This movie was based on an 80 page book "The Notorious Ashley Gang" 'A Saga of the King and Queen of the Everglades' by Hix C.Stuart, printed/copyright date 1928 by St.Lucie Printing Co, Inc. Stuart, Florida. Hix was my husband's grandfather who lived in the area at the time the Ashley Gang was most active. It amazes the heck out of me how they could have made this movie based on an 80 page book...but it was non-the less a fun opportunity for the Stuart families as well as many of the locals with the film being made. (I had to give the movie a '2' just to be kind... but what can you say, most of those stories about the gangs of the late 1800's & early 1900's were pretty much pieced together with speculations; things people would journal; and many handed down stories with a touch of glamor to make them entertaining)

The Florida Everglades in the 1920's. Shrewd, handsome John Ashley (a surprisingly solid turn by 50's rock'n'roll teen idol Fabian Forte, who also played Pretty Boy Floyd in Larry Buchanan's "A Bullet for Pretty Boy") and his sweet, flighty steady gal pal Laura (a charming performance by the ever-radiant Karen Black) are the leaders of an outlaw gang. The wild'n'rowdy bunch achieve considerable notoriety by robbing banks, running booze, breaking out of jail, and eluding the cops while embarking on a jolly crime spree in the southeast. Directed with a reasonable amount of flair and style by Luke Moberly and Bob Woodburn (who also wrote the colorful and eventful script), this picture sizes up an an immensely enjoyable little "Bonnie and Clyde" cash-in copy. Fabian and Black make for a rather unlikely, but genuinely appealing and attractive criminal couple. Nice supporting contributions by Ken Miller as lecherous gang member Hanford, Paul Gleason as a hard-nosed sheriff, and Ivy Thayer as Laura's forlorn, regretful mother. Cliff Frates and Evie Karafotias are extremely cute and endearing as John and Laura as little kids in touching flashback sequences. Edmund Gibson's pretty, picturesque cinematography, Bill Walker's jaunty swing band score, the flavorsome period atmosphere (the sepia-tinted black and white opening newsreel with a stern Walter Winchell-like narrator is especially tasty), and several rousing shoot-outs all likewise hit the spot. My sole criticism: the frequent groovy modern rock songs and music are painfully inappropriate and anachronistic. That minor quibble aside, this film overall rates as a tremendously fun and spirited romp.

"Little Laura and Big John" was not based on Bonnie and Clyde, but on the true story of the capture of the infamous Ashley Gang at the Sebastian inlet bridge in Florida. It is not particularly well done, however, it is very interesting to residents of the Treasure Coast because of its historical significance. The movie depicts the gang as they rob banks and kill on a northward path along the Gold and Treasure Coasts of Florida, running just ahead of the then sheriff of Palm Beach County, who was determined to end their violent rampages. In addition to the well known professional cast, numerous local citizens (amateurs)took extra parts as deputies, bystanders, etc. While this was great fun for the locals, the practice of utilizing so many amateurs did nothing to enhance the quality of the film. The movie is something Karen Black probably wishes she had never done. It is poorly acted, poorly directed and generally as captivating as a high school video class's production.

My entertainment of this movie was laughing at it. I think the point when it really goes over the edge was when Fabian's eye patch actually switched from his one eye to his other eye and back again. I thought this was such an obvious mistake that I rewound and watched the one scene again. He is running on a dock when this happens. Sure enough his eye patch switched eyes with no explanation.I watched this movie because it was on late night and it was free. And I was interested in seeing Karen Black and Fabian Forte in a movie together. So it was an okay movie for that type of watching. But if you really want to see a movie about lovers being outlaws. I would stick to Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.