Machine-Gun Kelly | |
---|---|
Directed by | Roger Corman |
Screenplay by | R. Wright Campbell |
Produced by | Roger Corman |
Starring | Charles Bronson Susan Cabot Morey Amsterdam Richard Devon Jack Lambert |
Cinematography | Floyd Crosby |
Edited by | Ronald Sinclair |
Music by | Gerald Fried |
Production company | El Monte Productions |
Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $100,000 [2] |
Box office | 138,293 admissions (France) [3] |
Machine-Gun Kelly is a 1958 film noir directed by Roger Corman that chronicles the criminal activities of the real-life gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Despite its small budget, the film received positive critical reviews. [4]
Charles Bronson's lead role in Machine-Gun Kelly was his first in a feature film. Corman called the film "a major turning point in my career," because it was the first for which he had received serious critical attention. [5]
American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with The Bonnie Parker Story . [6]
George Kelly, dubbed "Machine Gun" by his partner in crime Flo Becker because of his obsession with Thompson submachine guns, robs a bank and eventually becomes public enemy #1. Discord grows among his inner circle, and Kelly, afraid of being jailed or killed, is dominated and ridiculed by the tough-talking Flo.
A botched robbery causes their partner Michael Fandango to lose an arm. Kelly, goaded by Flo, kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy businessman for ransom. Fandango identifies him to the police but is killed by one of Kelly's gang as the house is surrounded.
Kelly intends to surrender, if only to receive a more lenient sentence and avoid execution. Flo again questions his nerve, and Kelly slugs her. Both are taken to jail.
Roger Corman said he had been attracted to Kelly's story because of how the gangster had meekly surrendered. Corman hired Robert Wright Campbell as screenwriter and said that Campbell "wrote a very good script with strong, well-sketched characters," based a great deal on the facts. [7] Corman had hired Campbell on the strength of his previous work, especially Five Guns West . [8]
The film was announced in December 1957. It was intended to replace The Land of Prehistoric Women on Corman's schedule. Dick Miller was originally announced as the star, [9] and in early January, Susan Cabot was announced as the female lead. [10] However, Miller withdrew, and was replaced by Charles Bronson, for whom it was his first appearance in a lead role.
Susan Cabot said that the film was the "most satisfactory" of the six that she made with Corman, in part because of what she called the "fun thing going on" between her character and Bronson's and the strength of her relationship with Bronson. [11]
The film was shot in ten days for $60,000. [8]
The Los Angeles Times called Machine-Gun Kelly a "sleeper" with "a very good screenplay" in which Bronson makes Kelly "a full, three dimensional human being." [12]
The film was reasonably successful in the U.S. but fared well in Europe, and Corman's work was examined in journals such as Cahiers du Cinéma . [8]
Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.
American International Pictures LLC is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.
Charles Bronson was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in the Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958).
Mickey Blue Eyes is a 1999 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Kelly Makin. Hugh Grant stars as Michael Felgate, an English auctioneer living in New York City who becomes entangled in his soon-to-be father-in-law's mafia connections. Several of the minor roles are played by actors later featured in The Sopranos.
Susan Cabot was an American film, stage, and television actress. She rose to prominence for her roles in a variety of Western films, including Tomahawk (1951), The Duel at Silver Creek (1952), and Gunsmoke (1953).
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 American gangster film based on the 1929 mass murder of seven members of the Northside Gang on orders from Al Capone. The picture was directed by Roger Corman, written by Howard Browne, and starring Jason Robards as Capone, Ralph Meeker as Moran, George Segal as Peter Gusenberg, and David Canary as Frank Gusenberg.
Sorority Girl is a 1957 film noir exploitation film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Susan Cabot as Sabra, a sociopath who plays a very disruptive role in a sorority, with Barboura Morris, Dick Miller and June Kenney. It was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Motorcycle Gang.
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.
The Wasp Woman is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Michael Mark, and Barboura Morris. The film was originally released by Filmgroup as a double feature with Beast from Haunted Cave. To pad out the film's running time when it was released to television two years later, a new prologue was added by director Jack Hill.
The Valachi Papers is a 1972 neo noir crime film directed by Terence Young. It is an adaptation of the 1968 non-fiction book of the same name by Peter Maas, with a screenplay by Stephen Geller. It tells the story of Joseph Valachi, a Mafia informant in the early 1960s who was the first ever mafioso to acknowledge the organization's existence. The film stars Charles Bronson as Valachi and Lino Ventura as crime boss Vito Genovese, with Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Guido Leontini, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, and Angelo Infanti.
Capone is a 1975 American action crime film directed by Steve Carver, written by Howard Browne, and starring Ben Gazzara, Harry Guardino, Susan Blakely, John Cassavetes, and Sylvester Stallone in an early film appearance. The film is a biography of the infamous gangster Al Capone.
The Secret Invasion is a 1964 American war film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, Mia Massini, and William Campbell. Appearing three years before The Dirty Dozen (1967), the film features a similar World War II mission where convicts are recruited by the Allies for an extremely hazardous operation behind enemy lines, with any convicts surviving the mission receiving a pardon.
Five Guns West is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing Company, which later became American International Pictures.
Apache Woman is a 1955 American Western directed by Roger Corman and starring Lloyd Bridges. It was Corman's second film as director, following Five Guns West. It was one of four Westerns he made for American International Pictures, the other being Five Guns West, The Oklahoma Woman (1955) and Gunslinger (1956). Corman says Apache Woman and Oklahoma Woman were from ideas by AIP whereas the others were his ideas. This was the first film from Golden State Productions, a company headed by Alex Gordon.
Carnival Rock is a 1957 film directed by Roger Corman with musical performances by The Platters, David Houston, Bob Luman and His Shadows, and the Blockbusters.
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent is a 1958 American action-adventure horror film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Abby Dalton, Susan Cabot and June Kenney.
I Mobster is a 1959 film noir crime-drama film directed by Roger Corman. The film features a cameo of famous burlesque star Lili St. Cyr.
St. Ives is a 1976 American crime thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset, and Maximilian Schell.
Robert Wright Campbell, often credited as R. Wright Campbell or Robert Campbell, was an American screenwriter, author and occasional actor. He was the brother of actor William Campbell and brother in law of Judith Campbell Exner. He wrote ten television series, including Maverick and Marcus Welby, M.D..
Steve Carver was an American film director, producer, and photographer.