NBC's Late Night Mess

On January 10 of this year NBC made the shocking announcement that they intended to move Jay Leno to 11:35 PM Eastern/10:35 PM Central, where he would host a half hour show. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien would be moved to 12:05 Midnight Eastern/11:05 Central. On January 12, Conan O'Brien released a statement in which he expressed his displeasure with NBC, stating that "The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn�t The Tonight Show." It soon became apparent that Conan was not alone in his displeasure. Literally thousands of people have expressed their outrage at NBC on blogs, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and nearly every other venue on the Internet. It would seem that the only people who think NBC's plan is a good idea is NBC and, possibly, Jay Leno.

Ultimately, it would seem that NBC has no one to blame but themselves for this public relations nightmare. It all began in the wake of Jay Leno's departure from The Tonight Show. NBC was so worried that Leno might move to a competing network that they made various offers to him. They offered slots in the daytime or the cable channels linked to NBC. They offered a series of regularly scheduled specials and even a half hour show that would air each weekday at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central. Leno rejected all of these offers. Finally, NBC offered Leno a hour long show that would air each weeknight at 10:00 PM Eastern/9:00 PM Central. While NBC touted Leno's move to primetime with a good deal of fanfare, and behaved as this was some bit of novel programming, in truth late night hosts had moved into primetime before. Indeed, the original host of Tonight,  Steven Allen , made the move to primetime in 1956 and remained there for five years. His successor, Jack Paar, also moved into primetime in 1962. His primetime show aired for three years. Jay Leno was not unique as a Tonight Show host in moving to primetime. He was simply doing what everyone of his predecessors had done except for Johnny Carson.

Even before the debut of The Jay Leno Show, there were observers who expected it to fail. In Time James Poniewozik expressed his doubts about the show. In The Atlantic Derek Thompson also expressed his doubts about the show. While there were many who thought Leno would succeed in primetime, there were yet others who predicted the poor ratings it has received (I did so myself in this blog). Even at least one NBC affiliate had its doubts as to the ability of The Jay Leno Show to perform in the ratings. WHDH in Boston, Massachusetts announced they would not carry the show for fear that it would be a detriment to the station's late local news. NBC claimed this would be in violation of the station's contract with the network and that it would remove all NBC programming from WHDH if it did not air The Jay Leno Show. In the end WHDH backed down and did air the programme.

Unfortunately for NBC, it appears that the various observers, not to mention WHDH, who expressed their doubts about The Jay Leno Show were right. The Jay Leno Show did not simply perform poorly in the ratings. It was a catastrophic failure. While the show did well in the ratings early on, by October it was routinely being beaten by the dramas on CBS and ABC except for the now long gone series Eastwick. It was even beaten by a rerun of CSI: Miami.  NBC's affiliates were extremely upset, believing that with its bottom of the barrel ratings The Jay Leno Show was losing the audience for their late local news.

As to The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the programme began in June 2009 with fairly strong ratings. As time passed, however, the show was nearly in a dead heat with The Late Show with David Letterman. By November The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien was down two million viewers from when Jay Leno had hosted the show, although its ratings were still quite respectable. Curiously, since the controversy over returning to Jay Leno erupted, the programme's ratings have taken a leap, to the point that yesterday The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien received an unheard of 1.9 rating.


Sadly, NBC's reaction to both the disastrous showing of The Jay Leno Show and the moderate success of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien would seem to be bereft of all rhyme and reason. Indeed, in The New York Times Dick Ebsersol not only went so far as to defend Jay Leno in this current controversy, but to viciously attack Conan O'Brien. Aside from rather inappropriate insults directed at O'Brien, Ebersol laid the blame for the lower ratings The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien squarely at the feet of Conan O'Brien. It seems blatantly obvious to me that Ebsersol (for whom I have lost all respect) and NBC have not objectively analysed the situation whatsoever. The simple fact is that following its debut in September, The Jay Leno Show brought with it what became know n in the industry as "the Leno effect." Historically, viewers have tended to remain on whatever channel to which they were tuned at 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central for their late local news and late night programming. Quite simply, a highly rated show at 10 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central will help a station's ratings. A low rated show at 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central will hurt its ratings. With its poor ratings, The Jay Leno Show essentially created a domino effect, whereby the audience for the late local news on NBC affiliates across the nation was down sometimes by as much as a third. Indeed, it must be pointed out that it was after the debut of The Jay Leno Show that the ratings for The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien really began to take a hit, as well as the ratings for NBC's other two late night shows.

Given that it was ultimately Jay Leno who was responsible for NBC's declining fortunes in late night programming, it seems curious that they are considering returning him to late night at all. I can think of several reasons for them not to. The first is a simple matter of fairness. In 2004 it was decided that Conan O'Brien would take over Tonight from Jay Leno. Now, after a matter of only seven months, during which time O'Brien has brought The Tonight Show respectable ratings, the network wants to move the programme to 12:05, giving a half hour over to Jay Leno, whose show is ultimately to blame for NBC's lower ratings in late night programming. Whether his contract specifies a guarantee of time slot or not, I know that this is not what Conan O'Brien signed on for. Everyone knows The Tonight Show airs at 11:35 PM Eastern/10:35 PM Central. Indeed, if it was moved a half hour later, it would actually be airing the next day on the East Coast!

Beyond the matter of being fair to the parties involved, there is also the simple matter of tradition. Tonight debuted on September 27, 1954 at 11:30 PM Eastern/10:30 PM Central. In January 1957, as Jack Paar took over the hosting duties, fifteen minutes were added to Tonight, so that it began at 11:15 PM Eastern/10:15 PM Central. The show then had two openings--one for affiliates joining the broadcast at 11:15 PM Eastern/10:15 PM Central and one for those joining at 11:30 PM Eastern/10:30 PM Central. In 1965, because Johnny Carson did not really care for the show essentially opening twice, the time was set to 11:30 PM Eastern/10:30 PM Central. Since then the only real change in its time came in 1991 when it was moved to 11:35 PM Eastern/10:35 PM to give affiliates five more minutes for their late local news. Given that Tonight has aired in essentially the same time slot (give or take fifteen minutes) for over fifty years, it would seem a bit silly to move it now. Indeed, as I pointed out, if the show was moved a half hour later it would actually be airing on the next day on the East Coast. It would essentially cease to be Tonight and become Tomorrow (an entirely different show that had aired on NBC).

Even if one dismisses the matters of fairness and tradition out of hand, there is one very important matter that NBC cannot afford to ignore: the ratings. At the moment there appear to be a good many people who will simply stop watching NBC's late night programming if Leno was returned there. It is impossible to say how large those numbers would be, but they could be enough to hand David Letterman an easy ratings victory every night. Furthermore, it must be pointed out that viewers failed to tune into Jay Leno's prime time show. If his proposed half hour in late night differs little from his outing in prime time, viewers might fail to tune in again. This would also hand David Letterman an easy ratings victory. Sadly, it is very unlikely that viewers would switch to The Tonight Show airing at 12:05 Midnight Eastern/11:05 PM Central, or to Late Night or Later. The end result is that CBS would win every night with The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Who knows? ABC might even pick up in the ratings with regards to Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Ultimately, The Tonight Show, NBC's oldest show besides Meet the Press, Today, and The NBC Nightly News, would be placed in jeopardy.

Of course, at the moment it seems possible that Jay Leno could step right back in as host of The Tonight Show. While NBC might find this appealing, they seem to be the only ones. I have no doubt that Leno's loyal fans would return to The Tonight Show, so that he would not totally be without an audience. But then NBC also has to face the fact that in the past few days Jay Leno has come to be reviled in a way that few comedians ever have been. Many people who were once indifferent to him or even liked him a little bit now hate him vehemently. Whether Jay Leno (who always seemed like a nice guy to me) deserves such hatred is besides the point. It seems to be a fact. And the plain truth is that viewers who now despise Jay Leno will probably never tune into a Tonight Show hosted by him. Indeed, NBC no longer has to worry about Leno defecting to a competitor. In fact, with public relations for NBC and Leno at all time lows, it would seem that he might actually be doing them a favour if he did.

At the moment it is difficult to say how NBC's late night mess will unfold. As mentioned earlier, Conan O'Brien has seen a groundswell of support, displayed over a large number of platforms on the Internet. NBC has to have noticed this and, if they are reasonable at all, must take this into account. Indeed, I rather suspect most people in such a position would keep Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show and find some place where they could place Jay Leno. Unfortunately, networks do not seem to function according to any logic known to the rest of us. They have cancelled quality shows even when there has been an outpouring of support for them. They have kept bad shows on the air, even when the ratings for those shows might be subpar. In the early part of the decade the networks insisted on filling the airwaves with reality show after reality show. Sadly, NBC might simply let Conan go and return Leno to late night. Of course, if they do, I think this particular network is going to find a lot of people are mad as Hell and are not going to take it any more.

Actor Peter Graves Passes On

Actor Peter Graves, best known for his role as Jim Phelps on the classic series Mission: Impossible, passed yesterday at the age of 83.

Peter Graves was born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis on March 18, 1926. His older brother James Arness, best known as Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, preceded him into acting. To avoid confusion with his brother, He adopted his grandfather's last name. Graves served for two years in the United States Air Force before studying drama at the University of Minnesota. He worked in summer stock before he moved to Hollywood to pursue acting there. Having appeared in an uncredtied role in Winning Your Wings, his first credited role was in Rouge River in 1951.

Peter Graves appeared in roles in such films as Up Front (1951),  Fort Defiance (1951), The Congregation (1952), and Red Planet Mars (1952). He made his television debut in Gruen Guild Playhouse in 1952. It was in 1953 that he appeared in one of his most famous roles, as Price in Stalag 17. He appeared in the films War Paint (1953) and East of Sumatra (1953). In 1953 he was a regular on the short lived show Where's Raymond, starring Ray Bolger.

For much of the Fifties Peter Graves appeared frequently on television, guest starring on such shows as Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse, Biff Baker U.S.A., Studio 57, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Fireside Theatre, Studio One, The Millionaire, Lux Video Theatre, and Climax. In 1955 Graves was cast in the role of Jim Newton on the series Fury. The show ran for five years and 116 episodes. He also appeared in such films as The Raid (1954), Black Tuesday (1954), The Long Grey Line (1955), Wichita (1955), The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), It Conquered the World (1956), and Wolf Larsen (1958). He had a significant role in the classic Night of the Hunter.

As the Sixties opened Peter Graves was cast as the lead in the short lived series Whiplash. He guest starred on such shows as Route 66, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Virginian, Branded, Run For Your Life, and Daniel Boone. In 1965 he was cast as the lead in the short lived series Court Martial. It was in 1967 that he was cast as Jim Phelps, head of the Impossible Missions Force, on the series Mission: Impossible. He replaced Steven Hill, the original lead on the show who played Impossible Missions Force leader Dan Briggs. Graves became the one constant on the series, appearing in it until its run ended in 1973. He also appeared in such films as A Rage to Live (1965), The Ballad of Josie (1967), and Sergeant Ryker (1968). He made his only appearance on Broadway in 1962 in The Captains and the Kings.

The Seventies saw Peter Graves appearing in several television movies, including The President's Plane is Missing, Scream of the Wolf, The Underground Man, Dead Man on the Run, SST: Death Flight, and The Gift of the Magi. He appeared in such  films as Sidecar Racers (1975) and The Clonus Horror (1979). In 1980 he appeared in one of his best known roles, as the pilot in the film Airplane. The Eighties saw Graves appear in the films The Guns and the Fury (1981), Savannah Smiles (1982), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), and Number One with a Bullet (1987). On television he appeared in the mini-series The Winds of War. He guest starred on Simon & Simon, Fantasy Island, Murder She Wrote, and Life with Lucy. In 1988 he returned to the role of Jim Phelps in a revival of Mission: Impossible. It lasted until 1990. The Nineties saw Graves guest star on The Golden Girls, Burke's Law, and Diagnosis Murder. He appeared in the film Addams Family Values (1993).  The Naughts saw Peter Graves guest star on House and American Dad. He had a recurring role on the show Seventh Heaven. From 1994 to 2006 he was the host of the A&E series Biography. He had a cameo in the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003).

The image most have of Peter Graves is that of the strong, straight arrow hero. And this comprised most of the roles he played in his career. But Graves could play other sorts of roles, as shown by two of his most famous films. In Stalag 17 Graves played the slightly shady barrack security chief Price. In Airplane he played the bumbling pilot Clarence Oveur, who uttered non sequiturs and one liners. Peter Graves was very good at playing the straight shooting hero, but he was capable of other roles as well. If Mission: Impossible became a hit, it was largely because of Peter Graves' talent.

Doug Fieger, Leader of The Knack, is Dead

Right now I am too upset to do a complete blog post. Yesterday, 14  February, 2010, Doug Fieger lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 57. I grew up loving the British Invasion bands of the Sixties, particularly The Beatles and, The Who. Then in the late Seventies their American counterparts arose in large numbers, led by Cheap Trick and The Knack. As the leader of The Knack, Doug Fieger produced what may be the single most successful American power pop song of all time, "My Sharona." I fell in love with The Knack the first time I heard the song on the radio. In fact, after The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, and Cheap Trick, they would become my favourite rock group of all time. It is for that reason right now that I am very, very sad.

Tomorrow I will eulogise Doug Fieger, who was leader and a founding member of The Knack. For now I will leave you with a live performance of their greatest hit, "My Sharona."

Television Producer David Gerber Passes On

Television producer David Gerber, who worked on TV series ranging from The Ghost & Mrs. Muir to The Adventures of Sinbad, passed on January 2 at the age of 86. The cause was heart failure.

David Gerber was born in Brooklyn on July 25, 1923. During World War II he served as a radio gunner on a B-17. He was shot down over Germany and taken as a prisoner of war. After the war he graduated with a bachelor's degree from what is now the University of Pacific in Stockton, California. Following graduation, Gerber worked in advertising and then for various talent agencies. In the late Sixties he moved into television, receiving his first producer credit on the sitcom The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. From 1970 to 1971 he served as an executive producer on Nanny and the Professor. He was later executive producer Born Free, Joe Forrester, and The Quest. He was also a producer on Police Story, for which he received an Emmy. He was also a producer on a spinoff from Police Story, Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson. In the late Seventies, Gerber became an executive at Columbia Pictures Television.

The Eighties saw Gerber producing television movies and mini-series, as well as the short lived series Walking Tall and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. From 1986 to 1992 he was an executive at MGM Television. The Nineties saw Gerber produce such television movies and the syndicated fantasy series The Adventures of Sinbad. In 2007 David Gerber produced his last series, Kids are in Charge: Family Vacation.

My Mother the Car

Even nearly forty five years after it debuted, My Mother the Car still tops lists of the "Worst Shows of All Time." In many reviews from when it debuted in 1965, it was even referred to as "the worst show of all time." So atrocious was My Mother the Car considered that it even provided Johnny Carson with jokes for over a decade. To this day, when individuals look for examples of atrocious television shows, My Mother the Car is often cited. Perhaps no other show has such a poor reputation.

To be honest, the show did have one of the strangest premises of all time in television. The show centred on lawyer Dave Crabtree (Jerry Van Dyke) who was shopping for a station wagon in a used car lot when he discovered his mother had been reincarnated as a 1928 Porter automobile. Dave's mother talked to him through car's radio, its dial light flashing in sequence to her words (the car was voiced by Ann Southern). Dave took the Porter to a restoration shop (the car had become dilapidated over the years), where it came to the attention of ruthless car collector Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber). Manzini became a recurring villain on the show, developing various schemes to get his hands on the car.

Surprisingly enough for a show considered by many to be the worst show of all time, My Mother the Car was created by Allan Burns and Chris Hayward. The two had previous worked on the classics Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show. They would go onto work as story editors on the critically acclaimed He & She and write for Get Smart. Allan Burns would eventually create The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, both with James L. Brooks. Chris Hayward would write for Barney Miller and created the series A.E.S. Hudson Street. Among the writers on the show was none other than James L. Brooks, who would create Room 222, create The Mary Tyler Moore Show and :Lou Grant with Allan Burns, and was one of the creators of Taxi. He has also worked in feature films.

Even at the time the premise of My Mother the Car was thought preposterous by many, but given the television milieu of the Sixties it was not that unusual in some ways. After all, the Sixties had begun with a sitcom about a talking horse, Mr. Ed. By 1964 there would be shows about a Martian (My Favourite Martian), a witch (Bewitched), a family of monsters (The Munsters), and a family that was just plain macabre (The Addams Family). That Allan Burns and Chris Hayward would think of a show in which one's mother was reincarnated as a car is not that strange given the scheme of things in the Sixties. And the show could have been even stranger. Originally it was to have been Crabtree's dead wife that had been reincarnated as the car, but it was decided that smacked too much of necrophilia.

The lead on the show, Jerry Van Dyke had guest starred on his brother's series, The Dick Van Dyke Show. He had also appeared in the films The Courtship of Eddie's Father, McLintock, and Palm Springs Weekend. He had been offered the role of Gilligan in Gilligan's Island, but turned it down because the thought the pilot script was bad. The fact that Gilligan's Island became a hit may or may not have influenced his decision to do My Mother the Car. Reportedly Jean Arthur and Eve Arden had been auditioned as the voice of Mother, but the role eventually went to Ann Southern. Southern was a veteran actress of Hollywood, having appeared in several feature films and starred in the "Maisie" series. She was also a veteran of television who had already starred in two series of her own: Private Secretary and The Ann Southern Show. As to why Southern took the role, it was the simple case of an easy pay cheque. She could simply record her lines and did not have to worry about makeup, wardrobe, or anything else.

As to the car itself, according to producer Rod Amateau it was named for Ann Southern's co-star from Private Secretary, Don Porter. Here I must point out, that in reality at least two different companies had manufactured cars under the Porter marque. A short lived steam powered automobile was manufactured under the Porter marque by the Porter Automobile Co from 1900 to 1901. More conventional, gasoline powered cars were made under the Porter marque by American and British Manufacturing Corporation from 1919 to 1922. Regardless, the car in the show was not an actual 1928 Porter, but the creation of car customiser George Barris (who also designed The Munster's coach and later the Batmobile). The car was built using parts from various vintage cars including a Model T, a Maxwell, a Hudson, and a Chevrolet. Another car was also built, with removable floorboard and equipment so that someone could drive the car without being seen, for those scenes in which Mother drove herself.

Regardless of the talent involved in the show, My Mother the Car debuted to disastrous reviews. Its ratings were not much better, although it did prove popular with young viewers. In the end, My Mother the Car lasted only one season and thirty episodes. It went off the air in September, 1966. Having run only one season, it did not have enough episodes for a healthy syndication run. Since then it has rarely been seen.

It was several years ago that I had the opportunity to see a few episodes of the show when Joel Stein was a guest programmer for Trio. Since then I have watched a few episodes online (it is available at both Hulu and TV.Com). I must say that I was surprised when I first saw it. The show does not live up to its bad reputation. The quality of the episodes are sometimes hit and miss, but it is hardly the worst show of all time. Indeed, I can think of many of shows that are much, much worse (The Facts of Life and the recent CBS sitcom Yes, Dear being two of them). For me the question then becomes why critics in 1965 attacked My Mother the Car so and why has it maintained its reputation as one of the worst shows of all time.

I think the answer is that critics were simply reacting to the show's premise rather than the quality of the show itself. Let's face it, even by the standards of Sixties television, the idea of someone's mother returning from the grave as a car was very, very strange. This was complicated by the fact that critics in the Sixties could be extremely hypercritical of any show whose premise they disliked. Indeed, it must be considered that both The Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan's Island, now considered classics by some, received some of the worst reviews of all time. What separates those two shows from My Mother the Car is that they became hits and have been rerun ever since. With a bizarre premise, receiving some of the worst reviews any show ever has, lasting only a single season, and having been rarely seen since, My Mother the Car never had the chance to redeem its reputation.

Of course, now My Mother the Car can be watched, in its entirety, online. It will be interesting to see if over the next several years its reputation will change. With over forty years of bad press, I am not sure it will. Regardless, while I would not consider My Mother the Car a classic, it is not the worst show of all time by any stretch of the imagination.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Contrary to popular belief, St. Valentine's Day was not invented by Hallmark Cards. The feast of St. Valentine (of which there is more than one) was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 CE. It was in the 14th Century that St. Valentine's Day became linked to love and romance, at a time when the distinctions between the various Saints Valentine became cloudy. The first valentine sent through the post was in 1806, over one hundred years before Hallmark was founded.

Of course, while St. Valentine's Day is now firmly linked to love and romance today, it must be pointed out that it was first established to commemorate either the death or burial of one of the Saints Valentine. According to the Nuremberg Chronicle from 1493, the first substantial account of any of the Valentines, St. Valentine was a priest who was arrested during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II for marrying Christian couples, then stoned and later beheaded. While Valentine's Day traditionally has a link to love and romance, it would also seem to have a strong link to violence. Indeed, February 14 is also remembered for another act of violence besides the martyrdom of any of the Valentines: the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

 In 1929 the city of Chicago was at the centre of two powerful gangs. The South Side of Chicago was dominated by the largely Italian, Chicago Outfit headed by Al Capone. The Northside was dominated by the largely Irish, Northside Mob, headed by Bugs Moran. The struggle between the two gangs began during Prohibition, when the Genna brothers, partners of the Outfit headed by Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, began selling their bootleg liquor on the Northside for half the price that the Northside Mob, then headed by Dean O'Banion, had been selling their own alcohol. While Torrio talked the Gennas out of selling alcohol in the North, O'Banion was still unhappy. O'Banion began to use racial slurs to refer to the Italians, and it would be both O'Banion and Bugs Moran who would first refer to Al Capone with the insult "Scarface."


Things would escalate from there. In 1924 Dean O'Banion was assassinated by members of the Outfit, leaving Earl "Hymie" Weiss in charge or the Northside Mob. It also sparked a war between the two gangs It was on January 25, 1925 that Hymie Weiss and Bugs Moran ambushed Torrio outside his home with the intention of killing him. The two men shot Torrio several times, but left him alive when either a gun malfunctioned or they ran out of ammunition. Regardless, Torrio retired and appointed Al Capone the head of the Outfit. Bugs Moran would make attempts on Capone's life. It was after Moran and his men performed a drive by shooting (which he is said to have invented) on Capone's car that Capone started using armoured cars. Moran himself tortured and killed Capone's most trusted bodyguard. On September 20, 1926, Moran and his men launched a full scale attack on Capone's hotel in Cicero, Illinois in an attempt to kill himself.  A few weeks later, on October 11, 1926, Hymie Weiss would be murdered by the Outfit, leaving Bugs Moran in charge of the Northside Mob.


It was following the attack on Capone's hotel and the murder of Weiss that the Outfit and the Northside Mob declared a truce at the  Morrison Hotel on November 21, 1926. The truce effectively divided Chicago between the various gangs, and for a time there would be peace of a sort. Of course, while the Northside Mob and the Outfit were not shooting each other, they did do things to harass each other. Moran would hijack Capone's  liquor shipments, then sell them. Capone burned down Moran's dog track, while Moran burned down one of Capone's clubs. It was not long before Moran began to kill both Capone's gang members and friends. It was not long after an attempt on the life of his friend Jack McGurn by Frank and  Peter Gusenberg and the murders of  Antonio Lombardo and Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo by the Northside Gang that the Valentine's Day Massacre took place.

The details of the Valentine's Day Massacre are not known to this day. Indeed, it is not entirely clear that it was Al Capone who ordered the massacre. The only thing that is known for certain is that on February 14, 1929, six men associated with the Northside Mob and Dr. Reinhardt H. Schwimmer (an optometrist who idolised mobsters) were gunned down, facing a wall, inside the S.M.C Cartage Co. garage. As to why six mobsters would willingly stand lined up against a wall to be gunned down, that may have been answered by an eyewitness who lived across the street. She said that she had seen two men dressed as police officers escort two men with their hands in the air, as if they had been arrested, leave the garage. The Chicago Police Department knew nothing of any such arrest. It seems likely that the "police officers" were actually gangsters wearing police uniforms. This would explain why Moran's men and Dr. Schwimmer offered no resistance whatsoever; they thought they were dealing with the police.

As to who was ultimately responsible for the crime, that is not known to any degree of certainty to this day. That having been said, Al Capone was the prime suspect at the time and still thought to be the man most likely to have been responsible for the massacre. Moran and Capone had been rivals for years. And it may not be coincidence that the massacre took place not long after the attempt on the life of Capone's friend Jack McGurn and the murders of Antonio Lombardo and Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo.

Because of the paucity of evidence, no one was ever arrested for St. Valentine's Day Massacre. That is not to say that it did not have repercussions. News of the massacre, complete with pictures of  the murdered men, would cause outrage throughout the United States. The Federal government finally took notice of Al Capone's activities, which resulted in Capone's arrest for income tax evasion in 1931. As to Bugs Moran, he would maintain power over his territory until the repeal of the Volstead Act.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre would become the most notorious gangland killing in history. Naturally, it would figure prominently in pop culture. Indeed, it would first be featured in movies only a few years after it took place, in 1932's Scarface. Following the lead in Scarface, the majority of films based around Capone's career have included the massacre in some way. The massacre figured in the 1959 film Al Capone  starring Rod Steiger, as well as the 1975 film Capone. The St. Valentine Day's Massacre was a pivotal part of the plot of the 1969 comedy  Some Like It Hot. It was at the centre of Roger Corman's 1967 movie St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In Brian DePalma's soon to be released prequel to The Untouchables, The Untouchables: Capone Rising, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre will be featured in the plot. The massacre was also the subject of  a TV movie from 1997. It has been the subject of numerous documentaries.

While Valentine's Day is linked with romance and love in the minds of many, it is also known as the date of the most notorious gangland killing of all time. Indeed, one has to wonder that the perpetrator of the massacre did not choose that date for the fact that it would be particularly notable. It shocked the nation at the time and continues to shock to this day. It remains one of the most infamous and despicable criminal acts in the history of the United States and will probably never be forgotten.

Director Eric Rohmer R.I.P.

�ric Rohmer, the director who made such films as Ma nuit chez Maud and L'amour l'apr�s-midi, passed on January 11 at the age of 89.

According to some sources, �ric Rohmer was born Maurice Henri Joseph Sch�rer in Tulle, France on March 21, 1920. Other sources claim his birth name was ean-Marie Maurice Sch�rer and state that he was born in Nancy. After working as a teacher and as a journalist, he published the novel Elisabeth in 1946. In 1950 he moved to Paris There he befriended such fellow movies lovers as Claude Charbol, Jean-Luc Goddard, Fran�ois Truffaut, and Jacques Rivette. That same year he co-founded La Gazette du Cin�ma with Rivette. The magazine only lasted five issues. He then joined the reviewing staff of the magazine Les Cahiers du Cin�ma, on which Goddard and Truffaut also worked. He adopted �ric Rohmer as his pseudonym by combing the names of two men whose work he admired: Erich von Stroheim and Sax Rohmer.

It was in 1952 that �ric Rohmer tried to direct his first feature film, entitled Les Petites Filles Mod�les, but the project fell through. He directed the short B�r�nice in 1954. In 1957 he directed another short, La sonate � Kreutzer in1956. In 1957 he became the editor on Les Cahiers du Cin�ma, a position he held until 1963. It was in 1959 that Rohmer finally joined his fellow directors of La Nouvelle Vague in making a feature film. Le Signe du Lion. Unfortunately, while Truffaut and Goddard has success with Les Quatre Cents Coups and � bout de souffle respectively, Le Signe du Lion made little headway at the box office. He would direct two more shorts, beginning his "Six Moral Tales" series. He returned to feature films with La Collectionneuse in 1967. The film won won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. A success at last, Rohmer went onto direct such films as Ma nuit chez Maud and L'amour l'apr�s-midi. After the "Six Moral Tales" series ended, Rohmer directed the period piece Die Marquise von O.

In 1981 he began a new series, "Comedies and Proverbs," which included such films as La femme de l'aviateur, Pauline � la plage, and L'ami de mon amie . In 1990 he began his final series, "Tales of the Four Seasons," with Conte de printemps. The series ended with the critically acclaimed  Conte d�Automne.  �ric Rohmer continued to direct into the Naughts,  although primarily for the small screen. His 2001 film, L'anglaise et le duc was perceived as portraying the French Revolution in a negative light and as a result having a pro-Royalist bent. His film, Astr�e and C�ladon, was released in 2007. It was a period piece with fantastic overtones.

Over the years  �ric Rohmer has had his fair share of detractors. Indeed, in the movie Night Moves, Gene Hakcman's character said, �I saw a Rohmer movie once. It was kind of like watching paint dry." Certainly for those who prefer more action in their movies, Rohmer's films would be hard to sit through. After all, �ric Rohmer was a director who was more interested in the thoughts of his characters than he was their actions. There was often a lot of talk in Rohmer's films, informed by intelligent dialogue and well developed characters. Rohmer's preference for thought over action separated him from mainstream directors, but he was also set apart from his fellows members of the Nouvelle Vague in that while their films could be intensely personal, Rohmer's films were more conservative, often romantic and sometimes even sentimental. �ric Rohmer seemed one part psychologist, one part philosopher, and one part poet. He was certainly a great filmmaker.