The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)

Roger Corman said he wanted to do something about "gangsterism" which "played a significant role in the development of American culture" but "I wanted to do it honestly, and not in the usual romanticized man-against-the-system."[6]

More specifically, Corman was drawn to the idea of making a film about the St Valentine's Day massacre, which had never been the subject of a whole movie (though it had been frequently referenced in other films). Corman said the massacre was the day that "changed the whole public face of gangsterism - public outcry broke Capone's stranglehold on society."[6]

The massacre had been the focus of a Playhouse 90 episode; Seven Against the Wall, broadcast in December 1958, was written by Harold Browne. Corman hired Browne to write the script for the film. Browne had researched the period and the event extensively. He felt the gangsters were "complex human beings, shrewd, cunning men whose qualities of leadership, had it been directed into honest channels, might have contributed to this country's history, rather than leaving a scar."[6]

Corman had recently endured an unhappy experience working for Columbia, but still wanted to try working at a major studio. In February 1966 he signed to make the film from Brown's script with Richard Zanuck at 20th Century Fox.[7] (Corman later said Fox invited him in to pitch ideas and he told them about Massacre and a biopic about the Red Baron; Fox had just made The Blue Max so went with the gangster film.[8]

Corman made the film following the huge success of The Wild Angels.[9] While Angels had a budget of $350,000, Massacre was budgeted at $2.5 million.[10] It was the most expensive movie he had ever made.[11] (Corman later claimed the film cost $1 million and the rest was studio overhead.[12])

Corman said, "There comes a time when the public conscience needs jolting and in St Valentine's Day Massacre this is our intention. It is also certain that the movie will make money - crime is always box office."[6]

Corman wanted classical actors to play gangsters and offered the part of Capone to Orson Welles and Bugs Moran to Jason Robards. However, Fox did not want Welles, advising Corman that he would try to take over directing; they suggested that Robards play Capone. Corman felt Robards was not physically large enough for the role of Capone and was better suited to play Moran, but did not want to cause trouble after his experience with Columbia and went along with the suggestion.[13]

Corman wanted to cast Jack Nicholson in a key supporting role but Fox insisted the director use an actor they had under contract. However Corman did manage to cast Nicholson and Bruce Dern in small roles that were used for the entire length of the shoot, ensuring them a decent payday.[14]

Corman originally wanted to shoot the film on location in Chicago but eventually did it on the Fox backlot.[6]

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 shoot. After one take, the massacre came in the way it looked in the old photos and the collapse of each actor 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.[15] Corman, an independent director, was most comfortable in his own style: shoestring budgets, and shooting schedules measured in days, rather than weeks. Nonetheless, it generally is considered one of his best films as a director.

Towards the end of the film shoot, Corman felt that the movie was too "male heavy" and added a character who was played by Dee Gardner, who resembled Jean Harlow.[16]

The shoot took just over seven weeks, the longest ever schedule for one of Corman's film. "By the end of the movie I was very weary," he said.[11]

Corman later wrote that "physically, it is one of the best films I ever directed because I was able to walk around the lot and pick those fantastic sets."[17]