Celebrate the End of Prohibition with This Odd Movie

On this day in 1933 , Prohibition ended in the United States — which means it ’s time to celebrate with what ’s probably the strangest picture made about that dark time in history : 1976 ’s Bugsy Malone . Cheers !

Alan Parker ’s musical gangster extravaganza star an all - tyke plaster bandage , let in a slick - haired Scott Baio ( in his debut ) and a spit - curled Jodie Foster ( at 14 , she was already a show biz old stager ; Taxi Driver and Freaky Friday came out the same class ) . There are pint - sized fedoras , scenes in speakeasy joints , tap - dance explosions , and guns that shoot custard rather of bullets . ( The picture show is G - rated , so yeah . ) And the expectant shootout , of track , involves a major Proto-Indo European fight .

All of the songs were pen by the immortal Paul Williams , who also sang some of the tracks ( all of the tyke lip - synchronise to adult vocalist ) . Williams , of course , also scored and co - star in Brian De Palma ’s Phantom of the Paradise and compose pop music classics for the Carpenters and Kermit the Frog .