St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Roger Corman was given the huge budget (for him) of one million dollars by 20th Century Fox to produce this documentary-esque depiction of the infamous 1929 shooting of seven Chicago mobsters. It's a fascinating reproduction of a time when bloodshed was plotted in business boardrooms and tommy guns were a daily fact of urban living. Jason Robards stars as mob boss Al Capone, with Raplh Meeker as his North Side rival Bugsy Moran. George Segal is Peter Gusenberg, one of Bugsy's henchmen targeted for takedown. To add a little sex and spice, there's a lengthy domestic-dispute scene between Gusenberg and his lovely negligee-clad moll (Jean Hale). The rest is strictly business and bullets though, with Robards chewing the scenery to nice little splinters and lots of Corman regulars appearing in bit parts, including Barboura Morris and Dick Miller. Bruce Dern appears a getaway driver. One has to keep a sharp watch to find Jack Nicholson, who floats through several scenes as one of Capone's assassins. It's a fast-moving, well-told saga, with excellent period reproduction thanks to sets refurbished from MY FAIR LADY and great deadpan narration by Paul Frees.