For decades, I have said, “The life story of J. Frank Norris would make a great gangster movie!” Well, it looks like I finally get my wish, although it comes in the form of a courtroom drama. I’ll take it! Congratulations to author David Stokes on accomplishing the goal I’ve been waiting years to see: the colorful and controversial story of J. Frank Norris on film.
I guess I’ll have to write the “gangster-movie” version someday… 😉
Read more about The Shooting Salvationist in my old posts categorized under the name J. Frank Norris.
I think I like YOUR Hollywood version of the movie where J-Frank kills 6 ninja-assassins with a sub-compact machine pistol – over 10,000 rounds fired in the exchange! J-F walks away from house as it explodes into flames in the background – and that’s only the first scene!!!
That’s not a gangster film, that’s a Chuck Norris martial arts action flick. My version is when a ZZ Top styled sedan with henchmen of the liquor interests riding on the running board peel down Throckmorton in 1920-something Ft. Worth, Texas, and unload their Tommy guns into the exterior office door of FBC FW from which emerges the infamous pistol-packin’ parson who jumps out onto the road and fires after them while shouting a verse from an imprecatory psalm as they approach and round the corner at the intersection, and frightened bystanders take cover. Now that’s a gangster film!
Oh yeah, that’s much better. I guess I got my Norris-es mixed up!
Wow, I didn’t even catch that. Now I get it. 🙂