Phone Call From Detroit

Anybody notice that scene in the hotel where just as Bugs Moran is about to leave for his appointment at the garage where the massacre will occur, he is delayed by being called to the telephone to receive a call. When the desk clerk mentions the call is from Detroit, my first reaction was the Purple Gang, who were a very ruthless mob from that city. When Moran calls the man on the other end Abe, my suspicions were confirmed.

The head of the Purple Gang was a man by the name of Abe Bernstein. And many have speculated that the hit men who committed the massacre were members of that gang. I'm not sure if the film is trying to debunk that theory by showing that Moran had a friendly relationship with the Purples, or if this last minute call was supposed to be seen as an attempt to insure that Moran actually was on his way to the garage where it was hoped he would meet his death.