with songs by Paul Williams.

How We Made Bugsy Malone (includes videos)

Original 1976 Trailer

Roger Ebert review (3.5 stars!)

Complete soundtrack album

Epic "splurge gun" finale sequence

posted by I_Love_Bananas (5 comments total)

I freaking love this movie. Alan Parker has made a diverse range of films!

I really wanted one of those pedal-powered Model Ts.

Years ago I went to watch the VHS copy I had taped off cable TV only to discover a roommate had taped Tonya Harding skating at the Olympics over it.

I momentarily wondered why this hasn't been turned into a big Broadway musical, but then I thought it through.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:46 PM on March 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

It's a stage musical too- done a lot by schools and in community theatre.

Here's Karen Carpenter's version of "Ordinary Fool," the movie's torch song. Williams wrote and recorded it prior, and added it to the film's soundtrack since it fit so well.

And here is a young tweener Jessie J singing it in her school's production of the show.

And the great Ella Fitzgerald covered it beautifully too.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:02 PM on March 1, 2018 [2 favorites]

In light of recent news, I wonder whether any of the cast had any unpleasant experiences with Baio.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:09 PM on March 1, 2018

I can't think of the songs in this without being reminded of Tim Ireland's utterly scurrilous farewell to Tony Blair.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:58 PM on March 1, 2018

This was referenced, obliquely, in Spaced at the end of the cake fight in Dissolution.
posted by maxsparber at 8:39 AM on March 2, 2018