Seven Against the Wall


"Seven Against the Wall" is an episode of the American anthology series Playhouse 90. It was about the Saint [Valentine's Day Massacre].

Cast

Production

The show was based on a book by Howard Browne.

Reception

The Los Angeles Times called it "a serviceable documentary" with "some extremely effective moments."
The show was very popular and John Houseman claimed it helped revive the popularity of gangster films. "There hadn't been a real Al Capone gangster film for a long time and this brought them back again, both at the cinema and on television", he said.
Howard Browne later wrote other film versions of the story, including The St. [Valentine's Day Massacre (film)|The St. Valentine's Day Massacre] and Capone.

Lawsuit

Industrialist Titus Haffa sued the show's makers for $10 million for libel and defamation complaining the show showed a headline "Titus Haffa gets two years" associating him with crime. Haffa later issued a second complaint. A person called Abe Bernstein also sued claiming the show said "Abe Bernstein" was head of The Purple Gang.