Tossup

This actor’s character trips players and ignores fouls after stepping in as referee for a game of youth basketball in a movie starring the Dead End Kids. After close-ups on the faces of men passing news about a woman’s death (15[1])via a telephone line of whispers, a film transitions to wide shots of hundreds of men staring in awe at this actor’s improvised agonizing howls. Another film ends with shots of mushroom clouds after a shot framing this actor in front of flames at a chemical plant. While drenched in rain, a character played by this actor stammers, “I ain’t so (*) tough” in a film that once moved Tony Soprano to tears. This actor’s roles include one in which he has a frenzied breakdown while walking to an electric chair, one ending with the line “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”, and one in which he smashes a grapefruit into his girlfriend’s face. For 10 points, films like The Public Enemy, Angels with Dirty Faces, and White Heat built what actor’s reputation for playing gangsters? ■END■

Back to tossups

Buzzes

Summary