Kansas City Massacre
Director: Dan Curtis
Year: 1975
Rating: 6.0
On June 17th 1933 four law enforcement agents
and a prisoner were killed in a shoot-out at Union Station in Kansas City.
In those days that was considered a massacre. Today that would just be put
down as another mass killing that would receive thoughts and prayers. That
was about the only thing in the film that was true. The rest is basically
fiction but reasonably entertaining fiction for a TV film with a good bit
of firepower. It is directed by Dan Curtis who had directed Melvin Purvis
G-Man the year before for television. Purvis was the most acclaimed FBI agent
in America having been responsible for the killings of Dillinger, Machine
Gun Kelly and Pretty Boy Floyd. A pretty good record. But he was nowhere
near Kansas City on June 17th. But what the hell, this film places him there
anyways. Right in the middle of the shootout.
The film bounces back and forth between
Purvis chasing after the gangsters and the gangsters. Mainly consisting of
Pretty Boy Floyd (Bo Hopkins), Adam Richette (Robert Walden) and Frank Nash
(Mills Watson). Also making guest appearances are Dillinger, Alvin Creepy
Karpis, Baby Face Nelson and two of the Barker brothers. According to this
they all get together at a farm house and plan how to launder their stolen
money. They are like a fun loving fraternity - sometimes threatening to kill
each other, other times hugging each other. A little disappointed that Machine
Gun Kelly wasn't there. I am pretty sure no such meeting took place but a
lot of these legendary bank robbers of the time did in fact know each other.
It was a club. The Die Young Club. Nash is captured by Purvis and while transferring
him in Kansas Pretty Boy Floyd, Richette and a few others try and free him
- or kill him. History debates that as it does whether Floyd and Richette
were even there. Floyd swore he wasn't involved.
Purvis is played by a gruff but folksy Dale
Robertson who is mainly known for the TV show, Tales of Wells Fargo which
ran for 200 episodes back in the late 1950s. He had also played Purvis in
the other film. Purvis became too famous for Hoover's liking and he forced
him out as he had many others including all females when he became head of
the FBI. This is ok - it is brought down by one of those horrible Dukes
of Hazzard type of soundtracks with fiddles and blaring brass - that is supposed
to be comical but is just irritating. Bo Hopkins steals it from Roberts with
a good-old-boy performance and an ah shucks smile. The real Pretty Boy Floyd
wasn't nearly as good looking. In fact, not pretty at all.
Melvin Purvis