Casino

 

[VIDEO] I saw the film Casino over the holidays. It's a Martin Scorsese picture which basically is about the story surrounding the skim of Las Vegas casino's.

In this movie, a man by the name of Sam "Ace" Rothstein arrived on the scene to take control of the Tangiers Casino. The mob put some money behind this casino as illustrated during the course of this movie. After seemingly being concerned about his role or having a license Rothstein who's known as a bookmaker that specializes in betting, takes to his role in the casino with vigor.

Of course there would be no mob movie with members of the Mafia. We get treated to the criminal exploits of Nicky Santoro who was sent by the Midwestern Mafia crime syndicates to Las Vegas to look over their interests. He quickly forms a gang specializing in burglary, the like to cut holes in the targets of the burglaries. In real life as this film's basis this gang was known as the Hole in the Wall Gang.

Anyway the train wreck begins when Rothstein marries a beautiful hustler named Ginger McKenna. He woos her with money, however, it seems she has issues that money just won't be able to solve. We see the marriage of Rothstein and Ginger unravel as we head towards the end of the movie.

Then we see Santoro meet his demise as his counterpart does in real life. We see the life that Rothstein enjoyed also unravel as he is denied his license so he can run the fictional Tangiers due to his own ties to organized crime. And worse still he becomes the subject of a very explosive assassination attempt.

The mobsters who were profiting from the casino skim in Las Vegas well they go under the scrutiny of federal authorities. We find out that Las Vegas has become more of a family friend town which is no longer funded by the illicit activities of gangsters. Rothstein survives living in a home in California back to what he does best being an odds maker for sports betting.

I enjoy this movie because in real life a lot of the characters with Rothstein and Santoro were actually Chicago based. I learned that one of the consultants for this movie was a Chicago gangster - though not a "made man" - named Frank Cullotta who you might have seen in a few brief scenes in the movie as a mafia hitman. His character was represented by Frank Vincent - Mr. "Go get your shine box".

Goodfellas

There are no specifics as far as which cities were involved with the skim. We know that this is primarily a Midwestern operation. Kansas City, Missouri is mentioned the most in this film though in real life Chicago and Milwaukee were noted as part of the casino skim in Las Vegas.

So basically the lights of Las Vegas is the most appealing part of this movie. Seeing a man grow into his role of running a casino being given the non-descript title of food and beverage manager. Then it all falls apart from the bedroom to the casino to even falling apart in front of the gaming commission. One scene was inspired by Lefty Frank Rosenthal (Ace Rothstein) and his confrontation of future U.S. Senator Harry Reid. And from the fallout with the mafia to ultimately a very explosive attempt on Rothstein's life just shows us the web that was tangled.

I can't wait for my next visit to Vegas which doesn't have as much organized crime influence as it might have in the 1970s. It's probably more family friendly relatively speaking, and if I wanted a blueberry muffin I hope chefs in casino kitchens use enough blueberries in each muffin. I probably won't be gambling, however, it would be cool to at least visit The Stardust which was one of the casinos that Lefty Rosenthal was charged with running at the behest of the Midwestern crime syndicates.

Beyond that it was great to finally see this movie again after so many years....

Two other Movie Cabinet posts published here

When I first published this review of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Roger Ebert hadn't passed away although his longtime partner on TV Gene Siskel had by the time I shared that video. Ebert passed away after a very debilitating illness in 2013 his face unfortunately forever disfigured still had a friendly and approachable personality. They both loved this animated Batman film released in 1993.

• Siskel & Ebert Review Batman Mask of The Phantasm

Also there's this old long ago newsreel from Paramount News about the life of one Huey Long from Louisiana. He was a populist not much different than a Bernie Sanders or a Donald Trump although ideologically he probably was closer to a Bernie Sanders. He was a very powerful and popular Governor of Louisiana and was elected to the U.S. Senator. He developed a very powerful machine that at the time of his assassination in Louisiana he was still largely in control of. 

• Newsreel: Sen. Huey Long

Newsreel: Sen. Huey Long

For some reason I have taken in an interest in a very ancient way of digesting news. This ancient way is referred to as the Newsreel. Certainly in the days before TV this is the primary reason beyond probably radio or newspapers that people got their news. Like short subjects consisting of movie serials, comedies, or even cartoons these presentations would precede the feature film. Even better some of these newsreels were attractions at those theaters dedicated to exhibiting newsreels.

In an era where people can often produce pieces of original citizen journalism I wouldn't mind if these types of media made a comeback. People with a video camera and decenting videography and editing skills can share their vids even if such work won't proceed the main attraction. Especially if we have tools like YouTube to share this work.

In any event this newsreel comes to us courtesy of Paramount News. I'm sure most of us have heard of at least FOX Movietone News, especially if we've seen them on either AMC (when they actually showed classic movies) or even on FOX News Channel when there was an hour devoted to showing old FOX newsreels on the weekends.

Anyway this story was a documentary on the life of former Louisiana Governor and US Senator Huey Long. There is a lot of discussion of the man and his role in Louisiana and future aspirations of this very brash and bold politician. It was thought that he might be a candidate for President in 1936 until he was shot in the Louisiana state capitol where he continued to hold his sway. That's where this newsreels ends talking about the assassination and footage of his casket leaving the grounds of the Louisiana capitol.

I hope that I can show more newsreels in the future.