STACK #163 May 2018

EXTRAS FEATURE

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The Actor and The Mob

biggest contracted stars, he was eagerly sought by other studios for loan-outs. Awareness of his popularity with millions of movie fans only increased Raft’s arrogance and continual refusal of the movie roles Paramount wanted him to undertake. This finally resulted in Raft demanding a termination of his contract, and a relieved Paramount agreed. Shortly after he signed with Warner Bros.  Studio boss Jack Warner brought Raft to Warner Bros. in 1939 so that he would have another star for his gangster pictures. He too had troublesome contracted stars, such as James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson, who were regularly on suspension for refusing movie roles. Hiring new actors was Warner’s way of reminding his stars and their agents that they were all replaceable. However, what Warner was unaware of was that Raft, too, did not want to make any more gangster movies. Raft had become increasingly embarrassed by recurring reports in the media that he was closely tied with organised crime bosses such as Bugsy Siegel. Everyone knew the reports were true, but Raft thought he could offset them by reforming his onscreen image. Back in 1937, whilst still at Paramount, independent producer Sam Goldwyn had offered Raft the role of “Baby Face” Martin in the movie Dead End . Martin, a psychopathic killer, is on the run from the police and hides out in the New York slums where he was raised. But Raft balked at

George Raft (1901-1980) The Warner Years and the Man who made Bogart Part 2:

F ollowing “Bugsy” Siegel’s arrival in Los Angeles, his old New York friend and now movie star, George Raft, introduced him to all of Hollywood’s motion picture glitterati. Together they became regular attendees at movie parties, race tracks and the top nightclubs. Although Siegel’s background was common knowledge amongst the movie community, the mobster’s handsome features, sartorial elegance and social conduct belied his tough and murderous history. Hollywood was utterly intrigued and totally mesmerised with George Raft’s pal – Mr. Benjamin Siegel.

dominating all forms of gambling in the city including bookmaking, roulette, crap games, and the numbers racket. Indeed, gambling was Siegel’s forte, as he was fond of betting large wads of money on the horses and casino tables. However, what is definitely known during his time in LA is that he nurtured the germ of an idea of building a mob-controlled hotel and casino. This would come to fruition some years later when he opened The Flamingo, on the outskirts of a small town in the Nevada desert named Las Vegas. Hollywood was utterly intrigued and totally mesmerised with George Raft’s pal – Mr. Benjamin Siegel Meanwhile, George Raft’s typecasting battles continued at Paramount, resulting in more than 20 disagreements and almost the same amount of suspensions. Movie stardom, celebrity and money had given him status and a sense of security, although his expensive habits and expansive generosity made it impossible for him to hold on to money for long. As one of Paramount’s

Bugsy Siegel, the mobster who charmed Hollywood

George Raft always portrayed “a magnificent hoodlum” onscreen

certain aspects of Martin’s character and actions when he meets a gang of kids who idolise him. Raft wanted a scene where he tells the youngsters how bad his life is and for them not to grow up like him. Goldwyn, who considered that Raft always portrayed “a magnificent hoodlum” onscreen, pleaded with him to play the part as written. But Raft turned it down. The role of the killer Martin eventually went to Humphrey Bogart, who at the time was a second string Warner Bros. contracted character actor – and Bogart played the part brilliantly. Furthermore, Raft’s refusal of this and other films in the future would be the greatest boon to Bogart’s movie career. Raft’s first movie for his new studio

What Siegel really did in Los Angeles – as a representative of the East Coast Crime Syndicate – is pure speculation, as no-one precisely knew all the details. According to one account he organised a union of movie employees that all the film studios were forced to pay not to strike. Another had him

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MAY 2018

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