Bogart (film) (Napoleon's World)

Bogart is a 1966 American gangster film written and directed by James Spurlock, and starring Donny Donahue, Ellen Weiner, Burt Landry, Rex Hudson, Don Sorenson and Lila Benson. The film concerns the rise and fall of Humph Bogart (Donahue), the infamous Irish-American gangster who came to rule Chicago during the 1920's, and the efforts of a US Marshal (Sorenson) to catch him. The film, which initially had a run time of 177 minutes, infamously had 28 minutes of footage cut out or altered by PMR Studios executives, resulting in the "poor man's cut" of 149 minutes that was released in US cinemas. Regardless, the film still went on to win four Academy Awards in an otherwise weak field, although Spurlock refused to accept his Best Director Oscar or be associated with any of the film's promotion due to the studio meddling. The film was cited as inspirational due to its gritty atmosphere and violence, as well as language and nudity (the violence, language and 'obscene material' constituted much of what was cut by PMR, largely due to the hubbub by some states over Oahu four years prior). Bogart, along with 1969's Beantown, are regarded as the best films of the 1960's in the gangster genre and would influence later works such as The Godfather (1972), Hell's Kitchen (1976), and the Story of America trilogy (1982, 1985 and 1989).