What gets missed about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in which members of Bugs Moran's gang were gunned down, is that, well, they were killed. Murdered. They ceased to exist. And it was not pretty.
OK, that may be going a bit to far but the deaths were indeed gruesome. But the legend of that day is now one for the ages. It can serve as a history lesson and to some, a celebration.
Odd? You bet. But it happened and the celebrations happen.
Here is how the History Channel described that Chicago day: "On February 14, 1929, seven members of Moran's operation were gunned down while standing lined up, facing the wall of the garage. Some 70 rounds of ammunition were fired. When police officers from Chicago's 36th District arrived, they found one gang member, Frank Gusenberg, barely alive. In the few minutes before he died, they pressed him to reveal what had happened, but Gusenberg wouldn't talk."
They added: "Police could find only a few eyewitnesses, but eventually concluded that gunmen dressed as police officers had entered the garage and pretended to be arresting the men. Though Moran and others immediately blamed the massacre on Capone's gang, the famous gangster himself claimed to have been at his home in Florida at the time. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders."
To take a nostalgic trip in time to Chicago on that day, check out the movie from Roger Corman. The aptly titled "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)," is one to rent. Al Capone is played by Jason Robards and George Segal is Peter Gusenberg. A young Bruce Dern makes an appearance as Johnny May and Ralph Meeker is George Clarence "Bugs" Moran.
While not an great film by any stretch, this film is both campy and intriguing, if nothing else, because it is about gangsters and Chicago. Compare it to "Boardwalk Empire," "The Sopranos," "Goodfellas" or "The Godfather" and then it would be a comedy.
Fast facts about the film:
- Orson Welles was considered for the role of Capone.
- Instead of Dern, the name swirling around was Jack Nicholson. Jack had a bit part, however.
- Corman was known for his creative use of sets, etc. Here, he was able to shoot under budget and used other movie sets during shooting.
- The movie's accuracy includes some of the real words spoken by those involved.
An example, George Moran did yell to a reporter: "Only Al Capone kills like that." Capone responded to the press: "Only Moran kills like that. I mean, they don't call that guy 'Bugs' for nothing!"
- Errors include right at the outset with the opening credits. Clark Street is actually a through street running from south of the Loop to the northern city limits. Not here. The narrator notes that Capone was born in Italy but raised in a Brooklyn. Nope. He was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 17, 1899. The film also jumps the gun on the conviction for tax evasion.
* Location was on Chicago's North Side at the SMC Cartage Company.
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