The 2011 action crime drama “Kill The Irishman” from Anchor Bay Films was directed by Jonathan Hensleigh with the screenplay written by Jeremy Walters based on the book “To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia” by Rick Porrello. Starring: Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Vincent D’Onofrio, Paul Sorvino, Vinnie Jones, Steve Schirripa, Fionnula Flanagan, Laura Ramsey, Linda Cardellini and Bob Gunton.
Organized crime syndicates operate in many cities, and the city of Cleveland, Ohio is no exception. Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) clawed his way up through one of the toughest neighborhoods in the heart of the city to the work on the docks at the main port. Eventually he was able to become an enforcer with one of the Italian Mafia families, headed by Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken). Greene became known for his no-nonesense manner and efficiency in handling the business of the crime family he worked for.
But Greene and the other enforcers became dissatisfied with the 30% cut they were being paid for their labor. For them it didn’t seem fair that they took all the risks, but got very little compensation for their trouble. So in 1976 when opportunity knocked on his door, Greene decided to team up with with another gangster named John Nardi (Vincent D’Onofrio).
When Greene was summoned by Shondor Birns to a meeting, he announced that he was going into business for himself. He began refusing to take orders from the Mafia and for Birns, this was the final straw; if he didn’t stop Greene he would lose control of the organization. Birns felt he had no other choice but to put out a contract on Greene to have him killed.
What occurred during the summer of that year was enough to kill several people, unfortunately none of them were the intended victim. Over three dozen attempts to kill Greene failed and almost everyone who was sent to carry out the contract was killed in retaliation. From car bombs to shootings, every one of the assassination attempts failed.
Through every attempt, Greene remained fearless and determined to live his life on his own terms. This true story of how one many stood up to the Italian Mafia and defeated them, eventually crumbled the grip of these notorious crime syndicates across the United States. Danny Greene became a legend in his own time and is known as the man the Mafia could not kill.
