Hello,
I do not understand why Salino did not try to eliminate Hooker the night BEFORE she get killed the next morning by the male hitman?
-----------------------------------------------------
Hello, I am from Germany!
So, please apologise my bad English betimes...thx.
Hooker asked that exact question after he was saved by Gondorf's friend, the man shadowing Hooker who killed Salino in the alley before she could kill Hooker.
The man told him that too many people could have seen him enter her apartment. In fact, one of them did, that old lady across the hall who opened her door a crack only to have Salino scold her for her eavesdroopping.
The hit had to be done cleanly with no witnesses. Salino's gun had a silencer, just like it did when she shot the other guy in the dark alley the night before.
Yes, indeed. You are absolutely right. Thanks.
---------------------------------------------------
Hello, I am from Germany!
So, please apologise my bad English betimes...thx.
The guns shown silenced were revolvers. Due to the slight gap between the rotating cylinder and the barrel of the revolver, it's impossible to "silence" a revolver. That requires the sealed chamber and barrel of a semi-automatic pistol. FYI
shareThere's a production revolver designed by Nagant that can use a silencer. YouTube for it, they're a dime a dozen and they're only sought after by people who want to collect a suppressed revolver.
sharecould someone explain this whole subplot involving Lorretta Salino??
who is she and why did she want to kill hooker??
its the only thing i couldnt understand in this film
Loretta Salino is a hitwoman. It's not clear whether she works for Lonnegan or is a freelancer (looks more likely she's in Lonnegan's team).
Lonnegan's obsession with teaching Hooker a lesson got him impatient when his regular guys could not get to Hooker. So, he got Solino to do the job.
Would love to read an in depth characterization of Loretta Salino. Something along the lines of: Loretta Salino (b1905, Brooklyn, NY,
d 1936 Chicago, IL)
Born in 1905, in Brooklyn, NY to an alcoholic father, who abandoned his wife, a seamstress, when Salino was two years old. Not long after Salino's fourth birthday, her mother died of influenza, landing the girl in an orphanage, then to various foster homes. Physically and sexually abused, she ran away, living on the streets, doing odd jobs, occasionally working as a prostitute. After killing a john who she had claimed had tried to kill her, she was sentenced to five years in prison, released on parole for good behavior. Working her way back to Brooklyn, a chance meeting introduced her to a member of mobster Dutch Schulz' gang. Hardened from a rough childhood and life to that point, Salino ingratiated herself into the gang as more than a gangsters moll. Tough as nails, Salino was instrumental in the assassination of a rival mobster and his girlfriend, whom Salino had acquainted herself with in order to draw the trap on her loose lipped boyfriend. Seeing the potential of a smart, tough, street wise female who would draw less notice than a male 'torpedo' Working regularly for Schulz, than free lancing later, Loretta Salino would taker her last contract, on a small time grifter named Johnny Hooker, who cheated New York mob boss Doyle Lonegan.
Found shot to death in a Chicago alley, Loretta Salino was remembered by her contemporaries as a ruthless operator, and a "pro's Pro"
What do you guys think?
Why did she kill the other hitman who was trying to kill Hooker? And how is it that all of Lonnegan's hit people knew what Hooker looked like but he himself had no clue?
I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.
In a meeting in the local numbers runner boss's office, Lonnegan was scolding Riley or Cole (I forget which one, let me assume it is Riley for the sake of argument) for botching their attempt to kill Hooker at his apartment. Lonnegan demands that Salino be put on it. When one of the attendees mentions that Cole (the other guy) might still try to kill Hooker, Lonnegan replies that he should not interfere with Salino's effort to finish the job and kill Hooker because Salino won't like that Cole is violating the rules.
Cole then tries to kill Hooker at the diner Salino happens to work at. Salino retaliates by killing Cole in the alley due to his interference and further attempt to kill Hooker.
As to your second question, in a planning meeting which included all the top conmen, one of them mentions that Lonnegan stays away from the local action in case it gets raided by the cops. The local people knew what Hooker looked like but Lonnegan, keeping his distance from the locals, even one that conned one of his runners (Matolla), did not know what he looked like. Wouldn't Lonnegan have been at least a little curious as to what this grifter looked like? Maybe. But in the movie he wasn't, and didn't know what his foe looked like.
Excellent, thanks for taking the time to explain!
I would say my memory is not what it used to be. But I don't remember what my memory used to be.
Plus it's wicked hard work to get rid of a dead body and the bloody mess it can make.
shareThis is one of the few mistakes in casting. I don't find Arliss attractive at all so when she gets whacked there is little emotional impact for me. Who could they have chosen? Maybe Kate Jackson before she was popular on "Charlie's Angels." How about the very under rated Cyd Charisse? The problem, of course, was to have picked someone attractive but not too well known. Otherwise, the audience would know something was up - which is maybe why they chose Arliss to being with since "The Sting" was only her second movie.
shareWhere is there a law that says female assassins in movies have to be "attractive"? Neither Kate Jackson nor Cyd Charisse had the edge or the reptilian presence that it took to be convincing as a professional killer (once she was discovered to be one).
I thought Arliss was perfect for a character from that time and place and within the universe of the movie. A drop-dead gorgeous actress would have been totally out of place and unconvincing. This is a movie about no-nonsense, street-smart people. Like everybody else, she was supposed to look like she'd been around the block.
Unc John "We makin' trouble?"
Stacy "Yeah"
Unc John "What kind?"
Stacy "...The forever kind"
Plus, from Salino's own point of view as a pro: for her to choose that cover, she has to be able to fit. She can't look out of place working behind the counter of that kind of dive diner. She also can't be *too* memorable or attention grabbing. Too many people would be too likely to notice and make mental note of all of her comings and goings if she is *too* attractive / good looking.
shareIf you're a hit man (like me), spy or career criminal, the name of the game is Low Profile.
Unc John "We makin' trouble?"
Stacy "Yeah"
Unc John "What kind?"
Stacy "...The forever kind"
But she was butt ugly. Why would a good looking Hooker want to sleep with her? Doesn't make sense.
shareAs a straight female, I can't speak to how sexually attractive she might be, but I always thought she had a nice, slightly-worn delicacy, and an intelligence mixed with cynicism. I thought she could have been intriguing to Hooker - she's a kind of harder, more fine-drawn variation of Eileen Brennan's character. Also, Hooker isn't instantly attracted to her: he barely notices her at first, and his attraction to her actually begins when she helps him escape. So he shows up to spend the night with her because she is both unusual and oddly familiar in her echoes of Billie, and because she's an ally, as he reads her.
shareI find her attractive but not too much. She's in every bit the best choice to play Salino because I would have never imagined her to be a con woman! she fitted right for that waitress role and of course, that's what the director wanted too.
shareBesides, all he was looking for was one night, not a marriage proposal....he probably learned long before that that one nighters are what they are.
shareHooker wasn't from Chicago, he had only arrived there recently to find Gondorf. He didn't know anyone. And as they say, any port in a storm.
A heart can be broken, but it still keeps a-beatin' just the same.
"Like everybody else, she was supposed to look like she'd been around the block."
Newman and Redford look like movie stars. No attempt was made to make them look like they'd "been around the block."
I don't find Arliss attractive at allJust goes to show how different one person is from another in their perceptions of attractiveness. I'd be more than happy to take her off your hands, even with the makeup and acting trying to play down how pretty she is.
She is not too attractive.
"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley
Depends on the meaning of "too" (which does have more than one meaning!). My point remains: perception of attractiveness varies enormously from one person to another. It's not an absolute.
Edward
She didn't even take his money.
"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley
His manicurist wasn't much of a looker either. You'd think Chicago would have a better array of women to choose from. Was the casting director gay or something? The men in the movie are gorgeous!!! The women in the film are pretty blah and undescriptive.
Years since I've seen it, but I seem to recall Hooker always went for funny looking dames. That was one of his little quirks.
shareCould somebody answer Daftspunk's question, because I want to know exactly the same thing. The question was "could someone explain this whole subplot involving Lorretta Salino??
who is she and why did she want to kill hooker??
its the only thing i couldnt understand in this film"
Here is the deal with Salino.
Lonnegan, after his numbers runner Matolla was swindled at the beginning of the movie, hired two men, Riley and Cole, to find the swindlers and kill them. They found Luther and threw him out the window, killing him. They tried to find Hooker but could not find him. (They did not try to find Kid Erie although he was with Hooker.)
Later on, Riley and Cole tried to kill Hooker by hiding in his apartment but Hooker foiled that plan with the folded paper in the doorjam and barely escaped them.
Lonnegan got pissed after these two bungled attempts and had his local man hire someone else (Salino) to find and kill Hooker. However, only one of the two original hit men (I forget which one) was aware of this because the other one was not in the office with Lonnegan when he made this decision. The one present was warned not to interfere with Salino but they were unsure if the absent one would know to back off.
Salino was the waitress in the diner and helped Hooker avoid the original hit man by hiding in the bathroom stall. Soon after that, Salino found that hit man and killed him in the alley although we viewers did not know that Salino was the waitress who had just "saved" Hooker. All we knew was that Salino had killed the hit man because he yelled out "Salino" before he got shot.
Hooker spends the night in Salino's apartment but waked up to find the bed empty. He leaves through the back alley and was only seconds away from being unexpectedly shot by her when one of Henry's men who had been trailing Hooker shoots her just before she could shoot him.
Thanks scrabbler1, you've explained quite a lot, allthogh I'm still a little unsure of why Lonnegan would continue to try and have Hooker killed, even when he believed that Hooker was helping him get in on the Big Money Making Wire scam. "one of Henry's men who had been trailing Hooker shoots her (Salino) just before she could shoot him (Hooker)" Now you've pointed it out I realise the guy who shot Salino was one of Gondorff's(Henry's, ie. Paul Newman's) men. Hopefully this explanation may help any oithers who were confused; thanks.
shareLonnegan did not know that Henry's bookkeeper (Kelly a.k.a. Hooker) was the same man who had helped con his numbers runner, Matolla. Lonnegan still wants *that* man killed while he wants Kelly to help him break Shaw a.k.a. Gondorf as revenge for his loss to him in the poker game.
shareEvents would seem to indicate a strange lack of communication between Lonnegan and his men at times, in terms of what each other was up to. But be that as it may, you've pretty much explained the things I didn't understand and I thank you for the explanations.
shareIn the preliminary meeting which included Gondorf, Hooker, Twist, Singleton, and others(?), one of them mentioned that Lonnegan tended to avoid the day-to-day stuff of his numbers racket in case it got raided. This would explain, perhaps inadequately, as to why Lonnegan never knew that Kelly was Hooker, the man he had put out a hit on.
Lonnegan also operated out of New York, so it would make sense that he did not know everything about his Chicago operation. It was his frequent train rides from NY to Chicago which brought him there and spurred the poker game which IMHO was the best part of the movie LOL!
How could Lonnegan not know Hooker was Kelly when his goons and Salerno did?
shareLonnegan's initial hitmen (Riley and Cole) knew him as Hooker but Lonnegan and his immediate bodyguards himself knew him only as Kelly. Neither had any cameras or sketch artists to enable them to compare notes. Salino knew him only as the man she was hired to kill. She was two steps removed from Lonnegan, as a sub-contractor hired by Lonnegan's people.
shareAhhhhh, thank you!
---
There is a God and his name is Billy Joel.
The hit man briefly explains this. When Hooker comes over to her place to bang her the neighbor sticks her head out of the door and sees Hooker and Salino. So if Hooker turned up dead the next morning there would be a witness who could identify Salino.
Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.
People would be able to identify her as having lived in the room in which Hooker is killed. She'd be suspect.
share