Nonureva Really Surprised!

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

calvinnme This is a very entertaining account of the famous rub-out in 1929 Chicago. Jason Robards is a decent Al Capone, and thankfully, doesn't try for an Italian accent. He also wields a mean baseball bat, thus having Capone's malice down but not his mass. Ralph Meeker plays Bugs Moran, leader of the rival Chicago gang. The cast is loaded with familiar faces and future stars, and it seems like somebody gets bumped off every ten minutes. Harold J. Stone plays Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti and almost, but not quite, convinces me he could be Italian. George Segal has a riotous brawling scene with Jean Hale after he finds out she spent three grand on a fur coat. Joan Shawlee has a bit as a "streetwalking entrepreneur," as we call it now. Jack Nicholson has one line, which he grunts out in a hoarse voice pre-Don Corleone. And you may even feel sorry for Bruce Dern in this film.The movie was directed by Roger Corman, and features some of his stock players, including Dick Miller as one of the hit men. Paul Frees supplies the narration, giving this a semi-documentary feel. But he is no Walter Winchell. Definitely worth a look.

kapelusznik18 The infamous St. Valintine Day Massacre in 1929 was the beginning of the end of Chicago mobster Alfonse "Big Al" Capone, Jason Robards, in that it drew the attention of the US Justice Department as well as IRS on him that eventually ended up putting him behind bars, for of all things tax evasion, and out of commission for good. It was the Irish George "Bugs" Moran and "Bug's, Ralph Meeker, himself that Capone targeted who in fact escaped being killed just moments before the shooting began. Moran and his boys were out having a cup of coffee that snowy morning that kept them away from the garage on 2122 N. Clark St where the massacre happened.Big Al had it in for Moran since 1924 in him trying to cut in on his action in North Chicago that drove him psycho.It was his overreaction to all this that in the end put then heat-or law- on Big Al like no other mobster ever could. The St. Valintine Day Massacre was the last of the Capone gangland wipe-outs that resulted, on both sides, in some 600 gang land killings in Chicago during the Capone years and by far the bloodiest. Not only did seven members of the "Bugs" Moran gang get killed but those who murdered them over the next few years ended up also getting iced themselves. As for "Bugs" Moran he in fact died in his sleep in 1957 after serving a 10 year sentence on a robbery conviction.Using hoods dressed as Chicago police Capone, who at the time was vacationing in far off and sunny Florida, had Moran's boys feel they were just getting pinched by the police on a minor charge and be booked and let go before the day ended. As things turned out it was to be the last day of their lives. Director Roger Corman's first major movie that had him being taken seriously by the Hollywood big wigs who never thought that much of him and his talent as a serious filmmaker.P.S It was Capone's use of fake police to do his dirty work that was soon to be copied by fellow big time mobster "Lucky" Luciano two years later in the notorious September 10, 1931 massacre-Depicted in movies like "Stone Killer" & "The Valichi Papers"- of some 40 old line Mafia hoods in NYC and its surroundings that in the end made the mob or Mafia far more effective dangerous and successful, by letting non Sicilians to join it, then it even was during the Al Capone era.

bsmith5552 Roger Corman was best known for his cheaply made American-International Edgar Allen Poe features with Vincent price and his teen oriented motorcycle/beach party films. For "The St. Valentine's day Massacre", he was given a million dollar budget and three recognizable stars (Jason Robards, George Segal and Ralph Meeker) to play the leads. The film was released by a major studio, 20th Century Fox.The picture tells the story of the famous 1929 Chicago massacre of seven gangsters and the events leading up to it. Told in a documentary style not unlike TV's "The Untouchables" and narrated by Paul Frees, the story centers around the conflict between Al Capone (Robards) and "Bugs" Moran (Meeker). Neither trusts the other and in flashbacks we are shown the violence that has occurred between the two groups.Capone assigns the task of taking out Moran to Jack McGurn (Clint Ritchie). Moran uses his chief gunsel Peter Gusenberg (Segal)to look after his interests. Nick Sorello (Frank Silvera) is recruited by McGurn to gain the trust of Moran and his men. Finally on February 14, 1929 the scene is set. Run for cover!Corman used many recognizable faces in the supporting roles. Frank Campanella, Harold J. Stone, David Canary, Richard Bakalyan, Paul Richards, Leo Gordon, John Agar (as Dion O'Bannion), Milton Frome and Alex Rocco among others appear in various roles. Corman regulars Jonathon Haze, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Bruce Dern and yes Jack Nicholson have smaller parts.Not the best gangster film ever made but an entertaining one nonetheless.

The_Void For me, the great Roger Corman will always be best remembered for his film versions of classic Edgar Allen Poe stories; but he also made a lot of films outside of the horror genre and clearly stories of true American crime interested him as aside from this film he also directed Bloody Mama based on Ma Barker. The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre has a fairly strong cult following and I went into this film with some fairly high hopes because of that; although unfortunately I have to say that I'm not as big a fan as many as while this is undoubtedly an interesting and well made crime film; it also has several flaws. The plot focuses on the Prohibition era and in particular the rivalry between two prominent gangs, one of which lead by the infamous Al Capone. As the title suggests; the main focus of the film is on the famous 'Saint Valentines Day Massacre' which saw a group of men gunned down in cold blood. The film focuses on the main players in both the gangs and focuses on the events up to and including the incident.As anyone who knows anything about Roger Corman would expect; the film does not benefit from a big budget and in some ways feels like a cheaper version of several big budget crime flicks. However, in spite of this, Corman still manages to give his film a good style and the film really does feel like its taking place in the late 1920's. The plot does not play out like a regular crime film and instead we get a fragmented report on the key events and it almost feels like it could be a documentary with reconstructions. Corman was obviously keen to focus on the history too as there's a voice-over that fills the audience in on key happenings. In my opinion, the film would have been better as a straight drama as the way it has been done means that it's interesting in parts and then not interesting in others and there's not a great deal of fluency which is a shame. The film has a sense of inevitability to it all the way through as it's always clear how it will end and while it contains no surprises; The St Valentines Day Massacre is at least a successful retelling of the famous event of it's title.