classicsoncall
My summary quote spoken by Al Capone (Jason Robards) is quite insightful into the mind of a gangster, who lives by a different moral code than the rest of society. While speaking that line, Capone is in the midst of planning to take out his North Side rival Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker), almost as if it's his civic duty to unite all illegal activities in the city under one crime family.Well I'm not a student of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, but reading a handful of reviews on this board it seems this film was a fairly accurate representation of the events leading up to that fatally famous day. Criticism of Robards' choice to portray Capone doesn't bother me much, though I have to say he did take it over the top at times. His "We're gonna get him before he gets me" line in the face of his gang's seeming reluctance to go for all out war was about as definitive a statement a mobster can make outside of "Make him an offer he can't refuse".There's a cool cast of supporting players here, and probably the best scene for me was George Segal displaying his aversion to fur coats when his gal Myrtle (Jean Hale) revealed the price tag. That tussle just seemed to go on and on and I never did get the impression the coat was going back. I had to do a double take a couple of times when it looked like Jack Nicholson showed up as one of the tommy gunners; his uncredited appearance here was kind of cool.One item I'll have to go back and check was that flashback scene of Al Capone recounting the first attempted hit on his life, occurring across the street from a movie theater. The marquee displayed the title 'The Mad Rider' but there's nothing like that in the IMDb database. There are a handful of films going by "The Masked Rider" prior to 1922 and another one in 1941 which wouldn't have worked, so I'm curious as to why the film makers used that title. A half century later now so I don't think we'll ever know.
Dalbert Pringle
Favorite movie quote - "They don't call that guy 'Bugs' for nothing!" (snicker-snicker) Yep. I was really surprised to find out that 1967's The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (or, TSVDM, for short) was, in fact, directed by Roger Corman, the undisputed "king" of super low-budget horror and teen exploitation films of the 1950s and 60s.(And, I must say that I was quite impressed) Up to this point in his film-making career Corman had been directing "quickies" with budgets in the $250,000 range (or less). But, then, with this picture he was handed a cool million to throw around. And, by what I saw, I don't think that he recklessly squandered that dough on this production.Set in the year 1929 (in the crime-drenched metropolis of Chicago), TSVDM's story is, indeed, based on actual events that led up to a very special sort of Valentine's Day surprise that made the most sensational headlines that you could possibly imagine.Featuring plenty of swell-looking cars, cheap-looking whores, and deadly, drive-by shootings, TSVDM is an exciting gangster picture of treachery and double-crosses that, convincingly enough, captures the nostalgic feel of a "Depression Era" America.Other than a few "damns", and a couple of "hells", thrown in for good measure, this rough, tough macho-man picture contained no profanity, whatsoever.My one big beef about this picture has to do with the gross miscasting of actor Jason Robards as the ruthlessly violent Al Capone character.I mean, let's face it, Capone was, without question, one of the meanest and lousiest bastards imaginable. And, nope, I'm sorry to say, Robards just didn't cut the mustard with his portrayal. No way, Jose.
bpatrick-8
It's not one of the prettiest events in American history by any means. But somehow I always have fun watching this movie, even though Robards' over-the-top portrayal of Capone (and he seems to relish every moment on camera) and the presence of some actors I usually associate with sitcoms (Harold J. Stone, Milton Frome, Mickey Deems, Mary Grace Canfield) make it difficult to take completely seriously. Only a few actors--Ralph Meeker, Clint Ritchie, Joe Campanella--do seem to take themselves seriously, and none of the gangsters portrayed in the movie would frighten me if they were really these actors. However, it is a riveting portrayal of the gangland rivalries in Prohibiton-era Chicago and the lengths to which these gangs would go to get control of another gang's territory. As for Paul Frees' narration, I welcome it, since I've only become familiar with the various members of the Capone and Moran gangs through his mini-biographies as he introduces them (I do think the "at 7:22 on the last morning of his life" bit is a little overdone). One final thought: I agree that George Segal is also over-the-top, playing what appears to be a pretty boy trying to be tough (watch him with the bartender early in the picture). Anyway, I try to catch this movie anytime it's on; even though I know how it's going to end I still get a kick out of watching the not-very-scary performances.
MARIO GAUCI
Although I disliked this movie on my sole viewing of it via a local Cable TV screening in the late 1990s, I was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt following its surprising inclusion in the British Film Institute's "Top 360 Films" booklet which ostensibly recommended 'a film a day' to be revisited (as in revived theatrically) on a yearly basis and our own Joe Karlosi's ***1/2 rating and accompanying positive review. Admittedly, I enjoyed it a good deal more this time around but I still felt that, after a fairly strong first half, it progressively ran out of steam. Possibly inspired by the phenomenal success of Arthur Penn's BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), it was maverick film-maker Roger Corman's first major studio undertaking and, overall, he acquits himself competently enough even if, ultimately, the end result is inferior both to its prototype and Corman's previous (and considerably cheaper) horror outings. The curious casting choices are certainly interesting if not entirely successful: Jason Robards Jnr. (his over-the-top portrayal of Al Capone has to be seen to be disbelieved), Ralph Meeker (appropriately tough as his Irish nemesis Bugs Moran), George Segal (as one of Moran's chief hoodlums at one point, ludicrously involved in a bedroom brawl with his blonde moll), Bruce Dern (as a meek mechanic and father of 7 kids innocently mowed down in the notorious titular carnage), Frank Silvera (quite good as an Italian small-time hood who ends up playing a pivotal role in the proceedings), Harold J. Stone (as an ill-tempered business associate of Capone's) and Roger Corman mascot Dick Miller (who, disguising himself as a police officer, is one of the unlikely executors of the massacre). The studio backing accords the whole a pleasantly glossy look and the atmospheric score is another plus, but the constant narration gets to be distracting and, in the long run, one does not remember the film with much affection.
AD
