"Gangster Squad," starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone, is about a group of Los Angeles police officers who put away their badges (and the constraints of pesky things like the law and the constitution) in an effort to rid L.A. of gangster Mickey Cohen. The result is a fun, old-fashioned, shoot-em-up gangster movie. The twist is that the outrageous conduct of these cops is based on true events.
The police officers of the gangster squad engage in multitudes of crimes, including murder, trespassing, jail-breaking, and illegal wiretapping. This is all done because tried and true legal methods of bringing Mickey Cohen to justice have proven fruitless - he pays off most of the L.A.P.D., and any witnesses are too afraid to testify against him. He basically owns the town.
The shiny, new-looking Los Angeles of the 1940s was a great setting for the film, and a nice contrast from so many ganster films set in New York. The movie evokes comparisons to "L.A. Confidential," but "Gangster Squad" does not take itself that seriously.
I'm always skeptical when a movie claims to be "based on true events." To find out how true the movie is, you can read the book the movie was based on - "Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles." I haven't read it yet, but I enjoyed the movie so much, and I was intrigued by the story, that I have put the book on my short list.
The shiny, new-looking Los Angeles of the 1940s was a great setting for the film, and a nice contrast from so many ganster films set in New York. The movie evokes comparisons to "L.A. Confidential," but "Gangster Squad" does not take itself that seriously.
I'm always skeptical when a movie claims to be "based on true events." To find out how true the movie is, you can read the book the movie was based on - "Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles." I haven't read it yet, but I enjoyed the movie so much, and I was intrigued by the story, that I have put the book on my short list.
Here's how Amazon describes the book:
GANGSTER SQUAD chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after WWII. In 1946, the LAPD launched the Gangster Squad with eight men who met covertly on street corners and slept with Tommy guns under their beds. But for two cops, all that mattered was nailing the strutting gangster Mickey Cohen. Sgt. Jack O’Mara was a square-jawed church usher, Sgt. Jerry Wooters a cynical maverick. About all they had in common was their obsession. So O’Mara set a trap to prove Mickey was a killer. And Wooters formed an alliance with Mickey’s budding rival, Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen. Two cops -- two hoodlums. Their fates collided in the closing days of the 1950s, when late one night “The Enforcer” confronted Mickey and his crew. The aftermath would shake both LA’s mob and police department, and signal the end of a defining era in the city’s history.
Click below to check out the books and movies:
GANGSTER SQUAD chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after WWII. In 1946, the LAPD launched the Gangster Squad with eight men who met covertly on street corners and slept with Tommy guns under their beds. But for two cops, all that mattered was nailing the strutting gangster Mickey Cohen. Sgt. Jack O’Mara was a square-jawed church usher, Sgt. Jerry Wooters a cynical maverick. About all they had in common was their obsession. So O’Mara set a trap to prove Mickey was a killer. And Wooters formed an alliance with Mickey’s budding rival, Jack “The Enforcer” Whalen. Two cops -- two hoodlums. Their fates collided in the closing days of the 1950s, when late one night “The Enforcer” confronted Mickey and his crew. The aftermath would shake both LA’s mob and police department, and signal the end of a defining era in the city’s history.
Click below to check out the books and movies:
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