Machine-Gun Kelly (film)

Last updated
Machine-Gun Kelly
Machine-Gun-Kelly-poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Roger Corman
Screenplay by R. Wright Campbell
Produced byRoger 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
July 1958
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100,000 [1]
Box office138,293 admissions (France) [2]

Machine-Gun Kelly is a 1958 film noir directed by Roger Corman that chronicles the criminal activities of the real-life George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Despite its low budget, the film received positive critical reviews. [3]

Contents

Charles Bronson's role 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 received serious critical attention. [4]

American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with The Bonnie Parker Story . [5]

Plot

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.

Cast

Production

1958 advertisement for Machine Gun Kelly and its co-feature The Bonnie Parker Story. Bowie Theatre Ad - 6 June 1958, Brownwood, TX.jpg
1958 advertisement for Machine Gun Kelly and its co-feature The Bonnie Parker Story .

Roger Corman was attracted to Kelly's story of because of how the gangster 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. [6] Corman hired Campbell based on his previous work, especially Five Guns West . [7]

The film was announced in December 1957. It was to replace The Land of Prehistoric Women on Corman's schedule. Dick Miller was originally announced as the star. [8] In early January, Susan Cabot was announced as the female lead. [9] Miller withdrew and the film became the first appearance for Charles Bronson 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 the "fun thing going on" between her character and Bronson's and the strength of her relationship with Bronson. [10]

The film was shot in ten days for $60,000. [7]

Reception

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." [11]

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 . [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)

Roger William Corman is 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 is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are low-budget cult films including some which are adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American International Pictures</span> Film production company

American International Pictures is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bronson</span> American actor (1921–2003)

Charles Bronson was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique", and action films, Bronson was born into extreme poverty, in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania. His 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).

<i>Mickey Blue Eyes</i> 1999 American romcom crime film

Mickey Blue Eyes is a 1999 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Cabot</span> American actress (1927–1986)

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Campbell (actor)</span> American actor (1923–2011)

William Campbell was an American actor who appeared in supporting roles in major film productions, and also starred in several low-budget B-movies and horror films.

<i>Sorority Girl</i> 1957 film by Roger Corman

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 as Rita, and Dick Miller and June Kenney. It was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Motorcycle Gang.

<i>She Gods of Shark Reef</i> 1958 film by Roger Corman

She Gods of Shark Reef is a 1958 B-adventure film directed by Roger Corman that was partially filmed on location in Kaua'i back to back with Naked Paradise in 1956. The film was distributed in 1958 by American International Pictures as a double feature with Night of the Blood Beast.

<i>The Wasp Woman</i> 1959 film by Roger Corman, Jack Hill

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Kenney</span> American actress (1933–2021)

June Claire Sebastian was an American actress known for her work in B movies in the late 1950s.

<i>Thunder and Lightning</i> (1977 film) 1977 film by Corey Allen

Thunder and Lightning is a 1977 action comedy film directed by Corey Allen, and starring David Carradine and Kate Jackson.

<i>The Secret Invasion</i> 1964 film by Roger Corman

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.

<i>Five Guns West</i> 1955 American film

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.

<i>Apache Woman</i> (1955 film) 1955 film by Roger Corman

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.

<i>The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent</i> 1957 film by Roger Corman

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>I Mobster</i> 1958 film by Roger Corman

I Mobster is a 1958 film noir crime-drama film directed by Roger Corman. The film features a cameo of famous burlesque star Lili St. Cyr.

<i>War of the Satellites</i> 1958 film by Roger Corman

War of the Satellites is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film drama, produced and directed by Roger Corman, and starring Richard Devon, Dick Miller and Susan Cabot. It was distributed in the U.S. and the U.K. by Allied Artists. In the U.S., it was released as a double feature with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

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..

<i>Crime and Punishment U.S.A.</i> 1959 film

Crime and Punishment U.S.A. is a 1959 American crime drama film directed by Denis Sanders, written by Walter Newman and starring George Hamilton in his first screen role. The film was released on November 1, 1959.

References

  1. Samuel Z. Arkoff and Richard Turbo, Flying Through Hollywood By the Seat of My Pants, Birch Lane Press 1992, p. 77
  2. Box office information for Roger Corman films in France at Box Office Story
  3. "Machine Gun Kelly: Review".
  4. Corman, p. 55
  5. Shocker Pioneers Tell How to Make Monsters: Want to Make a Monster? Experts Tell How It's Done, Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times 21 Sept. 1958: E1.
  6. Corman, p. 54
  7. 1 2 3 "Interview with Roger Corman". You Tube. 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20.
  8. MOVIELAND EVENTS: 'Machine Gun Kelly' New Crime Thriller Los Angeles Times 19 Dec. 1957: B15.
  9. Western Set for O'Herlihy: Boyer Sought for 'Image-Makers'; Chevalier Heads Moliere Cast, Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 1 Jan. 1958: B9.
  10. Weaver, Tom (2006). Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN   9780786428588.
  11. 'Kelly' Surprises as New Crime Sleeper, Warren, Geoffrey M. Los Angeles Times 4 July 1958: 12.

Notes