Ball Brings Out Furs, Sequins, Stars of Prohibition Hollywood

Such is the human compulsion to romanticize the past that the gun-totin’ gangsters of yesteryear have taken on the genteel charm of Alistair Cooke.

Ah, the ‘20s, when a career criminal wore spats instead of running shoes and crime had a dress code that called for more than a ski mask and a shoplifted warm-up suit.

Openly lording it over their turf, Capone and Dillinger would be dismayed indeed to see their ‘80s progeny skulking about under cover of darkness in stolen cars and hiding out in the high weeds of Wall Street.

Commemorating the high style of the underlords of old, the Masquers theatrical fraternity staged a Gangsters and Their Molls Ball at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Monday, and yes, some mighty quaint threads were on parade. Sequined flapper chemises, feathers, furs and the kind of glittering, over-the-top evening wear that’s devolved into “Dynasty” drag was de rigueur for ladies, while the gents sported tuxedos, pinky rings and fedoras. One imaginative dandy accessorized his flashy, vested suit with a machine gun.

A fund-raising event intended to help finance the relocation of the Masquers collection of show-biz memorabilia (which was recently ousted from its previous home at the beleaguered Variety Arts Center), the Gangsters Ball reunited numerous actors and actresses known for their film portrayals of thugs, dames and stool pigeons.

Marie Windsor, Penny Singleton, Anthony Caruso, Ann Savage, June Lang, Fritz Feld and Virginia O’Brien were among the 350 guests who danced until midnight to the period sounds of the Art Deco Society Orchestra at the sold-out event.

Commencing with cocktails in the Roosevelt lobby at 6:30 p.m., the ball got off to a peculiar start as paparazzi and hard-core fans armed with cameras and autograph books milled around in search of someone to gawk at.

“Aldo Ray!” screeched a middle-aged woman, thus triggering a series of excited screams of “Where’s Aldo Ray!”

Bewildered hotel guests made their way through the crowd wondering what was up, while the guests of honor were whisked upstairs to a VIP lounge--whisked a bit reluctantly in some cases. Most having retired from film years ago, they seemed thrilled to be back in the spotlight again and were eager to chat with fans who remembered and admired their films.

Harking back to an era when movie stars believed that their obligation to the public didn’t end when they stepped off the set, the gents at the Gangsters Ball carried themselves as though they’d attended a finishing school run by Adolphe Menjou, while the ladies were, well, ladies.

Cocktails were followed by a sit-down dinner, which segued into an awards ceremony highlighted by the presentation of the Platinum Violin Case to Lawrence Tierney, known for his title role in “Dillinger” (1945). Recent moviegoers may also recall Tierney’s performance as Ryan O’Neal’s father in last year’s instant classic, Norman Mailer’s “Tough Guys Don’t Dance”--Tierney uttered the immortal line, “I just deep-sixed two heads.”

The Platinum Grapefruit Award went to Mae Clark, the hapless ingenue who was served a hands-on breakfast by Jimmy Cagney in a memorable scene in the 1931 film “Public Enemy.”

The mood more that of a high-school reunion than a fund-raiser, the Gangsters Ball was a sweet, gentle event that paid honorable homage to an industry that obviously meant a great deal to those in attendance. Naturally there was much hugging and kissing--this is, after all, Hollywood--but genuine camaraderie could be felt in the room as well. Autographs were given with great pleasure, and as a handsome elderly man strolled down the hallway in search of the loo, he could be heard softly singing to himself, “let me entertain you.”