Criticism
Despite its good reviews, Bugsy faced criticism over its portrayal of Siegel.
The film also shows Siegel closing the Flamingo at Christmas of 1946 for improvements and being murdered that night alone at Virginia Hill's house holding a newspaper and watching a projection of himself reading movie lines. While Siegel did close the hotel that day, his murder did not take place until six months later in June 1947. Furthermore, he was with his associate, Allen Smiley, reading a newspaper on the sofa, not watching himself on a home movie screen.
The film also completely ignores the role of William Wilkerson ('The Man Who Built Las Vegas') in the building of the Flamingo; Siegel is shown gazing over an empty desert and deciding to build the Flamingo, but the hotel was conceived and constructed wholly by Wilkerson — Siegel only became involved as it neared completion (Wilkerson owned 48% of the Flamingo until selling out much later).
Read more about this topic: Bugsy
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