The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)

Chicago February 14th 1929. Al Capone finally establishes himself as the city's boss of organised crime. In a north-side garage his hoods, dressed as policemen, surprise and mow down with ... See full summary »

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Howard Browne

Stars:

Jason Robards, George Segal, Ralph Meeker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Chicago February 14th 1929. Al Capone finally establishes himself as the city's boss of organised crime. In a north-side garage his hoods, dressed as policemen, surprise and mow down with machine-guns the key members of Bugs Moran's rival gang. The film traces the history of the incident, and the lives affected and in some cases ended by it.

---

Plot Keywords:

bootlegger | historic drama | crime boss | winter | valentine's day | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Valentin-napi mészárlás

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Los Altos Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the massacre scene in the garage, the actors playing the slain gangsters were shown photos and directed as how to fall so their positions were identical to the real photos of the massacre. Two actors bumped together on the way down. After studying photographs they realized they had fallen and collided in the exact way the slain gangsters had fallen and had landed in the correct positions.

---

Goofs

In the film the narrator states that three months after the St. Valentine's Day massacre Capone was indicted for income tax evasion. In fact, that indictment and conviction occurred in 1931, over two years after the massacre.

---

Quotes

Interrogator: [to Frank Gusenberg after the shooting] I've got to tell you Frank, you're not going to make it. Want me to call a preacher?

---

Connections

Referenced in Married with Children: Valentine's Day Massacre (1994)

User Reviews

Realistic and mostly accurate

"The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" is a very good gangster movie, released five years before the all-time great "The Godfather". It's pretty accurate in its chronology, according to the books and documentaries I've seen about the incident, only a couple of dramatic licenses taken. The film unfolds like a documentary, showing the dynamics of the rival gangs and their blood feud. Opening with the killers leaving the garage and then the neighbors discovery of the massacre, it proceeds to detail the buildup to the crime. The victims are introduced, along with the killers and planners. Lots of good actors are in this, veterans of both the big and little screen. Jason Robards has been slammed for his over-the-top portrayal of Al Capone, but everything I've seen about Scarface shows that he was over-the-top himself. George Segal is especially good as a Moran gang member, Peter Gusenberg. Ralph Meeker is a tough , barrel chested Bugs Moran. Both gangs are filled with familiar, competent actors. Jean Hale has a nicely done cameo as a classic "gun Moll", Myrtle, Pete's squeeze. Even Jack Nicholson shows up as a Tommy gunner! The climactic massacre is chillingly accurate using forensic evidence to show how the victims fell and their final positions. All-in-all, a really good movie and record of one of the most famous and shocking events in American criminal history. 8 of 10.