- published: 15 Oct 2012
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Meyer Lansky (born Meyer Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant," was a Russian-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States. For decades he was thought to be one of the most powerful people in the country.
Lansky developed a gambling empire which stretched from Saratoga, New York to Miami to Council Bluffs and Las Vegas; it is also said that he oversaw gambling concessions in Cuba. Although a member of the Jewish Mafia, Lansky undoubtedly had strong influence with the Italian Mafia and played a large role in the consolidation of the criminal underworld (although the full extent of this role has been the subject of some debate).
Lansky was born Meyer Suchowljansky in Grodno (then in Russia, now in Belarus), to a Jewish family who experienced pogroms. In 1911, he emigrated to the United States through the port of Odessa with his mother and brother and joined his father, who had previously emigrated to the United States in 1909, and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.
Actors: Tony Plana (actor), Millie Perkins (actress), Jsu Garcia (actor), David Michie (actor), William Marquez (actor), Tomas Milian (actor), Andy Garcia (actor), Richard Bradford (actor), Bill Murray (actor), Julio Oscar Mechoso (actor), Steven Bauer (actor), Juan Fernández (actor), Dustin Hoffman (actor), Andy Garcia (producer), Elizabeth Peña (actress),
Plot: In Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
Keywords: 1950s, beating, blood, bomb, brother-brother-relationship, che-guevara, comedian, cuba, cuban-flag, cuban-revolutionActors: Edward Asner (actor), Joe Viterelli (actor), Michele Berk (producer), Daniel de Liege (producer), Abraham Daniels (producer),
Genres: Action, Adventure,Actors: Beverly D'Angelo (actress), Robert Miano (actor), Max Perlich (actor), Eric Roberts (actor), Chris Marquette (actor), Dean Norris (actor), Ron Gilbert (actor), Sal Landi (actor), Richard Dreyfuss (actor), Bert Remsen (actor), Mickey Knox (actor), Anthony LaPaglia (actor), Peter Dobson (actor), Octavia Spencer (actress), Illeana Douglas (actress),
Plot: This is the telling of the life of organized crime boss, Meyer Lansky, as remembered by him as a very old man who is moving about the world looking for some country that will take him in since the US courts have put out an extradition order for him to stand trial. It tells of a young man growing up in the Jewish ghettos of America's big cities at the turn of the century and of his bright intelligence which he used for moving into crime. "I'm only a gambler," he claimed, "just like most all Americans." When asked by a reporter to comment on the killings that occurred under his leadership he declined, thereby making this film's thrust that of personalities and relationships rather than of acts of violence or the workings of corrupt deeds.
Keywords: based-on-book, character-name-in-titleActors: Christian Slater (actor), Titus Welliver (actor), Richard Grieco (actor), Costas Mandylor (actor), Seymour Cassel (actor), Andy Romano (actor), Chris Penn (actor), Anthony Quinn (actor), Willie Garson (actor), F. Murray Abraham (actor), Patrick Dempsey (actor), Nick Dimitri (actor), Michael Gambon (actor), Lara Flynn Boyle (actress), Robert Z'Dar (actor),
Plot: The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoods to their rise in the world of organized crime. As their crime empire expands, they have to deal with many problems, including their own differing opinions on how to run their business, the local Godfather, and the psychotic Mad Dog Coll.
Keywords: 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, attempted-murder, bare-chested-male, based-on-true-story, beating, betrayal, black-and-white-segues-into-color, bloodActors: Annette Bening (actress), Wendie Malick (actress), James Toback (actor), Harvey Keitel (actor), Andy Romano (actor), Richard C. Sarafian (actor), Joe Mantegna (actor), Warren Beatty (actor), Ray McKinnon (actor), Ben Kingsley (actor), Carmine Caridi (actor), Elliott Gould (actor), Don Calfa (actor), Warren Beatty (producer), Bebe Neuwirth (actress),
Plot: New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.
Keywords: 1940s, actress, anti-semitism, barking-like-a-dog, based-on-book, based-on-true-story, beating, betrayal, birthday-party, black-comedyActors: Victor Argo (actor), Clancy Brown (actor), Eugene Clark (actor), Michael Fairman (actor), Mike Bacarella (actor), Robert Prosky (actor), Dan Curtis (producer), Mark Conte (editor), Nestor Serrano (actor), J. Kenneth Campbell (actor), Robert Miranda (actor), Alicia Accardo (miscellaneous crew), Jason Beghe (actor), Danny Goldring (actor), Jonathan Erickson Eisley (actor),
Plot: A special unit of ten honest cops in a corrupt police department sets out to clean up the city during the late 1940s. When the prosecution's main witness in an important case dies under mysterious circumstances, the special unit investigates the four cops who were protecting the victim.
Keywords: gangster, murder, policeActors: Dave Grusin (composer), Sydney Pollack (director), Sydney Pollack (producer), Robert Redford (actor), Mark Rydell (actor), Lena Olin (actress), Raul Julia (actor), Richard Farnsworth (actor), Richard Portnow (actor), Alan Arkin (actor), Tomas Milian (actor), Tony Plana (actor), Carmine Caridi (actor), Daniel Wheatcroft (miscellaneous crew), Vincent Paterson (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: Cuba, December 1958: The professional gambler Jack visits Havana to organize a big Poker game. On the ship he meets Roberta and falls in love with her. Shortly after they arrive in Cuba, Roberta and her Cuban husband, the revolutionary Arturo, are arrested and tortured. Arturo is reported "shot while trying to escape," but Jack manages to get Roberta free again. He can't, however, keep her from continuing to support the revolution. Jack has to make a choice between the beautiful woman who keeps putting herself in harms way and the biggest poker game of his life; between the man he could be and the man he is.
Keywords: box-office-flop, cadillac, caribbean, casino, casino-operator, cia, cuba, cuban-military, cuban-politics, deathActors: Mariette Hartley (actress), Sean McCann (actor), Armand Assante (actor), Wayne Rogers (actor), Michael Sarrazin (actor), Rod Steiger (actor), Ron White (actor), Henry Ramer (actor), Damir Andrei (actor), Kevin McCarthy (actor), Nigel Bennett (actor), Sam Malkin (actor), Colin Fox (actor), Gwynyth Walsh (actress), Catherine Mary Stewart (actress),
Genres: Drama,