Movie Description
Kill the Irishman is a 2011 American biographical crime film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer. Written by Hensleigh and Jeremy Walters, it is based on the life of the Irish-American gangster Danny Greene, and was adapted from the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello.
Before entering production, Kill the Irishman had a troubled development stage that lasted over a decade. Production commenced in 2009, and filming took place in and around Detroit.
The film chronicles the rise and fall of Danny Greene. He worked as a longshoreman on the Cleveland docks, until being chosen to serve as interim president of the International Longshoremen's Association in 1961. In 1964, he was convicted of embezzling $11,500 of the union's funds. After his conviction, Greene rose through the criminal underworld in Cleveland and waged war on the Mafia for control of the city. After many failed attempts on Greene's life, he was assassinated on October 6, 1977, by contract killer Ray Ferritto. Greene's death ultimately led to the demise of the Cleveland Mafia.
Kill the Irishman was released in the United States on March 11, 2011 and premiered at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York City. Most of the cast, including Stevenson and D'Onofrio, were in attendance as was Shondor Birns' niece. The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with some reviewers criticizing the purported similarities to Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Kill the Irishman grossed $1,188,194 at the domestic box office, against a production budget of $12 million.