The Virginia Hill Story (1974) (TV)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Juleen Compton (screenplay)
Juleen Compton (story)

Release Date:

19 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The story of Virginia Hill, a former prostitute who was the girlfriend of '40s killer and gangster Bugsy Siegel. |

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Las Vegas Nevada

Cast

Dyan Cannon	...	Virginia Hill
Harvey Keitel	...	Bugsy Siegel
Allen Garfield	...	Leo Ritchie
John Vernon	...	Nick Rubanos
Herbert Anderson	...	Sen. Estes Kefauver
Robby Benson	...	Leroy Small
John Quade	...	Mousie
Liam Dunn	...	Auctioneer
Conrad Janis	...	Halley
Tom Reese	...	Mac Hill
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Adams

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Robert Stigwood Organization (RSO)

Movie Connections:

Version of Bugsy (1991)

A story kept simple – informative and well acted

This minimalistic teleplay gives a good impression of the life and times of Virginia Hill and her relations to the gangster world. The script is lean, the action moves on at a brisk pace; starting with a senate committee hearing, the different episodes in the life of the Mata Hari like character are told in flash back sections. Dyan Cannon is great in the starring role, every five minutes or so she is wearing an entirely new outfit. She convincingly portrays a schemer wanting to strike it rich who is being manipulated and used in turn. She gets very good support by first rate character actors like Allan Garfield and John Vernon. A very young Harvey Keitel plays Bugsy Siegel who gets romantically involved with Hill. The script has a lot of sympathy for the couple, Siegel is presented as a pioneer who wagered a gamble in the middle of the Nevada Desert, called Las Vegas.