Gun Crazy
by Joseph H. Lewis
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DVD details
Actor: Anabel Shaw, Berry Kroeger, John Dall, Morris Carnovsky, Peggy CumminsDirector: Joseph H. Lewis
Brand: KITSES,JIM
Cinematographer: Russell Harlan
Editor: Harry W. Gerstad
Producer: Frank King
Producer: Maurice King
Writer: Dalton Trumbo
Writer: MacKinlay Kantor
Writer: Millard Kaufman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-07-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Gun Crazy
DVD Review: "Bart, I've been kicked around all my life, and from now on, I'm gonna start kicking back!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Directed by Joseph `Wagon Wheel Joe' Lewis (The Big Combo, Terror in a Texas Town), his nickname apparently derived from the early days in his career when he shot mostly westerners, Gun Crazy (1949) aka Deadly Is the Female stars John Dall (Rope, The Man Who Cheated Himself) and Peggy Cummins (Night of the Demon, Carry on Admiral) as a couple of young, impulsive individuals whose common passions (for each other and guns) take them on an exciting, and ultimately dangerous journey from which there is no return. Also appearing is Berry Kroeger (Blood Alley), Morris Carnovsky (Joe Palooka in the Knockout), Anabel Shaw (Shock), Harry Lewis (Key Largo), Nedrick Young (Seconds), and a young Russ Tamblyn (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High School Confidential!), probably best known for his role as `Riff', hot tempered leader of the Jets, from the musical West Side Story (1961)...remember, `When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way! From you first cigarette your last dyin' days'.
As the film begins we see a young boy, played by Tamblyn, named Bart Tare, who's in a whole heap of trouble. Seems Bart really isn't a bad seed, but his undeniable desire towards firearms in general has gotten him into some hot water enough times he's eventually sent to reform school despite pleas from his sister Ruby (Shaw), who also happens to be his guardian. As the years pass, an adult Bart, now played by Dall, is eventually released and enlists in the army (as good a place as any to satiate one's desire to be around guns), to which he returns home once his stint is up. Bart and his childhood friends celebrate his homecoming by going to a traveling carnival where they witness the sharp-shooting skills of one Annie Laurie Starr (Cummins), whom Bart immediately finds himself drawn to, her six-shooters singing a siren call he can't resist. Demonstrating his own formidable skills as a marksman, Bart ends up joining the carnival, although he and Annie soon leave after a falling out with their boss (What?! And give up the life of a carny? That's just plain nuts). Young, unencumbered with responsibilities, and armed with pistols, the pair ties the knot, quickly blowing through whatever dough they have in an orgiastic spending jag, and soon find themselves light in the pockets, so to speak. Bart's content to eek out a living on a menial wage with a real job, as long as he's got Annie, but she desires a life full of thrills, action, and lots of moola, enough of each for her to suggest to Bart that they use their talents to take what they need (Annie is most definitely a bad seed). Bart reluctantly goes along (the sap), and the pair begins a life of crime, one that starts out small time but eventually expands as whatever dough they manage to steal is quickly used up to maintain the extravagant lifestyle Annie desires. Eventually the stress of being a nogoodnik wears on Bart, enough so he pleads with Annie that they should go straight, but she convinces him to pull one, last score, one that will give them the funds they need to start a new life down old Mexico way...the heist is a success, but things sour during the getaway, and now they're pursued by both local, state, and federal authorities, all with orders to `shoot to kill'...
This is a great film, worth watching if only for the scene involving the first time Bart and Annie hold up a bank, clad in the western gear worn during their stint in the carnival. The long, continuous shot involves one camera, positioned in the back seat of their car, and shows the jacked up couple on their way to the bank, trying to find a place to park, Bart entering the bank, while Annie stays behind. The camera never leaves the back seat, giving the viewer the feeling that they're sort of in on the holdup (from the standpoint of being in the backseat of the getaway car), sharing all the excitement and the danger. There's a number of similarly interesting shots throughout the film, which goes a long way towards really keeping things lively and the overall pacing in high gear. An interesting thing, when I first saw John Dall on the screen, he looked so familiar to me, but for the life of me I couldn't recall what I'd seen him in before until I reviewed his credits and saw he was one of the principal players in Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 feature Rope. Both he and Ms. Cummins create quite a lot of heat here, portraying a young, passionate, impetuous pair on the razor's edge, he a lovelorn sap willing to follow his heart despite better judgment, eventually realizing his folly but also realizing he can't turn back, and she a manipulative, materialistic, type who not only knows exactly what she wants but also what she is, and makes no apologies for either...which is worse, she who has little pretense (anyone who spends five minutes with this dame will know she's trouble), or he, who struggles continually with his conscience, generally always siding with his heart over his brain? Seeing as how they both had some obviously bad wiring, it's a matter of six of one, half dozen of the other, if you ask me. What's funny is there was at least one who tried to warn Bart off on Annie, a fellow performer by the name of Bluey-Bluey, whom Bart shared quarters with during his stint with the carnival. In Bart's defense I suppose it's kind of difficult to take advice from a guy in greasy clown makeup who goes by the name Bluey-Bluey. Another aspect that really stood out for me was the ending...it becomes fairly obvious how things will go in a general sense, but the story actually manages to squeeze in a delicious, unexpected twist in terms of the specifics. To say any more would spoil it (I'll give you a hint, it does involve guns...I know, I know, not much of a hint considering the film is titled Gun Crazy), but know that's it's a real hoot and a half, one worth hanging on for...all in all this is a tight, engaging film, well directed film with some really interesting characters, strong performances, and decent production values, one worth checking out if you enjoy sexually charged noir crime dramas from back in the day.
The picture, presented in fullscreen (1.33:1), looks very good, limited to a few, very minor flaws, and the Dolby Digital audio is sharp and clean. There is a commentary track featuring author/film noir specialist Glenn Erickson, along with subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. If you're interested in picking up this DVD, you might want to look into purchasing the Film Noir Classics Collection, Volume 1, a most excellent DVD set, as it includes this film, along with The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Murder My Sweet (1944), Out of the Past (1947), and The Set-Up (1949) at a cost which is significantly less than buying the features individually, at least at the time this review was written.
Cookieman108
Description of Gun Crazy
A collection of classic film noir.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 6-JUL-2004
Media Type: DVD
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