San Diego Reader

Mother of mercy, is this the end of civilization as we know it? Given the recent glut of mass murders, school shootings, etc., what better time in American history to stop and glorify criminals?

To celebrate the release of Warner Bros. uncharacteristically bloody period gangster drama Gangster Squad, The National Crime Museum (who even knew that such a thing existed) has released their list of the top five gangster pictures of all time.

The titles the Crime Museum has selected are:

— The Godfather

— Scarface (DePalma, not Hawks)

— The Untouchables (DePalma, not Desilu)

— Bonnie and Clyde

— Casino

Couldn't the Crime Museum have pretended they were the Academy and switched from five to ten titles? Not one gangster film from Warner Bros., the studio that started it all?! How about a noir from the '40's or '50's? You'll never convince me that Bonnie and Clyde or DePalma's Scarface are better films than Force of Evil or The Big Heat.

The museum's mission statement "is to provide guests of all ages with a memorable insight into the issues of crime, crime fighting, and the consequences of committing a crime in America through a captivating interactive, entertaining and educational experience."

Crime doesn't pay, eh? Tell that to Ace Rothstein at the end of Casino.

Next time you're vacationing in Washington, why not take the kiddies to the Crime Museum and let them play in Bonnie & Clyde's death car or try on Mickey Cohen’s custom-made suit? They can even pray with Al Capone’s rosary. Look what good it did him!