"Seven Against the Wall" is an episode of the American anthology series ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

''. It was about the

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, ...

''.

Cast

* Paul Lambert as

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

* Dennis Patrick as George 'Bugs' Moran *

Frank Silvera Frank Alvin Silvera (July 24, 1914 – June 11, 1970) was a Jamaican-born American character actor and theatrical director. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Boston, Silvera dropped out of law school in 1934 after winning his first stage ...

as Nick Sorrello * Paul Stevens as Jack 'Machine Gun Jack' McGurn * Dennis Cross as Pete 'Goosey' Gusenberg * Barry Cahill as Frank 'Tight Lips' Gusenberg *

Richard Carlyle Richard Carlyle (March 20, 1914 – November 15, 2009) was a film, television and Broadway actor. Early years Carlyle was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. His education included attendance at Sherwood Dramatic Art School and the Art I ...

as Reinhardt Schwimmer * Al Ruscio as Albert 'Gorilla Al' Weinshank *

George Keymas George Keymas (November 18, 1925 – January 17, 2008) was an American film actor, film and television actor.Martin p.68 Keymas graduated from Springfield (Ohio) High School. Keymas began his Hollywood career in 1950, mainly in Westerns. His f ...

as James Clark * Milton Frome as Adam Heyer *

Wayne Heffley Wayne Heffley (July 15, 1927 – November 19, 2008) was an American television and film actor, known for the role of Vern Scofield on ''Days of Our Lives'', as well as over 100 other roles. He died of kidney failure in 2008. He was guitarist ...

as John May * Nesdon Booth as Mike 'The Pike' Heitler * Joe de Santis as Charlie 'Trigger Happy' Fischetti * Tige Andrews as Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti * Lewis Charles as Jake 'Greasy Thumb' Guzik * Paul Burke as Paul Salvanti * Don Gordon as 'Bobo' Borotta * Richard Sinatra as John Scalise * Tito Vuolo as Albert Anselmi *

Karl Lukas Karl Lukas, born Karol Louis Lukasiak (August 21, 1919 – January 16, 1995) was an American film and television actor. He was best known for playing Pvt. Stash Kadowski in ''The Phil Silvers Show''. Lukas guest-starred in numerous television ...

as Willie Marks * Warren Oates as Ted Ryan *

Nicholas Georgiade Nicholas Georgiade (March 25, 1933 – December 19, 2021) was an American film and television actor, best known for playing Agent Rico Rossi in the television series ''The Untouchables''. Early life and education Georgiade was born in New York C ...

as Rocco * Sid Cassel as Angelo * Joe Abdullah as Joey * Robert Cass as O'Meara * Paul Maxwell as Cooley * Arthur Hanson as Mueller * Connie Davis as Mrs. Walsh * Jean Inness as Mrs. Greeley * Celia Lovsky as Mrs. Schwimmer *

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, ...

as Pete's Girl * Richard Venture as Passerby

Production

The show was based on a book by

Howard Browne Howard Browne (April 15, 1908 – October 28, 1999) was an American science fiction editor and mystery writer. He also wrote for several television series and films. Some of his work appeared over the pseudonyms John Evans, Alexander Blade ...

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "a serviceable documentary" with "some extremely effecitve moments." The show was very popular and

John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director ...

claimed it helped revive the popularity of gangster films. "There hadn't been a real Al Capone gangster film for a long time and this brought them back again, both at the cinema and on television", he said. Howard Browne later wrote other film versions of the story, including ''

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, ...

'' (1967) and ''

Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

'' (1975).

Lawsuit

Industrialist Titus Haffa sued the show's makers for $10 million for libel and defamation complaining the show showed a headline "Titus Haffa gets two years" associating him with crime. Haffa later issued a second complaint. A person called Abe Bernstein also sued claiming the show said "Abe Bernstein" was head of

The Purple Gang The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, was a criminal mob of bootleggers and hijackers comprised predominantly of Jewish gangsters. They operated in Detroit, Michigan, during the 1920s of the Prohibition era and came to be Detr ...

References

External links

*
''Seven Against the Wall''
at Paley Centre 1958 American television episodes 1958 television plays Playhouse 90 (season 3) episodes {{US-tv-episode-stub