Vitals

John Cazale as Sal Naturile, desperate bank robber and ex-convict

Brooklyn, Summer 1972

Film: Dog Day Afternoon
Release Date: September 21, 1975
Director: Sidney Lumet
Costume Designer: Anna Hill Johnstone

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

On August 22, 1972, an attempted bank robbery in Brooklyn became a media circus as dozens of police and spectators surrounded the Gravesend branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank where armed bandits John “Sonny” Wojtowicz and Salvatore “Sal” Naturile spent nearly 14 hours holed up with the handful of bank employees they held hostage. The stranger-than-fiction story was the basis for P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore’s Life feature “The Boys in the Bank”, which was then adapted by screenwriter Frank Pierson and director Sidney Lumet into Dog Day Afternoon, starring Al Pacino and John Cazale as Sonny and Sal, respectively.

Before he died of lung cancer 47 years ago today on March 13, 1978, Cazale’s brief but brilliant screen career was batting a thousand. He had memorably co-starred in The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter—all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Despite his contemporary acclaim and generational influence, Cazale’s sole screen award recognition was a Golden Globe nomination for his tragicomic and characteristically intense performance in Dog Day Afternoon. Continue reading →