The Legend of Al, John and Jack 2002

Set in New York City in 1959, three small‑time gangsters—Al, John and Jack—pose as moviegoers at a drive‑in to spy on Sam Genovese, the city’s most wanted mob boss, famed for nicknaming his meals “chicken thigh.” Genovese plans to execute a loyal traitor, hoping to tape the moment for the FBI, but fate twists the plan: just as the trigger is pulled, the boss chokes on his food, the traitor is spared, and the trio’s night ends with [Al] getting electrocuted, waking up with no memory.

A few days later, the trio—[Al] Caruso, [John], and [Jack]—find themselves holed up in a hotel room. The electrocution has given [Al] a rare memory‑erasing syndrome that fires every time he falls asleep. They recount their recent misadventures: they’ve killed an innocent barber by mistake, mistaking him for a traitor, and a pub shootout erupts when Jack confuses another thug for a rival. In the room, danger sits close at hand as two guards—“Hard Back” Tom and “Butterfingered” Sam—keep watch while the strangest memory drama unfolds.

Genovese gives them one last chance: fetch his elderly aunt at the bus station and cart her around town. The mission collapses when Jack accidentally shoots the aunt with a defective gun. They flee to Herbert’s home; [Herbert] is [Al]’s brother, and his surprising later feelings will involve one of the trio.

From there, a plan to betray Genovese backfires, so they improvise a more elaborate ruse: make it look like an assassination attempt on Genovese. [Al] hides in a wardrobe in Genovese’s hotel room, while [John] and [Jack] stash the gun in the room service tray. When the room service arrives, [Al] springs out, seizes the weapon, and collides with the waiter, hoping the chaos will force Genovese to show mercy. But the twists keep coming: Calogero Buccheri’s disappearance casts a shadow over the scheme, and the truth about the trio’s identities—[John] and [Jack] being two con artists who have lived double lives as La Paglia—unfolds. A sudden break‑in involving police seals Genovese’s fate, and [Al] somehow forgives [John] and [Jack], choosing to return home.

Two years on, [John] and [Jack] are penniless again. A radio broadcast sparks new hope: Hurricane Hogan, a famous boxer, will pay $5,000 to the man who can beat him. Meanwhile, Calogero Buccheri goes missing once more, leaving the story open to new chances and old dangers.