Background
Although largely fictional, the film is based on the real-life investigation into a group of hired killers dubbed by the press as "Murder, Inc." (the film was released under that title in the United Kingdom). It was during this investigation, and the Kefauver hearings, that terms like "contract" (a deal to commit a murder) and "hit" (the actual killing itself) first came into the public knowledge. The gangsters used such codes in case of eavesdroppers or phone tappings by the police.
Bogart's ADA Martin Ferguson is based on Burton Turkus, who led the prosecutions of several members of the Murder, Inc. gang. His book on the case was published at about the same time the film was released.
Ted de Corsia's Joe Rico was probably inspired by Abe Reles. Like Rico, Reles was about to testify against a major crime lord but, although under heavy police guard, was found dead after falling out of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island on November 12, 1941. It has never been established for sure if Reles' death was murder, accident or suicide.
Read more about this topic: The Enforcer (1951 Film)
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