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| Headin' Home (1920) Babe Ruth, Ruth Taylor, William Sheer, Margaret Seddon, Frances Victory, James A. Marcus Director: Lawrence C. Windom; Producers: William Shea and Herbert H. Yudkin Writing Credits: Arthur 'Bugs' Baer (titles), Earle Browne (story) After helping Arnold Rothstein fix the 1919 World Series, Abe Attell had a run of luck gambling. He decided to invest in a film and with amazing chutzpah invested in a baseball movie, this one, starring none other than the game's greatest star, George Herman "Babe" Ruth. Attell arranged with fight promoter Tex Rickard to book the film for a week at Madison Square Garden. For prices ranging from 25 cents to $1.00, patrons could watch Headin' Home, hear the fifty-piece Black Devil Band, and see heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey in person. The film is not very noteworthy save for the Babe and for the presence of Raoul Walsh on Headin' Home's crew (Walsh was listed as "supervisor"). Miami (1923) Betty Compson, Lawford Davidson, Hedda Hopper, J. Barney Sherry, Lucy Fox Director: Alan Crosland Rothstein's future mistress Inez Norton doubled for star Betty Compson. The Wedding March (1928) Erich von Stroheim, Fay Wray, Matthew Betz, Zasu Pitts, George Fawcett Director: Erich von Stroheim; Producer: Pat Powers. On the night of Rothstein's shooting he dined with Inez Norton at Manhattan's posh Colony Restaurant. From there the couple took a cab to Times Square, where they split up: Rothstein heading for Lindy's Restaurant to do business; Norton to the nearby Rivoli Theater to see Erich von Stroheim's silent epic, The Wedding March, a film about the evils of marrying for money The Mouthpiece (1932) Warren William, Noel Francis, Aline MacMahon, John Wray, Mae Madison, Ralph Ince Director: James Flood, Elliott Nugent Warren William (a largely forgotten actor who was good in just about any role) stars as attorney Vincent "Vince" Day, a character very, very loosely based on Rothstein's own attorney Bill "The Great Mouthpiece" Fallon. Lady for a Day (1933) Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Neds Sparks, Walter Connoly, Jean Parker, Nat Pendleton, Barry Norton, Halliwell Hobbes Director: Frank Capra; Producer: Harry Cohn Writing Credits: Robert Riskin, Damon Runyon (story) Not a whole hell of a lot to directly do with Rothstein, but the best film version of the works of Rothstein pal Damon Runyon--and the best celluloid recreation of Damon Runyon's (and Rothstein's) Broadway. Nominated for four Oscars' Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Adaptation. Great fun, a great film. See it. International House (1933) Peggy Hopkins Joyce, W. C. Fields, Rudy Vallee, Stu Irwin, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Cab Calloway, Bela Lugosi, Rose Marie, Franklin Pangborn Director: Edward Sutherland; Producer: Emanuel Cohen Writing Credits: Neil Brant, Walter DeLeon, Louis E. Heifetz, Francis Martin Rothstein gambling house steerer Peggy Hopkins Joyce portrays herself in this bizarre and ribald pre-code comedy. Now I'll Tell (1934) Spencer Tracy, Helen Twelvetrees, Alice Faye, Robert Gleckler, Henry O'Neill, Hobert Cavanagh, G. P. Huntley, Jr., Shirley Temple, Ronnie Cosby, Ray Cooke, Frank Marlowe, Clarence Wilson, Barbara Weeks, Theodore Newton, Vince Barnett Director: Edwin J. Burke. Producer: Winfield Sheehan Based on Carolyn Rothstein's memoirs, Now I'll Tell, and improbably features Spencer Tracy as Murray Golden, the character based on Arnold Rothstein--and includes the yet-unknown Shirley Temple in a bit part. Reviewers praised Tracy, but the film did only mediocre business. "Mrs. Rothstein," Donald Henderson Clarke, co-author of Now I'll Tell, noted, "was consulted frequently during the preparation of the scenario, at which time she was engaged in getting her own material in shape. A motion picture is not constructed on the plan of a book of facts. In this instance, both the film and the book of facts have been built upon the same material, but the film has been fictionalized, as is necessary." Clarke was right. The film placed even more emphasis of A.R.'s relationship with Carolyn Rothstein, than her own book did, and included a highly fanciful theory regarding her role in his death. In any case, playwright Mark Linder sued Fox, claiming the studio had plagiarized his failed stage play Room 349 (alternately titled Bumped Off). The American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-1940 lists two interesting names in bit parts: Susan Fleming (Mrs. Harpo Marx) and Inez Norton, Arnold Rothstein's mistress. Said Mordaunt Hall in the June 26, 1934 New York Times: "The Roxy's present pictorial offering is a compilation of incidents culled chiefly from Mrs. Arnold Rothstein's book, 'Now I'll Tell,' but the persons involved have different names. The central figure, for instance, is not known as Arnold Rothstein, but as Murray Golden, who, of course, is a dyed-in-the-wool gambler, Arnold Rothstein. Although it is by-no-means an edifying narrative, it is a forceful, expertly fashioned film. "As Golden, Spencer Tracy gives a vivid performance. It is, indeed, as thorough a characterization as has been seen on the screen." Released in the United Kingdom as When New York Sleeps. Manhattan Melodrama (1934) Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Leo Carillo, Nat Pendleton, George Sidney, Isabel Jewell, Muriel Evans, Thomas E. Jackson, Isabelle Keith, Frank Conroy Director: W.S. Van Dyke, George Cukor; Producer: David O. Selznick Music: Richard Rodgers (song "The Bad in Every Man [Blue Moon]"), William Axt Arnold Rothstein doesn't appear in this classic 1930s classic gangster film, but the plot revolves a shooting in a hotel room and a forgotten overcoat that looks a lot like somebody else's overcoat--much like in Rothstein's own murder. At one point in the film a police official alludes to how similar the case is to the Rothstein killing. Manhattan Melodrama is most remembered because it was this movie that John Dillinger and Anna Sage, "The Lady in Red," saw on the night of July 22,1934 at Chicago's Biograph theatre before Dillinger was gunned down by federal agents. Arhur Caesar won a Best Original Story Oscar for his work on Manhattan Melodrama. Bullets or Ballots (1936) Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Joe King, Dick Purcell, George E. Stone, Joseph Crehan, Henry O'Neill Director: William Keighley; Producer: Louis F. Edelman Robinson plays "Johnny Blake," a tough New York City Detective, based on real-life cop Johnny Broderick. Broderick was a throwback. He once threw Rothstein bodyguard Legs Diamond into a garbage can. On another occasion, he attended a gangster's funeral and literally spat in the deceased's eye. What Bullets or Ballots doesn't tell you (among other things) is that when the Communist-led International Fur Workers Union struck in February 1926, with guidance from Rothstein, according to Communist party operative Maurice Malkin the union paid off to the tune of $100,000 went, with "between $45,000 and $50,000 was paid Johnny Broderick, head of the Industrial Squad." In this far-fetched plot Blake (Robinson) infiltrates the numbers racket and butts head with mobster Nick "Bugs" Fenner (Bogart). This was the first of five films Robinson and Bogart did together. Rose of Washington Square (1939) Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Al Jolson, William Frawley, Joyce Compton, Horace McMahon, Moroni Olsen Director: Gregory Ratoff; Producers: Nunnally Johnson and Farryl F. Zanuck The story of an allegedly fictional Ziegfeld Follies star and her con-man husband. Fanny Brice didn't think it was fictional enough and sued Twentieth-Century Fox sued for $100,000. She settled for $40,000. Nicky Arnstein received another $25,000. The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940) George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, John Litel Director: Vincent Sherman A re-make of The Mouthpiece, with George Brent in the Fallon role. Also released as Broadway Lawyer and The Sentence. Illegal (1955) Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mansfield, Albert Dekker Director: Lewis Allen; Producers: Edmund Grainger, Bryan Foy Yet another re-make of The Mouthpiece, with Edward G. Robinson in the Fallon role. Guys and Dolls (1955) Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, Robert Keith, Stubby Kaye, B. S. Pully, Johnny Silver, Sheldon Leonard, Danny Dayton, Regis Toomey Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz; Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Writing Credits: Abe Burrows, Joseph L. Mankiewicz The musical version of Damon Runyon's Times Square. The character of Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) was supposedly originally based on Rothstein, and Sky Masterson (Brando) on Alvin "Titanic" Thompson. Nominated for four Oscars. The best part, without doubt, is Stubby Kaye singing Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat. Beau James (1957) Bob Hope, Vera Miles, Paul Douglas, Alexis Smith, Darren McGavin, Joe Mantell, Horace McMahon, Richard Shannon, Willis Bouchey, Sid Melton, Walter Catlett Director: Melville Shavelson; Producer: Jack Rose Non-Original Music: Richard Rodgers (song "Manhattan"), Jimmy Walker No Rothstein in sight but the only film based on the career on New York City's corrupt Mayor James J. Walker. Typical Bob Hope vehicle. Cameo appearances by George Jessel and Jimmy Duranty as themselves. Narration by Walter Winchell. Based on the book by Gene Fowler. Pocketful of Miracles (1959) Glenn Ford, Bette Davis, Hope Lange, Arthur O'Connell, Peter Falk, Thomas Mitchell Producer, Director: Frank Capra Capra's hugely inferior remake of Lady for a Day. Nonetheless, nominated for three Academy Awards' Best Supporting Actor (Peter Falk), Color Cinematography (Edith Head and Walter Plunkett), Song (James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn for "Pocketful of Miracles"). Glenn Ford as a gangster? Fuggedaboutit! The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) Ray Danton, Karen Steele, Elaine Stewart, Jesse White, Simon Oakland, Warren Oates, Frank DeKova, Joseph Ruskin, Dyan Cannon, Richard Gardner Director: Budd Boetticher Writing Credit: Joseph Landon This rather forgettable film had Legs Diamond involved in Rothstein's murder. Robert Lowery portrayed Rothstein. Cinematography by Lucien Ballard, who went on to do The Wild Bunch. Butterfield 8 (1960) Elizabeth Taylor, Lawrence Harvey, Eddie Fisher, Dina Merrill. Director: Daniel Mann; Producer: Pandro S. Berman. You might not think there's an Arnold Rothstein connection here, but there is. On the night of November 4, 1928, New York's Mayor Jimmy Walker was at Westchester County's Woodmansten Inn with his girlfriend Betty Compton. There, he got news of A.R.'s shooting. In the Woodmansten chorus line was a teenaged showgirl named Starr Faithful. Coincidentally, she was a neighbor of Walker's, down on St. Mark's Place in Greenwich Village. Faithfull soon came to her own sad end. On June 8, 1931 her bruised body washed ashore at Long Island's West Long Beach. Local authorities announced it was foul play and that a well-known--but unnamed--politician was involved. Her case briefly aroused considerable public interest, but ultimately nothing further was learned concerning her demise. Novelist John O'Hara based his 1935 novel, Butterfield 8, on the case. Elizabeth Taylor won her first Academy Award for her portrayal of the Faithfull character, Gloria Wandrous, in the 1960 film version. King of the Roaring Twenties--The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961) David Janssen, Dianne Foster, Mickey Rooney, Jack Carson, Diana Dors, Murvyn Vie, Regis Toomey, Robert Ellenstein, Teri Janssen, Jim Baird Director: Joseph M. Newman; Producer: Samuel Bischoff, David Diamond Writing Credits: Leo Katcher, Jo Swerling A pre-Fugitive David Janssen portrays Rothstein in his usual edgy manner. Mickey Rooney does as surprisingly good job as the fictitious "Johnny Burke." Joseph Schildkraut portrays A.R.'s father, Abraham Rothstein. William Demarest (of My Three Sons fame), who claimed to have been introduced to Rothstein on the night of Rothstein's death, had a small role in the film. Based on Leo Katcher's Rothstein biography (Katcher assisted with the screenplay), The Big Bankroll, and released under that title in the United Kingdom. Funny Girl (1968) Barbra Steisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Allen, Mae Questel, Gerald Mohr, Frank Faylen, Mittie Lawrence, Getrude Flynn Director: William Wyler; Producer: Ray Stark The story of Broadway star Fanny Brice (Striesand) and her conman (and Rothstein henchman) husband Nicky Arnstein (Sharif). Oddly enough, Rothstein doesn't show up, but formerly blacklisted actor Lloyd Gough appears as Bill "The Great Mouthpiece" Fallon. Nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress. Barbra Streisand won for Best Actress. A good critique of Funny Girl's factual basis can be found at www.musicals101.com. The Great Gatsby (1974) Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Bruce Wilson, Sam Waterston Director: Jack Clayton; Producer: David Merrick Howard Da Silva portrays F. Scott Fitzgerald's Rothstein character, Meyer Wolfsheim, the gambler who wore cufflinks made of human teeth and fixed the 1919 World Series.There were two previous film versions of The Great Gatsby, in 1926 and 1949 (with Alan Ladd). This was the first Gatsby film to feature the Wolfsheim character. Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola. Oscar winner for Costume Design and for Music (Scoring: Original Song Score and/or Adaptation). The Godfather (Part II) (1974) Al Pacino, Amerigo Tot, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert DeNiro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, G.D. Spradlin, Richard Bright, Bruno Kirby Director/Producer: Francis Ford Coppola No Arnold Rothstein here, but Vito Corleone dubs young hoodlum, Hyman Suchowski, "Hyman Roth" because of his admiration for Rothstein ("I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919," Roth will eventually tell Michael Corleone). Lee Strasberg plays the older Roth; John Megna portrays him as a young man. Lepke (1975) Tony Curtis, Anjanette Comer, Michael Callan, Warren Berlinger, Vic Tayback Director: Menahem Golan No Rothstein, but Lepke Buchalter (Curtis), his sidekick Gurrah Shapiro (Berlinger), Lucky Luciano (Tayback), Little Augie Orgen, and Dutch Schultz. Gangster Wars (1981) Michael Nouri, Joe Penny, Brian Benben, Jonathan Banks, Richard S. Castellano Director: Richard C. Sarafian Writing Credits: Richard DeKoker All the usual suspects turn up in this slow-moving flick: Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz, Joe Masseria, Al Capone. Veteran character actor George DiCenzo is Rothstein and also portrayed him in the 1981 TV-miniseries The Gangster Chronicles. Eight Men Out (1988) John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner, Christopher Lloyd, John Mahoney, Charlie Sheen, David Strathairn, D.B. Sweeney, Don Harvey, Michael Rooker, Perry Lang, James Read, Jace Alexander, Gordon Clapp, Richard Edson, Bill Irwin, Michael Mantell, Kevin Tighe, Studs Terkel, John Anderson. Director: John Sayles Writing Credits: Eliot Asinof (book), John Sayles (movie) A quite faithful adaption of Eliot Asinof's finely written study of the Black Sox scandal, Eight Men Out makes the rare mistake of being too faithful to the original book. Filled with far too many characters, many of whom look like one another (particulalry when wearing unnumbered White Sox uniforms), the film suffers from a lack of focus. Actor Michael Lerner's portrayal of Rothstein is closer to Wolfsheim than to Rothstein. Lerner invariably "plays the kinds of characters who always seem to be sweating," noted film critic Leonard Maltin. Rothstein never sweated. Darren McGavin's portrayal of the smooth, self-assured, sophisticated, and powerful gambler Gus Sands in Barry Levinson's fine 1984 film, The Natural, is far closer to the actual A.R. Mobsters (1991) Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Richard Grieco, Costas Mandylor, Lara Flynn Boyle Director: Michael Karbelnikoff The story of Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, and Frank Costello. F. Murray Abraham portrays Rothstein. Bugsy (1991) Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Richard C. Sarafian, Bebe Neuwirth, Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi Director: Barry Levinson Writing Credits: Dean Jennings, James Toback Close, but again no Rothstein, though his associates Bugsy Siegel (Beatty), Meyer Lansky (Kingsley), Lucky Luciano (Keitel), and Frank Costello (Mantegna) make appearances. Nominated for ten Oscars, won for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. Named best picture of 1991 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Lansky (Made-for-TV 1999) Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Roberts, Anthony LaPaglia, Max Perlich, Illeana Douglas Director: John McNaughton The film gets Rothstein's attitudes toward the liquor traffic right, but for no good reason gets his murder wrong. Stanley DeSantis portrays Rothstein. Richard Dreyfuss is Lansky. The Great Gatsby (Made-for-TV 2001) Mira Sorvino,Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd, Martin Donovan, Francie Swift, William Camp Director: Robert Markowitz Jerry Grayson portrays Meyer Wolfsheim. |
| An Arnold Rothstein Filmography |
| Films featuring the gambler Arnold Rothstein as a character, a character based on Rothstein, or taking a look (however fictionalized) at Arnold Rothstein's world. |
| Helen Twelvetrees comforts Spencer Tracy in 1934's Now I'll Tell |
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| Rothstein: |
| Rothstein Photo Galleries: |