The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) on Netflix
In Prohibition-era Chicago, Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran lead rival gangs fighting over bootlegging and gambling. Capone gives his gunman Jack McGurn the job of eliminating Moran.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on Prime
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.6/105,286 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes75%
Featurette
Plot summary
Moran's lieutenants, the brothers Peter and Frank Gusenberg, lean on speakeasy owners to sell them protection, and Peter quarrels with his moll, Myrtle, over her spending. Their boss, George "Bugs" Moran, wants the city's bootlegging and gambling operations, which puts him against Al Capone, who resents the North Side gang's growth. Capone remembers the earlier attempts on his life and gives the recovered Jack McGurn the assignment of getting rid of Moran. Moran works with the mafioso Joe Aiello to kill Patsy Lolordo, Capone's friend and the Sicilian Mafia's representative in Chicago, and put Aiello in his place. McGurn sets an elaborate plan in motion, and Capone leaves for his winter home in Miami before two of his men, in police uniforms, stage a raid on the north side garage used by Moran's gang.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Roger Corman offered the role of Al Capone to Orson Welles and that of George "Bugs" Moran to Jason Robards, but 20th Century Fox vetoed Welles, warning he would try to take over directing, and suggested Robards play Capone instead.
- Before filming, Corman had his actors study photographs of the real murder scene; after a single take, the massacre matched the photos, each actor's collapse matching the position in which the real victim fell.
- Corman wanted Jack Nicholson for a key supporting role, but Fox insisted he use an actor under studio contract; Corman still cast Nicholson and Bruce Dern in small roles that ran the entire shoot, ensuring them a decent payday.
- The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was budgeted at $2.5 million, the most expensive film of Roger Corman's career after The Wild Angels' $350,000; Corman later claimed the film itself cost $1 million and the rest was studio overhead.
- Corman filmed the massacre scene on a Desilu lot converted to resemble the garage where the crime was committed, because the real garage had been demolished before production began; he had wanted to shoot in Chicago.
- Corman was drawn to the St. Valentine's Day massacre because it had never been the main subject of an entire film, though it had often been referenced in other films.
