The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Howard Browne (writer)

Release Date:

30 June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Chicago February 14th 1929. Al Capone finally establishes himself as the city's boss of organised crime...

Plot Keywords:

Tommy Gun | Cult Favorite | Valentine's Day | Snow | Stealing Car

Cast

Jason Robards	...	Al Capone
George Segal	...	Peter Gusenberg
Ralph Meeker	...	George Clarence 'Bugs' Moran
Jean Hale	...	Myrtle
Clint Ritchie	...	Jack McGurn
Frank Silvera	...	Nick Sorello
Joseph Campanella	...	Albert Wienshank
Richard Bakalyan	...	John Scalise
David Canary	...	Frank Gusenberg
Bruce Dern	...	Johnny May
Harold J. Stone	...	Frank Nitti
Kurt Kreuger	...	James Clark
Paul Richards	...	Charles Fischetti
Joe Turkel	...	Jake 'Greasy Thumb' Guzik (as Joseph Turkel)
Milton Frome	...	Adam Heyer

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (Suggested for Mature Audiences) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006 uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (1967 cut) | Iceland:16 | USA:TV-PG | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1967) | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Los Altos Productions

Trivia:

Orson Welles was originally picked by director Roger Corman to play Al Capone, while Jason Robards was to play George Moran ("Bugs" Moran). Welles was willing, but Fox vetoed the deal, feeling Welles was "undirectable". Robards took over the role of Capone and Ralph Meeker was brought in to play Moran.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the scene where Jack McGurn is showing the killers how to get to the Clark Street garage from the Wood street location, McGurn's spoken directions are correct but while he is saying "east on Webster" his finger is traveling north on Wood Street. Then while he is saying "south on Clark" his finger is traveling east on Webster.

Quotes:

Reporter: Y'know some are sayin' that it really was the cops who shot those men.
Bugs Moran: You must be new to this town, mister. Only Al Capone kills like that.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Times Square (1980)

Bang bang!!! Yer dead!!!

Taking a step back from the intellectual surmising involving Godfather, Goodfellas et al., I thought this was an enjoyable film, 'a live action cartoon' as it was put.

Yep, sure it was a tad formulaic with characters going about their predetermined business and the armchair historians knew the conclusion of the film before it happened. I accept this as valid criticism, but I would stress more that it is supposed to be a quasi-documentary, with the solemn narrator venting sparse mechanical facts about each character and their relevance to the bigger picture as they were introduced. The film itself wasn't trying (I felt) to make a big artistic or intellectual statement, just an enjoyable and disposable piece of cinema. I think that it would be worse if it had been trying top make a 'big point' but fell on its arse, which a number of mobster-related films are guilty of.

As an enjoyable 'get on and enjoy the ride' movie I think it succeeded very well. Having only a basic knowledge of prohibition gangsterland, I found it quite gripping and that the documentary style enhance my enjoyment of an otherwise complex background. The set was also very well done, though Capone was miscast.

I would recommend this to most, unless they are Godfather fans!

8/10