''The Kansas City Massacre'' is a 1975 American
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
about
Melvin Purvis
Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short, frame, Purvis became noted for leadi ...
. It is the second spin-off of the 1973 film ''
Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
'', following ''
Melvin Purvis: G-Man'' in 1974, also directed by Dan Curtis and starring Dale Robertson as Purvis.
Plot
Gangsters free one of their colleagues being escorted to prison and kill several FBI agents and local police officers in the attempt. FBI agent Melvin Purvis puts together a special squad to track down and capture the men responsible.
Cast
*
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series '' Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad owner Be ...
as FBI Agent
Melvin Purvis
Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short, frame, Purvis became noted for leadi ...
*
Bo Hopkins
William Mauldin "Bo" Hopkins (February 2, 1938 – May 28, 2022) Issucover/ref> was an American actor. He was known for playing supporting roles in a number of major studio films between 1969 and 1979, and appeared in many television shows and ...
as
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd
* Elliott Street as
George "Baby Face" Nelson
*
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ''Looking for Richard'' ...
as
John Lazia
John Lazia, also known as Brother John (September 22, 1896 – July 10, 1934), was an American organized crime figure in Kansas City, Missouri, during Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition.
Early years
According to his draft card for World ...
*
Matt Clark as
Verne Miller
Vernon C. "Verne" Miller (August 25, 1896 – November 29, 1933) was a freelance Prohibition gunman, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in Huron, South Dakota, who, as the only identified gunman in the Kansas City massacre, was found ...
*
Scott Brady
Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...
as Commissioner Herbert Tucker McElwaine
*
John Karlen
John Karlen (born John Adam Karlewicz; May 28, 1933 – January 22, 2020) was an American character actor who played multiple roles on the ABC serial ''Dark Shadows'' on and off from 1967 to 1971.
In 1971, Karlen starred as the male lead in ''Da ...
as FBI Agent
Sam Cowley
Samuel Parkinson Cowley (July 23, 1899 – November 28, 1934) was an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was killed in the line of duty in a gunfight with Baby Face Nelson in 1934 on Route 14 in Barrington, Illinois.
Cowley was ...
*
Lynn Loring
Lynn Loring (born Lynn Zimring; July 14, 1944) is an American actress and television and film producer.
Career
Born Lynn Zimring in Manhattan, Loring began acting with a role on the anthology series ''Studio One (U.S. TV series), Studio One'' ...
as Vi Morland
*
Robert Walden
Robert Walden (born Robert Wolkowitz; September 25, 1943) is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on ''Lou Grant'', which earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...
as
Adam Richetti
Adam "Eddie" Richetti (August 5, 1909-October 7, 1938) was an American criminal and Depression-era bank robber. He was associated with Aussie Elliott and later Pretty Boy Floyd in the early-1930s, both he and Floyd later being implicated in the ...
*
Mills Watson
Mills Watson (born William Oscar Watson on July 10, 1940)shockcinemamagazine.com Issue No. 5cover/ref> is an American actor who is probably best known for his comedic portrayal of the law enforcement character Deputy Perkins, first on ''B. J. and ...
as
Frank "Jelly" Nash
*
Philip Bruns
Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' and Morty Seinfeld, the fa ...
as Captain Jackson
*
William Jordan as
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...
*
Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...
as Wilma Floyd
*
Morgan Paull
Morgan Paull (December 15, 1944 – July 17, 2012) was an American actor most notable for playing Dave Holden in the Ridley Scott film ''Blade Runner''.
Early life
Morgan Paull was born to a wealthy family in Wheeling, West Virginia and ...
as
Alvin Karpis
Alvin Francis Karpis (born Albin Francis Karpavičius; August 10, 1907 – August 26, 1979), a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born (naturalized American) crim ...
*
Ike Eisenmann
Ike Eisenmann (born July 21, 1962) is a former American actor, producer, and sound effects specialist who has been active in the entertainment industry since childhood.
Early life and education
Eisenmann was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Ru ...
as Jimmie Floyd
*
Brion James
Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in ''Blade Runner'' and appeared in ''Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', ''Tango & Cash'', ' ...
as
Homer Van Meter
Homer Virgil Van Meter (December 3, 1905 – August 23, 1934) was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.
Biography
Early life
Van ...
*
James Gammon
James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.
Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager in the movies '' Major League'' and ' ...
as Garth
Production
Filming was done in
Marysville, California
Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...
.
Reception
The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "a smartly produced, sharply acted slice of TV entertainment."
['K.C. Massacre' in Sharp, Low Key
Adler, Dick. Los Angeles Times 19 Sep 1975: f20.]
See also
*
List of American films of 1975
A list of American films released in 1975.
'' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The highest-grossing film of 1975 was ''Jaws''.
__TOC__
A–B
C–G
H–M
N–S
T–Z
See also
* 1975 in the Uni ...
References
External links
*
1975 television films
1975 films
1970s crime drama films
Biographical films about Depression-era gangsters
American television films
American crime drama films
Cultural depictions of Baby Face Nelson
Cultural depictions of Pretty Boy Floyd
Films directed by Dan Curtis
1975 drama films
1970s American films
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