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Tony45 Veteran user 384 Posts |
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On 2012-11-21 18:48, AMcD wrote: King of the roaring twenties is what it was. If I'm not mistaken, Micky Rooney was also in it, lol. |
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AMcD Inner circle stacking for food! 3078 Posts |
Yep. Actually, the real name is "King of the Roaring Twenties - The Story of Arnold Rothstein", not to be confused with "The Roaring Twenties", with Humphery Bogart.
I probably have watched 250+ movies related to Gambling, Gamblers, Hisory of Gambling, etc., but I can tell you that "King of the Roaring Twenties" is not good, lol. David Janssen plays like rubbish. The life of Mr Rothstein that is depicted is very soft. AR was basically a mobster... |
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Tony45 Veteran user 384 Posts |
Arnold, you ever see "Smart money" ? It was made in 1931 and starred Edward G Robinson and James Cagney. Robinson plays Nick the barber Venizo and is a good gambler who gets clipped in a rigged poker game and turns the tables on the guys with what he called, short cards, probaly strippers.
Anyway, he goes on to become a gambling house owner, so forth and so on. Its a great little movie with some funny scenes. You can probably get it on Amazon for like $5. |
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AMcD Inner circle stacking for food! 3078 Posts |
Haha Tony, yes, I've seen it. A far better one than "King of the Roaring Twenties" if you ask me! The play of the actors is surely outdated when we see it with our today's standards but I definitely like these old movies. Not to mention I like the style of the women of the last century Cinema, so far from the plastic boobed brainless so-called actresses we have nowadays...
Nick the barber is a funny character. I don't remember exactly all the good quotes but I like when he says "If you don't mind, let's see your dough" or "Nick the barber can shave them (the cards) a little closer than you can". There are dozens of very good movies before 1950. What I like is that they showed moves, paraphernalia, used gambling slang, etc. For instance, in "The Gambling Lady" (1934), in one scene you see a bunch of holdouts I've never seen elsewhere. Today, in movies, it's like "you son of a ***, you cheated me, you ***", they take a gun, bang, bang, 85 dead people, 25 gallons of blood but you don't understand the way they cheated. Take a look at "The Gambling Lady" my friend, you're gonna like the classy woman saying "I can palm'em, stack'em, cold deck'em, anything ya want. And I don't need glasses to read'em". . |
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Vlad_77 Inner circle The Netherlands 5829 Posts |
What is interesting about Rothstein's death in 1928 was the fact that had he not been killed then, he would have probably been whacked after the repeal of Prohibition. Selwyn Raab's superb history of the American Mafia details the fallout of The Castellamarese War as it was called that did wipe out the old "Mustache Petes." Moreover and ironically, it was Rothstein's protege Salvatore Lucania (a.k.a.) "Lucky" Luciano who was largely responsible for the decline in power of Jewish and Irish mobsters with the establishment of The Commission in the 1930s. A Jewish mobster at the time, Michael Hellerman talked about the dangers in challenging the Mafia in matters of money. "Jews, outsiders, wind up on the short end of any sit-down chaired and run by the Mafia. Somehow, we always ended up paying, even when we were right" (Raab, 2006, p. 41). Other powerful non-Italian mobsters during Prohibition such as Owney Madden - who during Prohibition was so dangerous that not even the Italian gangs would venture into his territory (Raab, 2006). After Prohibition was repealed, Madden realized he could not compete with the Mafia and retired to Hot Springs, AR.
The thing about Rothstein was that he was indeed the powerful of the Prohibition mobsters. Many people have credited Meyer Lansky with the formation of the Mafia, but this is simply untrue. At the time, Lansky was an underling of Rothstein's as was Luciano. Furthermore - and this is a HUGE mkisstep by Boardwalk Empire - Lansky NEVER engaged in any violent acts. I am surprised that Scorcese who is usually quite exacting as far as historical events - made Lansky appear violent in the series. Regardless, Rothstein was in many ways a "Mustache Pete" - a derogatory term for the old guard who were unwilling to adapt. Rothstein's considerable power would have been a roadblock to Luciano's plans and by all accounts it would seem that Rothstein would not have surrendered power as did Madden. In short, Rothstein's death came but a few scant years earlier than it would have. Rothstein certainly was a genius. I have often wondered how much more powerful the Mafia would have been - if indeed such a thing was possible - if Rothstein had been Italian. Considering the respect that Luciano had for Rothstein, the two would have made an almost invincible pair. Raab, S. (2006). Five families: The rise, decline and resurgence of America's most powerful Mafia empires. New York: St. Martin's Press. Best, Vlad PS: This season of Boardwalk Empire is setting up the Castellamarese War. It will be interesting to see how the writers decide to play it out. What is not known for instance is that Al Capone feared Luciano (Raab, 2006). So far, Luciano's character seems to be secondary to Capone's Perhaps that's because more people have heard of Capone. |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
There was an old film 1934 "Now I'll Tell" From a story by Mrs. Arnold Rothstein. Specer Tracey plays Rothstein but I don't think she told much.
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/85300/Now......tes.html
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
@Vlad_77: Fascinating commentary. Thanks for taking the time to write it out.
You know more about this than I do and you are from the Netherlands. Hmmm…Do you think you may have been a mobster yourself in a previous life? |
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Tony45 Veteran user 384 Posts |
Rothstein wouldnt have been killed after prohibition, if it didn't come during prohibition from a source outside of the poker game, then he would have just been told by Luciano "Youre with us now", and he would have had to kick up like everyone else, if he didn't, then he might have got hit.
And why do you think Lansky never did violence ? You got to understand the time period, guys were getting shot left and right back then, you didn't rise to a position of any importance unless you had put in some work yourself. You didn't have to be a maniac like Siegel was portrayed but you did have to prove yourself to the people around you or they themselves would walk all over you. that's the true name of that game, the big fish eat the little fish. Lansky put some work in, jusr because it isn't written about doesn't mean it didn't happen. Raab wrote a very good book, one of the best in fact but some things he missed because no matter how good you are, you cant nail everything right, especially on a subject like that which is very murky to begin with and the people that are involved themselves don't even see the full picture all the time, lol. |
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AMcD Inner circle stacking for food! 3078 Posts |
Thanks for the post Vlad.
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Vlad_77 Inner circle The Netherlands 5829 Posts |
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On 2012-11-24 13:28, Cagliostro wrote: LOL Actually, I am originally from the United States and my great-grandfather was in the Black Hand and another very close relative was a connected guy who was an enforcer for an east coast borgata. But my interest in Cosa Nostra really comes from studying Italian history - especially the repreated occupation of Sicily. Giuseppe Garibaldi actually enlisted the "Honored Society's" help in unifying Italy as a nation state 17 March 1871. It's important to note that the Mafia at that time was not considered a criminal organization. Anyhow, glad you guys enjoyed the post. Ciao, Vlad |
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Vlad_77 Inner circle The Netherlands 5829 Posts |
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On 2012-11-24 14:34, Tony45 wrote: Tony, You make some excellentpoints. I would offer however that not only in Raab's history but other accounts as well, there is no evidence to suggest that Rothstein would have allowed himself to be in the position of kicking into Luciano. As for Siegel, again, numerous accounts tell that he was truly a vicious man even by mob standards. Lastly, of course no one can say how much work Lansky put in, but, Lansky, like other non-Southern Italians and Sicilians would never have been "made." Lansky's genius was in organizing and finances. My issue is not with Lansky, but in the way he is being portrayed in Boardwalk Empire. Anyhow, I shouldn't be cluttering this section with tangential Mafia stories, so guys, I will bow out! |
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