"Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) a Slick and Influential Hollywood Game Changer was Criticized for Glamorizing Gangsters and Criminals (as if that was something new). Roger Corman's Movie did No such Glamorizing. In Fact, Corman chose to go Quite the Opposite.In expected Fashion, His Movie is Depressing, Disturbing, Cutting Edge, and Sleazy, and has been Accused of Dramatic Debasement for Profit. It was, and it makes it a Stand-Out Cult Movie because of it.Shelley Winters is Perfectly Cast and Lights Up the Screen with Her Demented Character alongside an Early Robert DeNiro as a Drug Addled Glue Sniffer and Heroin Injector. Don Stroud, looking more Handsome than Usual is the Eldest of the Barker Clan and Impresses with a Brooding Brutality. Pat Hingle, as a Depression Era Millionaire, also does Good Work as Corman's Answer to the Decades Hypocrisy.The Violence of the Title, is Slowly Paced, Culminating in a Guns Blazing Shootout Ending. Before that the On Screen Killings and utter Disregard for Human Life is the most Unsettling. Senseless and Sadistic Murders combined with two Early Rape Scenes sets the Stage for Incest, and other Abnormalities.Probably Corman's most Offensive Films, it is Considered one of His Best in some circles. It isn't but shows Low-Budget Skills (synonymous with the Writer, Director, Producer). While none of Corman's Movies came anywhere near the Oscars, He was nevertheless given an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.His Eye for Talent is well Documented as is His way of Making Money with Exploitation. Roger Corman was a Walking Film School for Talented Embryonic Filmmakers. Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola are Proud Graduates.

Shelly Winters plays a wild Ma Barker in this decent Roger Corman directed flick about the Barker gang of the great depression era. Everyone playing Ma Barkers sons, who include Robert Deniro, gives a good performance. Bruce Dern also has a small role as sort of an outside member of the gang. The Barker gang is on the run, lead by their fearless mother. They rob banks and whoever they can get their hands on. There is one particular good scene involving Deniro, complete with his Max Cady accent, where he acts on the advances of a young blonde swimmer who flirts with him while he sits on the dock. Her flirty ways turn to terror as Deniro realizes he tells her some forbidden information and can't afford to let her live. Deniro lost 30 pounds for the role. He also told Corman he could drive even though he didn't have a license. Pat Hingle, a great character actor, as a high profile man who the gang kidnaps to get ransom money is also very good. This film is no "Bonnie and Clyde" but I'm surprised it didn't get more attention. Worth a look.

It's not trash, but it's certainly not in a class with BONNIE AND CLYDE or even DILLINGER, but BLOODY MAMA is a ton of fun. Shelley Winters is scary, creepy and actually a little touching as "the greatest mother of them all." Her kinky brood is played by up'n'comers Robert Walden, Robert De Niro and Don Stroud. They're all terrific, with DeNiro chewing a bit of scenery as Lloyd, the family's glue-sniffing junkie. Roger Corman's direction is, as expected, efficient and lean, although it's remarkably blood-free, despite the inflammatory title. The supporting cast includes Diane Varsi (looking pretty lousy with a perm and bad skin) and Pat Hingle (as the family's unlucky kidnapping victim).

I watched BLOODY MAMA because I love Shelley Winters and wanted to see where Robert De Niro started as an actor. Well, it wasn't worth watching. What started interestingly enough quickly became tiresome and unwatchable. The script is a complete mess. Really. I never seen such a badly written story for a film ever. It just doesn't know what to do with its characters. By the time the film focused on the kidnapped man who was bound to a chair, I lost interest. What the hell were they thinking?Poor Shelley, stuck in this bad movie. Whenever she's one screen, her mere presence elevates this movie up a couple of extra stars. Remove her completely and no one, and I mean no one would remember this film. Aside from the scene when Shelley robs a bank and forces old ladies to hang on to their car and the subsequent car chase, seeing the old ladies hang for dear life, which I admit was really fun, this film is totally forgettable.