George Raft (Signet Film Series)
by Lewis Yablonsky
Category: Actors

From the moment he appeared in "Scarface" flipping a coin, his hair slicked down, his face expressionless, his very presence bringing something new, taut, and cool to the screen, George Raft was a very special kind of star. Every part he played bore the vivid personal stamp of a style formed in the crime-ridden streets of New York's Hell's Kitchen, in the 'tearooms' where he was part-dancer, part-gigolo, in the seedy backstage world of show business and in the inner circles of mob chieftains. For there was never any clear division between George Raft's public image and private person, between his status as a super-sex symbol and his real-life bedroom exploits, between the combination of hard-boiled sophistication and acute sensitivity that the camera registered so unforgettably.