The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)
| The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | |
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| Directed by | Roger Corman |
| Produced by | Roger Corman |
| Written by | Howard Browne |
| Starring |
Jason Robards George Segal Ralph Meeker Bruce Dern Uncredited: Jack Nicholson |
| Narrated by | Paul Frees |
| Music by |
Lionel Newman Fred Steiner |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | William B. Murphy |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2,175,000 |
| Box office | $1,700,000 (US/ Canada) 691,328 admissions (France) |
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 (led by George "Bugs" Moran) on orders from 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 George "Bugs" Moran.
Orson Welles was originally supposed to play Capone, but Twentieth Century Fox vetoed the deal, fearing that Welles was "undirectable." The film's narration has a style similar to that of Welles but was actually narrated by renowned Hollywood voice actor Paul Frees.
A 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 Moran's lieutenants and veteran Corman actor Dick Miller as one of the phony policemen involved in the massacre.
An organized crime war breaks out between two rival gangs in Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. The leader of the Southside Mob is the notorious Al Capone, who resents his nemesis George "Bugs" Moran's activity in the city. Moran, too, wants control of the town's bootlegging and gambling operations. His lieutenants Peter and Frank Gusenberg use threats and intimidation to make tavern owners do business with them in exchange for "protection." Moran gives the order to have a crony of Capone's eliminated as the Chicago body count escalates. Inclusive are flashbacks to a lunchtime attack on Capone at a restaurant outside of Chicago by Hymie Weiss and Moran in September 1926 and the murders of Weiss in October 1926 and Dion O'Banion in November 1924 by Capone's gang.
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