Originally posted by Beth E:
Did Bugsy really believe Virginia didn't steal that money? Even in the scene before he goes to LA and she admits she took it, he just shrugs it off and tells her to put it in the bank. He should have whacked her right then and there. Did Virginia not know what Bugsy was? She seemed utterly shocked when she invited herself to ride along which turned out to be Harry's whacking. Just from watching this movie I don't think these two people should have been put in charge of the opening of a jar of peanut butter.
While "Bugsy" is a great and enjoyable movie (gets better with every viewing, fantastic performances), quite a bit is fictionalized. In real life, Bugsy first went to California in 1933 (not during WWII, as the movie claims), and more or less moved there permanently in 1935. He hooked up with Virginia right away, so she knew exactly who and what he was, both from experience and her own Mob connections. Another (probable) bit of fiction: Virginia never returned any money to Meyer Lanksy or anyone else--probably because she didn't take any (or a lot); if she had, she'd have been killed. It's also not clear that she was as involved with the design and construction of the Flamingo, if at all, as the movie implies.
The movie's depiction of the hit on Harry (Big Greenie) Greenberg was mostly fictionalized. Big Greenie ratted out some New York higher-ups and tried to hide out on the West Coast. He didn't seek refuge with Siegel--far from it, he tried to hide from him. The New York Mob ordered Siegel to find him, and sent two hit men to assist: Allie (Tick Tock) Tannenbaum of Murder, Inc., and Frankie (Mr. Gray) Carbo. Siegel also recruited his brother-in-law, Whitey Krakauer. Bugsy found Greenie, and drove for the killers, but he didn't pull a trigger. Virginia Hill was nowhere near the shooting. Carbo later ran the prizefight rackets for the Mob in New York City.
The movie also shows Charlie Luciano at liberty for most of the time. In reality, Luciano had been in prison since 1935.
