The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults

TV Special
19861986
UnratedUnrated
2h

Journalist Geraldo Rivera hosted this much-hyped live-on-TV opening of gangster Al Capone's secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, USA. After much fanfare, including ... Read allJournalist Geraldo Rivera hosted this much-hyped live-on-TV opening of gangster Al Capone's secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, USA. After much fanfare, including the presence of a medical examiner in case human remains were discovered, the vault was re... Read allJournalist Geraldo Rivera hosted this much-hyped live-on-TV opening of gangster Al Capone's secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, USA. After much fanfare, including the presence of a medical examiner in case human remains were discovered, the vault was revealed to contain... considerably less than many anticipated.

3.3/10

108

Director
- Bill Foster
Stars
- Geraldo Rivera
- Al Capone(archive footage)
- Doug Llewelyn

Top credits

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3.2

The Geraldo Rivera Show

5.1

The Oprah Winfrey Show

6.5

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

Journalist Geraldo Rivera hosted this much-hyped live-on-TV opening of gangster Al Capone's secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, USA. After much fanfare, including the presence of a medical examiner in case human remains were discovered, the vault was revealed to contain... considerably less than many anticipated. —mooveeguy

organized crime vault gangster hotel chicago illinois 4 more

Trivia
The show aired live in the USA in April 1986 garnering one of the highest ratings in US television history. Nielsen recorded a 34 average rating and 48 average share in eight markets, and a 57 rating and 73 share in the Chicago market. Rivera hosted the show which was to climax with the opening of a "secret vault" inside the bowels of the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, supposedly revealing Al Capone's treasure or possibly human remains. Internal Revenue Service Agents and a medical examiner stood at the ready should any cash or corpse lay inside. When demolition crews finally made their way inside the only contents were a dirt pile and a bottle of bathtub gin. The hype generated a record rating of 57 with an estimated audience of 30,000,000. The term "Al Capone's Vault" has come to mean any over-hyped event that leads to nothing.

Connections
Edited from The Untouchables (1959)

Top review

1/10

Rivera is such an idiot

The funniest part of this trainwreck is not just Rivera finding nothing but dirt in Al Capone's vault, which wasn't even a vault most likely, but when he found nothing but a bottle, and then claimed "It's probably illegal bathtub gin," training, till the last minute, to act as if he really found something.... What a dolt.

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