The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)

Even though Roger Corman's 1967 gangster flick The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is based on fact and boasts an occasional documentary-style voiceover, don't go expecting gritty realism: Corman's mobsters are larger-than-life caricatures, more Bugsy Malone than The Godfather, and the action is of the over-the-top, rat-a-tat-tat, tommy gun blazing variety.That said, Corman's approach makes for a whole lot of fun, the comic-book violence and scenery chewing performances being hugely entertaining, like a melodramatic '30s B-movie given a lavish, technicolor sheen. Corman commands memorable turns from an excellent cast that includes George Segal (cast against type as vicious thug Peter Gusenberg), Jason Robards as Al Capone, Bruce Dern, Joe Turkel, John Agar, Corman regular Dick Miller, and even an uncredited Jack Nicholson.Visually, the film is a treat: from the opening snowy scenes of Chicago to the inevitable bloody finalé, the film looks like a million dollars (because that was the budget), with wonderful production design, excellent period detail and great cinematography. Meanwhile, a snappy pace ensures that the film is never boring. Although not quite on a par with gangster greats such as the aforementioned Coppola classic, Leone's Once Upon A Time In America, or DePalma's The Untouchables, Corman's movie definitely deserves to be seen by anyone interested in the genre.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

I saw this movie when it was first released in the Sixties and I have seen it many times over the years. I still enjoy it with every viewing and I think it ranks in my top five all-time gangster movies. The St. Valentine Massacre screenplay was written by Howard Browne who was actually a young reporter in Chicago at the time the story unfolded. I found the Moran gang of Irish and German hoods more interesting than the Italian and Jewish mobsters of the Capone outfit. I have also found that the New York Irish gangsters like Owen Madden, Mad Dog Coll and Legs Diamond more fascinating than their Italian and Jewish counterparts like Benny Siegel, Frank Costello and company. The Irish were more like cowboys, rogues and desperadoes while the Italians and Jews were boring businessmen in suits.

Although reviewers were mixed in their feelings for this semi-famous gangster picture from 1967, I think most of them missed the point. Roger Corman's "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" was filmed on a budget of exactly $1,000,000. Even for 1967 standards, that's about as low as you can go. And look what he got for his cool million; Jason Robards, Ralph Meeker, George Segal, Joseph Campanella, Bruce Dern (a Corman stock player back then) and a host of other famous names including soon-to-be movie star Jack Nicholson. Some reviewers were obviously thrown for a loop because of Corman's use of a narrator to the events (Paul Frees) and the fact that he tackled a worthy subject compared to his earlier sci-fi and biker film efforts. Their preconceptions of Corman's talent got the better of them and this film proved that he was a first-class director worthy of respect from his peers. The plot involves the famous massacre of Chicago gang-lord Bugs Moran's men during the height of prohibition. Al Capone (a raging Jason Robards) was the architect of these murders and was aided and abetted by "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn (Clint Ritchie) who was the true mastermind. Moran himself (Ralph Meeker) was able to avoid the "hit" and lived to tell about it. George Segal is the real star of the show as Peter Gusenberg, one of Moran's henchmen. His fight with his girlfriend (Jean Hale) over an expensive fur is one of the highlights of the film. Jack Nicholson (another Corman regular) makes a brief appearance as one of Capone's hit men and is allowed to utter one memorable line about the effects of "garlic-flavored" bullets. The film stays relatively close to true events and except for the fact that Jason Robards doesn't look anything like the real Al Capone and is too old for the part, the movie is mostly historically accurate. All in all, "The St. Valentine's Massacre" is an entertaining and informative movie, and all done on a shoestring budget. As they say, they don't make them like this anymore.

What the OK Corral story is to the western genre, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is to the gangster film, a story told and retold where the characters have assumed some mythic proportions. Funny thing is I think both Al Capone and Bugs Moran would have scoffed at the idea they would become modern mythic characters.Though it boasts color and better production values, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre is really just a warmed over version of what the public had seen only a few years ago on The Untouchables. For that matter The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was also released too soon after the film Al Capone that starred Rod Steiger in the title role.Jason Robards, Jr. as Al Capone and Ralph Meeker as Bugs Moran fit the roles well. Robards seems to be having a great old time in the part. He overacts like crazy, but then again so did Robert DeNiro in the big screen version of The Untouchables and so did Steiger in his film. The role just seems to call for that.Speaking of overacting, George Segal is also having a great old diet of scenery as one of Moran's trigger men. This was his first film after getting his Oscar nomination for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and it certainly is a lot different than the young college professor in that film.In fact with Robards leading the pack everyone seems to be throwing away all restraint. The film stops just this side of being played for laughs.The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a good factual retelling of the tale that kind of brought the gangster era in Chicago to a close.