Plot
To the horror of her husband, Kate Barker, known as "Ma," teaches her four young sons to steal money from the collection plate in church. Her husband tries to convince her to stop using her sons to commit crimes, but is ignored. Ma expresses her contempt for "sissies" and says that "guts" is the only virtue. Her husband leaves her when their sensitive son Herman is arrested after Ma forces him to rob a fun fair. After this, the local sheriff runs Ma Barker and her boys out of town.
Years later, she has become a hardened criminal along with her sons. She is known in the underworld for her ruthlessness and efficiency in planning "jobs." At a party she hosts for leading criminals Machine Gun Kelly, encouraged by his brash girlfriend Lou, claims he can work without her. Ma is dismissive. After Kelly's independent attempt at a kidnapping fails, Ma belittles Lou. Lou plans revenge. Meanwhile psychopathic killer Alvin Karpis is introduced to the gang. Ma uses him to get rid of weaklings and threats. Ma's drunken new husband Arthur Dunlop is murdered when he blabs about their activities, as is corrupt mob-doctor, Dr. Guelffe.
After a failed robbery Herman shoots himself to avoid capture by the police. Ma is embittered, but plans a major kidnapping that will make the gang rich. She kidnaps wealthy banker, Mr. Khortney. Lou and Kelly discover Ma's hideout and plan to take the kidnap victim from her by force, to collect the ransom themselves, but they are outmaneuvered when Ma reveals she has Baby Face Nelson and John Dillinger with her. The kidnap money is collected, but now the FBI are after the gang. Knowing that Ma's son Doc Barker is attracted to her, Lou seduces him in order to bring him over to her side, but her plan is foiled when the FBI arrest him. They discover a letter that reveals Ma's whereabouts. At a house with her son Fred, she is surrounded by four agents. Fred wants to surrender, but she refuses, and guns down two agents with a Tommy gun. The other agents open fire, killing Fred. Ma strides out with a blazing gun, and is cut down.
Kate Barker, better known as Ma Barker, was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang during the "public enemy era" when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the Midwestern United States gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers.
A gun moll or gangster moll or gangster's moll is the female companion of a male professional criminal. "Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ganef, from the Hebrew gannāb. "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for a woman prostitute.
Alvin Francis Karpis, was a Canadian–American criminal of Lithuanian descent known for being a leader of the Barker–Karpis gang in the 1930s. Nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, Karpis led the gang along with Fred Barker and Arthur "Doc" Barker. There were only four "public enemies" ever given the title of "Public Enemy #1" by the FBI and he was the only one to be taken alive. The other three, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson, were all killed before being captured. He also spent the longest time as a federal prisoner at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, serving twenty-six years.
"Public enemy" is a term which describes individuals whose activities are seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, including pirates, highwaymen, bandits, mobsters, and similar outlaws.
Bloody Mama is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman, and starring Shelley Winters in the title role, with Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert Walden, Alex Nicol and Robert De Niro in supporting roles. It was very loosely based on the real story of Ma Barker, who is depicted as a corrupt, mentally-disturbed mother who encourages and organizes the criminality of her four adult sons in Depression-era southern United States.
Guns Don't Argue is a 1957 low-budget feature film about the early achievements of the FBI in defeating the most notorious criminals of the 1930s. The film involves dramatizations of the crimes and eventual demise of various gangsters, along with a moralistic narrative. It was edited together from a composite of three episodes from the 1952 TV series Gangbusters.
Public Enemies is a 2009 American biographical crime drama film directed by Michael Mann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. It is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough's 2004 non-fiction book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. Set during the Great Depression, the film chronicles the final years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger as he is pursued by FBI agent Melvin Purvis, Dillinger's relationship with Billie Frechette, as well as Purvis' pursuit of Dillinger's associates and fellow criminals John "Red" Hamilton, Homer Van Meter, Harry Pierpont, and Baby Face Nelson.
Joseph P. Moran (1895–1934) was an American medical doctor known for catering to the Depression-era criminal underworld in the early 20th century. He was also a peripheral member of the Barker-Karpis gang, and was possibly the last physician to see the mortally wounded John Hamilton, a member of the John Dillinger gang, whom Moran refused to treat.
Edna "Rabbit" Murray (1898–1966) was a criminal associated with several high-profile gangs in the Depression-era of the early 1930s. Although popularly known to the press as the "Kissing Bandit" for kissing a male robbery victim, she was known in the underworld as "Rabbit" for her skills in breaking out of the penitentiary.
Fred Samuel Goetz, also known as "Shotgun" George Ziegler, was a Chicago Outfit mobster and a suspected participant in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, in 1929.
Public Enemies is a 1996 film directed by Mark L. Lester. The movie, which centers on the 1930s figure Ma Barker and her criminal sons, was filmed in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The film was released on direct-to-video in the United States in November 1996.
Arthur Raymond "Doc" Barker was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang, founded by his brother Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis. Barker was typically called on for violent action, while Fred and Karpis planned the gang's crimes. He was arrested and convicted of kidnapping in 1935. Sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1936, he was killed three years later while attempting to escape.
Ocklawaha is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,508. The community is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Harold Eugene "Eddie" Green was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw during the 1930s, best known as a member of the John Dillinger gang. He was also associated with Frank "Jelly" Nash, Volney Davis and the Barker-Karpis Gang in his early career.
Herbert Allen Farmer, was an American criminal who, with his wife Esther, operated a safe house for underworld fugitives from the mid-1920s to 1933.
Frederick George Barker was an American criminal who, along with Alvin Karpis, co-founded the Barker-Karpis gang, which committed numerous robberies, murders and kidnappings during the 1930s. Barker was the youngest son of Ma Barker, all of whose children were criminals. He was killed in a lengthy gunfight with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935.
The kidnapping of Edward Bremer was the last major criminal enterprise of the Barker-Karpis gang. Though successful in netting the gang a large ransom, it brought down the full force of the FBI on the gang, resulting in the death or capture of its main members in the months afterwards. The kidnapping was ordered by St. Paul Jewish-American organized crime boss Harry Sawyer, and carried out by Fred Barker, Alvin Karpis, Arthur Barker, Volney Davis and Chicago Outfit mobster George Ziegler.
Queen of the Mob is a 1940 American film, directed by James P. Hogan.
The Barker–Karpis Gang was one of the longest-lived criminal gangs during the Depression Era, spanning from 1931 to 1935. The gang was founded by Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis, and later joined by Fred's brother Arthur "Doc" Barker. Along with the three core members, the gang's network spanned up to 25 members at one point.
Thomas Archibald Brown, also known as Big Tom, was an American law enforcement official who served as chief of the Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) during the Great Depression and was notorious for engaging in flagrant corruption.
