George_Chabot's Full Review: St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
There were giants in those days - men of renown. Holy Bible
You may be thinking, “is this for real?,” and I assure you it was. Way back in “The Roaring Twenties,” the Midwestern metropolis Chicago was ripe for the picking due to Prohibition. Rival gangs had informally split the city up in order to quench its thirst for illegal alcohol and appetites for the forbidden fruits of gambling and prostitution.
The major gangs were divided among “Scarface” Al Capone (Jason Robards, Jr.), George “Bugs” Moran (Ralph Meeker), Earl “Hymie“ Weiss (Reed Hadley), and Dion O’Bannion (John Agar). Throughout the twenties, the gangs jockeyed for pre-eminence, plotting, ambushing each other, retaliating, calling truces, plotting, and starting the cycle again. Weiss and O’Bannion were killed off, leaving the spoils to Capone and Moran, however, they still weren’t satisfied. The final solution was to take place in a garage on North Clark Street on February 14, 1929; Moran would be wiped out with “the gun that made the twenties roar,” the Thompson Sub-machinegun.
All went according to plan, except Capone used killers masquerading as police officers. A parked police car in front of the garage tipped off the late arriving Moran who ducked into a nearby coffee shop to await developments. He didn’t have long to wait. Seven of his associates were brutally gunned down and Moran was forced into hiding.
Roger Corman directed The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in the style of The Untouchables television series, making it a hard-hitting, well orchestrated tale. Period sets, automobiles, clothes, and weapons were impeccable. Narration was provided by Paul Frees, along the lines of date, name of individual, place of birth, date and manner of death, etc. Very powerful.
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre has a cast of some of the best actors of the day. Almost every part is played by a known face, from the key players all the way down to the garage mechanic. Jason Robards, Jr. (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Ralph Meeker (Paths of Glory), George Segal (Bridge at Remagen), Joseph Turkel (The Sand Pebbles), Bruce Dern (The Cowboys), John Agar (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), Jack Nicholson (Chinatown) and many other familiar faces.
The Fox video is only available in VHS in typical 4X3 television format. It is a pity since The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre would benefit from a deluxe DVD treatment as the theatrical format was 2.35: 1 and is in color.
In addition to The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, which I highly recommend, fans of the gangster will be sure to enjoy
Jason Robards as Scarface teams with George Segal (in a rare bad-guy role) to battle the Feds. The 1929 massacre is bloody, indeed.System Requirements...More at Buy.com
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