Gangster Story is kind of a flat story. The story itself is decent but I don't think it was carried out very well. Not to mention some parts of the story were just pointless. It was a good story at first but then I thought it got lost. Jack Martin (Walter Matthau) is a bank robber on the run from the law. Using skills of deception and multiple identities, he manages to pull off a bank heist. When he meets librarian Carol Logan (Carol Grace) he moves in with her, and decides to stay in town. But local crime boss Earl Dawson (Bruce MacFarlane) hears that somebody pulled off a heist in "his territory" he attempts to enlist Martin into his crime family. After that the story just kind off runs around. It's a coherent story, but it's lazy and poorly done. The romance between Martin and Carol is spontaneous and it's not really interesting either. I've heard that this film is based on a true story. Weather or this is actually true is unknown to me. What I do know is that Gangster Story is a lazy and boring film noir.

What a real pleasure for me to discover this flick. I was really amazed. Not a great picture, but short, sharp, accurate in action and characters. For a B movie I mean. No wasted shots in directing. Of course, we have already seen this scheme a thousand times, but it is still effective. Matthau is excellent and prepares us for "Charley Varrick", shot a decade later: A bank robber with the crime syndicate on his heels. No user seems to have noticed that.Description of the two heists of the film are delightful, meticulously described. And the bank robbery at the beginning is very funny. But this doesn't alter the tragic content of the story.

Never viewed this film until I noticed it showing on TCM and found out that Walter Matthau directed and also acted in this film as Jack Martin. Jack Martin is a crook who is very calm, bold and deadly with a gun in his hand. He pulls off a bank robbery and the cops are closing in on him and he decides to go into a Public Library and meets a blonde librarian named Carol Grace, (Carol Logan) while he is dodging the police, he hits on Carol Logan and she becomes very interested in him immediately, even when Jack tells her he is bank robber. There are many hold ups and plenty of cops are killed and Jack still takes on more hold ups for millions of dollars. This is not a bad film for 1960 and is great to see some of the old 1960 automobiles being driven around. Enjoy

Gangster Story may have been more interesting with a higher budget and by ditching the California countryside locations. This story seemed to be in a smaller city (one scene has Matthau driving with cows in a field in the background) so I can't see why there would be such a mob presence here.The bank robbery was actually quite funny. Matthau used all the wit and charm we saw in later films during this scene. He had a few other humorous lines in this film.Some of the other dialouge was really stiff though, especially with the supporting cast. Looks like they just took people off the street and gave them lines to memorize. There was some really awful acting here. Matthau himself comes across stiffly in his tender scenes with his real wife. The kissing scene was embarrassing to watch.Someone in another review made a comparison to the old "Highway Patrol" TV show and I agree. That show also was filmed in the California countryside and desert areas. The old black and white police cars in Gangster Story (minus any identification on them) looked and sounded just like THP cars.I enjoy watching old, low budget films, though. Especially when it contains a major star in an early role. Kind of a cheap thrill, however, I wouldn't put this on anyone's "Don't Miss" list.