In 1960 there was a movie called Murder Inc., telling the story of that infamous organization. The book by that name actually came out in 1951 and also inspired this movie. Humphrey Bogart plays the Burton Turkus character, who was so successful in putting away many of the members of Murder Inc. and sending to the electric chair the only major mob boss ever to be executed, Louis (Lepke) Buchalter. Turkus was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn who became known to the mob as Mr. Arsenic because of his incorruptibility and ability to convict organized crime figures. He was also referred to in the press as the only honest man in New York City, an exaggeration, but perhaps only a slight one. Even Turkus' old boss, William O'Dwyer, who rode Turkus' good work into election as the city's mayor, was later forced to resign among charges of massive corruption and mob connections. Everett Sloane is excellently cast as the brilliant, brutal Lepke like character, a small, slight, but terrifying man, who one policeman described as having the eyes of a doe.
The movie is wonderful in revealing to audiences of the day the machinations of the mob. We see that these are not men of honor, but in reality a society of hoodlums whose every move is motivated by a desire to enrich and empower themselves, and where the rule for bosses on the run is kill everyone, friend and foe alike, who could conceivably incriminate them. We also see how the mob, now concerned about electronic surveillance has come up with code words like contract and hit to confuse law enforcement.
Bogart's device of confronting the incarcerated Sloane with reminders of his victims almost backfires, but instead sets up the film's climax as it demonstrates the long reach possessed by crime chieftains even behind bars. And though seemingly all of his witnesses have been murdered or otherwise neutralized, we see a way for Bogart to eventually prosecute his protagonist.
One moment in the film that is simultaneously comic and chilling comes when Rico is on the way back from a murder. Riding in the back of a truck with the victim in a laundry cart that is nearby, Rico, who is the chief, looks at one of his subordinates, Vince, who is acting very nervously. Concerned about a possible weak link, he turns to Vince and says, "You know, I think there's room for you in the basket too." With that he casually kills the man, as the group of thugs just calmly continue on.
In real life Lepke does get executed along with two of his chief henchmen, Mendy Weiss and Louis Capone (no relation to Al). Loyal to the end both men chose the same final meal as the boss, a chicken dinner.
The movie is wonderful in revealing to audiences of the day the machinations of the mob. We see that these are not men of honor, but in reality a society of hoodlums whose every move is motivated by a desire to enrich and empower themselves, and where the rule for bosses on the run is kill everyone, friend and foe alike, who could conceivably incriminate them. We also see how the mob, now concerned about electronic surveillance has come up with code words like contract and hit to confuse law enforcement.
Bogart's device of confronting the incarcerated Sloane with reminders of his victims almost backfires, but instead sets up the film's climax as it demonstrates the long reach possessed by crime chieftains even behind bars. And though seemingly all of his witnesses have been murdered or otherwise neutralized, we see a way for Bogart to eventually prosecute his protagonist.
One moment in the film that is simultaneously comic and chilling comes when Rico is on the way back from a murder. Riding in the back of a truck with the victim in a laundry cart that is nearby, Rico, who is the chief, looks at one of his subordinates, Vince, who is acting very nervously. Concerned about a possible weak link, he turns to Vince and says, "You know, I think there's room for you in the basket too." With that he casually kills the man, as the group of thugs just calmly continue on.
In real life Lepke does get executed along with two of his chief henchmen, Mendy Weiss and Louis Capone (no relation to Al). Loyal to the end both men chose the same final meal as the boss, a chicken dinner.