A warning. This motion picture depicts without flinching the most shocking event of America's lawless era.


Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that lead to the bloody title showdown between rival mobsters Al Capone (Jason Robards) and Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker) that marked a brutal end to a terrifying era. Fred Steiner's film score is effectively mixed with popular songs from the 1920s, and the re-creation of gangster-era Chicago is a credit to the set designers. Historic and insightful narration is dramatically provided by Paul Frees, giving the film the flavor of a docudrama. Jean Hale plays Moran's gun moll, who is mercilessly kneed in the stomach while arguing over a fur coat. Though The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was heralded by critics at the time of its initial release, their opinion of the film has changed with each decade as they waver on the cinematic value of all of Corman's work. Audiences continue to relish the film, which is often shown on the anniversary of the bloody executions. Watch for Jack Nicholson as one of the unfortunate victims.


The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 gangster film based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside Gang (lead by George "Bugs" Moran) on orders from Al Capone. It was directed by Roger Corman and written by Howard Browne.
The film starred Jason Robards as Al Capone, George Segal as Peter Gusenberg, David Canary as Frank Gusenberg and Ralph Meeker as George "Bugs" Moran.
Orson Welles was originally supposed to play Capone, but Twentieth Century Fox vetoed the deal, fearing that Welles was "undirectable."[3] The film's narration had a style similar to that of Welles, but it was actually narrated by well-known Hollywood voice actor Paul Frees.
A young Bruce Dern plays one of the victims of the massacre, and Jack Nicholson has a bit part as a gangster. Also featured are Jan Merlin as one of Moran's lieutenants and veteran Corman actor Dick Miller as one of the phony policemen involved in the massacre.


The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was not, as might be guessed, inspired by the 1959-63 ABC TV series, The Untouchables, but is one of many motion pictures adapted from a CBS Playhouse 90 episode. Seven Against The Wall, broadcast on Playhouse 90 in December 1958, was also written by Harold Browne and featured actors Milton Frome, Celia Lovsky and Frank Silvera in the same roles that they play in the film.
To make certain the film would have the look of a gangster film, Roger Corman shot the film at the Desilu studios and used other sections of the back lot for different locales of Chicago. He filmed the Massacre scene in one of the Desilu lots which got converted to look like the garage where the crime was committed. (The real garage was torn down by the time the movie started production). Another matter was the recreation of the Massacre itself: before filming, Corman found photos of the mass murders. Then he had the actors for the scene study the stills, followed by rehearsals and the actual shoot. After one take, the massacre came in the way it looked in the old photos and the collapse of each actors followed the positions the murder victims fell in the real massacre.
The film was one of the few that Roger Corman directed from a major Hollywood studio with a generous budget and an open-ended schedule. While most directors would love such an assignment, Corman was disgusted with the incredible waste of time and money involved with "typical" movie production techniques. He was given a $2.5 million budget and made it for $400,000 less.[4] Corman, an independent director, was most comfortable in his own style: shoestring budgets, and shooting schedules measured in days, rather than weeks. Nonetheless, it is generally considered one of his best films as a director.


Release Date: July 28, 1967


Distrib: 20th Century Fox


Trivia: Name these movies that had Al Capone in them and the actor who played Capone in each by the poster tagline:


A) THIS IS HOLLYWOOD'S CONFIDENTIAL STORY! The secrets! The Shocks! The Escapades!


B) From Underworld To Empire

C) It was the age of speakeasies and jazz... when everybody sinned, ginned and broke the laws... while a vicious crime lord almost took over the nation!

D) He never misses his target, and now his target is

E) There Was Only One.

F) Never stop fighting till the fight is done

G) Alone they controlled the country. Together they would rule the world.

1) 3 actors who played Capone in the questions above won Best Actor Oscars for different films. Name them?