The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)
Encyclopedia
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967
gangster film
based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone
. It was directed by Roger Corman
and written by Howard Browne
.
The film starred Jason Robards
as Al Capone
, George Segal
as Peter Gusenberg
, David Canary
as Frank Gusenberg
and Ralph Meeker
as Bugs Moran
. (Orson Welles
was originally supposed to play Capone - but Fox vetoed the deal, fearing that Welles was 'undirectable'.) It was also believed that Welles was the narrator of the film, but it was actually narrated by well-known Hollywood voice actor Paul Frees
in Welles' style. A very young Bruce Dern
plays one of the victims of the massacre, and Jack Nicholson
has a bit part as a gangster. Also featured are Jan Merlin
as one of Bugs Moran's lieutenants, and veteran Corman actor Dick Miller
as one of the phoney policemen involved in the massacre.
's being given as "Vincenzo Demaury", an alias he used only in later years when working as a golf pro - his birth name was Vincenzo Gebaldi). The film also portrays Capone taking personal revenge on turncoat Unione Siciliano member Joe Aiello
by personally murdering him. Capone did order the murder of Aiello, though it was carried out by members of his gang at a much later date. Its portrayal in the movie as having occurred before the massacre is important to the context of the film, but not the actual fact. In fairness, however, a great deal of research has been done on the Massacre in the last forty years, revealing new facts, and exploding some old theories, none of which writer Browne could have known at the time, chief among them would be the existence of the wall of the garage the mass murder happened inside a Canadian night club, the investigations of some of the suspects, and former gangsters later revealing some knowledge of the mass murder. Besides the climactic garage scene, Corman also staged a re-creation of the Moran Gang's attack on Capone headquarters in Cicero, Illinois which left Capone badly shaken, though unhurt. He also staged a stereotypical gangland funeral complete with tuxedo clad gunsels and enormous banks of flowers. Hymie Weiss
is shown flying into a rage at Dean O'Banion's sendoff when the largest floral arrangement of them all reads, "From Al". Weiss himself is later killed in an ambush by the Capone mob, leaving Bugs Moran as head of the North Siders. Both Moran and Capone are repeatedly shown swearing bitter oaths of vengeance and disdain towards each other as they urge their respective underlings to wipe out "that no good louse".
Each character is given a verbal voiceover biography as they are introduced, and in some video releases, the biographies of Rheinhard Schwimmer and Adam Heyer, two of the massacre victims, are removed from the soundtrack, possibly due to protest from surviving family members.
TV series, The Untouchables
, but is one of many motion pictures adapted from a CBS
Playhouse 90
episode. Seven Against The Wall, broadcast on Playhouse 90 in December, 1958, was also written by Harold Browne and featured actors Milton Frome
, Celia Lovsky
and Frank Silvera
in the same roles that they play in the film.
To make certain the film would have the look of a gangster film, Roger Corman shot the film at the Desilu studios and used other sections of the back lot for different locales of Chicago. He filmed the Massacre scene in one of the Desilu lots which got converted to look like the garage where the crime was committed. (The real garage was torn down by the time the movie started production). Another matter was the recreation of the Massacre itself: before filming, Corman found photos of the mass murders. Then he had the actors for the scene study the stills, followed by rehearsals and the actual shoot. After one take, the massacre came in the way it looked in the old photos and the collapse of each actors followed the positions the murder victims fell in the real massacre.
The film was one of the few that Roger Corman directed from a major Hollywood studio with a generous budget and an open-ended schedule. While most directors woud love such an assignment, Corman was disgusted with the incredible waste of time and money involved with "typical" movie production techniques. Corman, an independent director, was most comfortable in his own style: shoestring budgets, and shooting schedules measured in days, rather than weeks. He made an effort to do the film, but finished it within the time given, getting it done for an early release. Nonetheless, it is generally considered one of his best films as a director.
named it #7 in a poll of the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
gangster film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
. It was directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and written by Howard Browne
Howard Browne
Howard Browne was a science fiction editor and mystery writer. He also wrote for several television series and films...
.
The film starred Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
as Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
, George Segal
George Segal
George Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
as Peter Gusenberg
Peter Gusenberg
Peter Gusenberg a.k.a. "Goosey" , and his brother Frank were German-American contract killers and members of Chicago's North Side Gang, the main rival to the Chicago Outfit. Peter Gusenberg participated in an infamous attack on Al Capone during a vicious gang war.-Early life:Peter Gusenberg Jr...
, David Canary
David Canary
David Hoyt Canary is an American actor, who starred in both soap operas and prime time television. He is best known for his roles as the ranch foreman, Candy Canaday on Bonanza and identical twins Adam Chandler from 1983 to 2010 and Stuart Chandler from 1984 to 2009 on the daytime serial, All My...
as Frank Gusenberg
Frank Gusenberg
Frank Gusenberg was a German-American contract killer and a victim of the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago, Illinois.-Early life:...
and Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
as Bugs Moran
Bugs Moran
George Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs...
. (Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
was originally supposed to play Capone - but Fox vetoed the deal, fearing that Welles was 'undirectable'.) It was also believed that Welles was the narrator of the film, but it was actually narrated by well-known Hollywood voice actor Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
in Welles' style. A very young Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
plays one of the victims of the massacre, and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
has a bit part as a gangster. Also featured are Jan Merlin
Jan Merlin
Jan Merlin is an American character actor, screen writer, and author.- Career :Born and raised in New York USA, during the Second World War he enlisted in the US Navy to serve on three successive ships in the North Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, accumulating ten battle stars before entering Japan's...
as one of Bugs Moran's lieutenants, and veteran Corman actor Dick Miller
Dick Miller
Richard "Dick" Miller is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 films, particularly those produced by Roger Corman, and later in films of directors who started their careers with Corman, including James Cameron and Joe Dante, with the distinction of appearing in every film made...
as one of the phoney policemen involved in the massacre.
Historical accuracy
The film is a somewhat rough mixture of correct historical fact and outright movie fiction, though it is presented in docu-drama style. It is largely accurate in the historical coverage of the event, but creates several character names that exist only in the film, rather than reality, such as "Boris Chapman" and "Adolph Muller", which the film identifies as the two phony "policemen" involved in the massacre. There is considerable speculation on who those two men actually were, but their true identities still remain unknown. It also includes some facts that are erroneously used (such as the real name of Jack McGurnJack McGurn
"Machine Gun" Jack McGurn was an Italian-American mobster and key member of Al Capone's Chicago Outfit.-Early life:...
's being given as "Vincenzo Demaury", an alias he used only in later years when working as a golf pro - his birth name was Vincenzo Gebaldi). The film also portrays Capone taking personal revenge on turncoat Unione Siciliano member Joe Aiello
Joe Aiello
Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello was a Chicago bootlegger during the 1920s and early 1930s who had a longstanding, bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone.-Arrival in America:...
by personally murdering him. Capone did order the murder of Aiello, though it was carried out by members of his gang at a much later date. Its portrayal in the movie as having occurred before the massacre is important to the context of the film, but not the actual fact. In fairness, however, a great deal of research has been done on the Massacre in the last forty years, revealing new facts, and exploding some old theories, none of which writer Browne could have known at the time, chief among them would be the existence of the wall of the garage the mass murder happened inside a Canadian night club, the investigations of some of the suspects, and former gangsters later revealing some knowledge of the mass murder. Besides the climactic garage scene, Corman also staged a re-creation of the Moran Gang's attack on Capone headquarters in Cicero, Illinois which left Capone badly shaken, though unhurt. He also staged a stereotypical gangland funeral complete with tuxedo clad gunsels and enormous banks of flowers. Hymie Weiss
Hymie Weiss
Hymie Weiss was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone.-Early years:...
is shown flying into a rage at Dean O'Banion's sendoff when the largest floral arrangement of them all reads, "From Al". Weiss himself is later killed in an ambush by the Capone mob, leaving Bugs Moran as head of the North Siders. Both Moran and Capone are repeatedly shown swearing bitter oaths of vengeance and disdain towards each other as they urge their respective underlings to wipe out "that no good louse".
Each character is given a verbal voiceover biography as they are introduced, and in some video releases, the biographies of Rheinhard Schwimmer and Adam Heyer, two of the massacre victims, are removed from the soundtrack, possibly due to protest from surviving family members.
Cast
- Jason RobardsJason RobardsJason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
as Al CaponeAl CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early... - George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
as Peter GusenbergPeter GusenbergPeter Gusenberg a.k.a. "Goosey" , and his brother Frank were German-American contract killers and members of Chicago's North Side Gang, the main rival to the Chicago Outfit. Peter Gusenberg participated in an infamous attack on Al Capone during a vicious gang war.-Early life:Peter Gusenberg Jr... - Ralph MeekerRalph MeekerRalph Meeker was an American stage and film actor best-known for starring in the 1953 Broadway production of Picnic, and in the 1955 film noir cult classic Kiss Me Deadly.-Career:...
as Bugs MoranBugs MoranGeorge Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs... - Jean HaleJean HaleJean Hale is an American actress.In films, Hale played Miriam Stark in Taggart , Cheryl Barker in The Oscar , Myrtle in The St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Lisa in In Like Flint...
as Myrtle - Jan MerlinJan MerlinJan Merlin is an American character actor, screen writer, and author.- Career :Born and raised in New York USA, during the Second World War he enlisted in the US Navy to serve on three successive ships in the North Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, accumulating ten battle stars before entering Japan's...
as Willie Marks - Clint RitchieClint RitchieClinton Charles Augustus Ritchie was an American actor.-Early life:Ritchie was born on a farm in Grafton, North Dakota to J. C. and Charlotte Ritchie, and his family moved to Washington state when he was seven...
as Machine Gun Jack McGurnJack McGurn"Machine Gun" Jack McGurn was an Italian-American mobster and key member of Al Capone's Chicago Outfit.-Early life:... - David CanaryDavid CanaryDavid Hoyt Canary is an American actor, who starred in both soap operas and prime time television. He is best known for his roles as the ranch foreman, Candy Canaday on Bonanza and identical twins Adam Chandler from 1983 to 2010 and Stuart Chandler from 1984 to 2009 on the daytime serial, All My...
as Frank GusenbergFrank GusenbergFrank Gusenberg was a German-American contract killer and a victim of the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago, Illinois.-Early life:... - Harold J. StoneHarold J. StoneHarold J. Stone was an American film and television character actor.Born Harold Hochstein to a Jewish acting family, he began his career on Broadway in 1939 and appeared in five plays in the next six years, including One Touch of Venus and Stalag 17, following which he made his motion picture...
as Frank NittiFrank NittiFrancesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations... - Frank SilveraFrank SilveraFrank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
as Nick Sorello - Joseph CampanellaJoseph CampanellaJoseph Campanella in Lewistown, Pennsylvania is an American character actor who has appeared in over 200 TV and film roles since 1955, including such shows as The Eleventh Hour, The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Road West, The Golden Girls and Mama's Family. He also had a role in...
as Albert Wienshank - Richard BakalyanRichard BakalyanRichard Bakalyan is an Born in Iran character actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents he served them treats and candys in his ice cream van in his first several films. He had some fun experience having served a year's probation at age 15...
as John Scalise - Charles DierkopCharles DierkopCharles Dierkop is an American film and television character actor.Dierkop was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse...
as Salvanti - John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
as Dion O'Bannion - Joe TurkelJoe TurkelJoe Turkel is an American character actor. He is credited in several films as Joseph Turkel.-Background:Turkel was born in Brooklyn, New York, and served in the U.S. Military during World War II. He currently lives in southern California, and has been involved in writing screenplays.-Career:His...
as Jake Gusik - Bruce DernBruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as Johnny May - Mickey Deems as Reinhold Schwimmer
- Reed HadleyReed HadleyReed Hadley was an American movie, television and radio actor.Reed Hadley was born Reed Herring in Petrolia in Clay County near Wichita Falls, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one sister, Bess Brenner. He was reared in Buffalo, New York...
as Hymie WeissHymie WeissHymie Weiss was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone.-Early years:... - Alexander D'ArcyAlexander D'ArcyAlexander D'Arcy was an Egyptian actor with an international film repertoire.Born Alexander Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue...
as Joe AielloJoe AielloGiuseppe "Joe" Aiello was a Chicago bootlegger during the 1920s and early 1930s who had a longstanding, bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone.-Arrival in America:... - Leo GordonLeo GordonLeo Vincent Gordon was an American movie and television character actor as well as a screenplay writer and novelist. He specialized in playing brutish bad guys during more than forty years in film and television....
as Heitler - Jack NicholsonJack NicholsonJohn Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
as Gino, hitman (Uncredited) - Buck TaylorBuck TaylorWalter Clarence "Buck" Taylor, III is an American actor and water color artist best known for his role as gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O'Brien in 113 episodes during the last eight seasons of CBS's Gunsmoke television series . In recent years, he has painted the portrait of his friend and Gunsmoke...
as Poolside interviewer 2 (Uncredited) - Celia LovskyCelia LovskyCelia Lovsky was an Austrian American actress. She was born Cäcilie Lvovsky in Vienna, daughter of Bretislav Lvovsky , a minor Czech opera composer...
as Josephine Schwimmer (Reinhold Schwimmer's mother) - Milton FromeMilton FromeMilton Frome was an American character actor. He made approximately 140 television and film appearances between 1934 and 1982.-Career:...
as Adam Hyer
Background
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was not, as might be guessed, inspired by the 1959-63 ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
TV series, The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
, but is one of many motion pictures adapted from a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
episode. Seven Against The Wall, broadcast on Playhouse 90 in December, 1958, was also written by Harold Browne and featured actors Milton Frome
Milton Frome
Milton Frome was an American character actor. He made approximately 140 television and film appearances between 1934 and 1982.-Career:...
, Celia Lovsky
Celia Lovsky
Celia Lovsky was an Austrian American actress. She was born Cäcilie Lvovsky in Vienna, daughter of Bretislav Lvovsky , a minor Czech opera composer...
and Frank Silvera
Frank Silvera
Frank Alvin Silvera was an American actor and theatrical director.-Career:Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a Spanish Jewish father and Jamaican mother. His family later emigrated to the United States, settling in Boston where Silvera attended English High School and Northeastern Law School...
in the same roles that they play in the film.
To make certain the film would have the look of a gangster film, Roger Corman shot the film at the Desilu studios and used other sections of the back lot for different locales of Chicago. He filmed the Massacre scene in one of the Desilu lots which got converted to look like the garage where the crime was committed. (The real garage was torn down by the time the movie started production). Another matter was the recreation of the Massacre itself: before filming, Corman found photos of the mass murders. Then he had the actors for the scene study the stills, followed by rehearsals and the actual shoot. After one take, the massacre came in the way it looked in the old photos and the collapse of each actors followed the positions the murder victims fell in the real massacre.
The film was one of the few that Roger Corman directed from a major Hollywood studio with a generous budget and an open-ended schedule. While most directors woud love such an assignment, Corman was disgusted with the incredible waste of time and money involved with "typical" movie production techniques. Corman, an independent director, was most comfortable in his own style: shoestring budgets, and shooting schedules measured in days, rather than weeks. He made an effort to do the film, but finished it within the time given, getting it done for an early release. Nonetheless, it is generally considered one of his best films as a director.
Trivia
In 2009 Empire magazineEmpire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
named it #7 in a poll of the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)