I am a huge admirer of Roger Corman, whom I consider to be one of the most influential directors alive. Corman's ingenious Edgar Alan Poe cycle (starring the great Vincent Price) alone makes him a brilliant director and Horror genius, and his repertoire furthermore contains other genres, with films such as the macabre and witty "A Bucket Of Blood" or "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre". Having praised Corman as a brilliant director (and equally great producer), I must say that I consider "Bloody Mama" of 1970 to be an entertaining film, but definitely not one of Roger's best. The film is a True-Crime Drama set in the 1930s when the Barker brothers and their bloody Mama were on a crime spree throughout various southern States. Even though gangsters are the central characters in "Bloody Mama", the film makes no attempt to romanticize a life of crime or to make the viewer sympathize with the criminals. The whole family are a bunch of ruthless people committing vile acts, which makes the film quite uncompromising. This is a quality in my book. Especially Ma Barker (Shelley Winters) is a truly despicable person, who has no mercy whatsoever, and hypocritically comes up with twisted morals in-between killing people. The matriarch of a family of criminals, she is the one who plans the deeds committed by her four sons and herself...
What I was slightly disappointed with was the acting. Not that the performances are bad, but with a cast like the one in "Bloody Mama" I would have expected more. Young Robert De Niro, who plays one of the Barker brothers, delivers a great performance as always, and Pat Hingle is also very good in a smaller role. These are the only two performances that I can really praise, however, I was especially (and negatively) surprised with how Shelley Winters overacted in the lead. Don Stroud did not impress me as the eldest son, and neither did Bruce Dern, who is usually a very good actor. "Bloody Mama" is also quite far away from the (probable) truth. The real Ma Barker was (with the utmost probability) not the criminal mastermind she is depicted as in the film, but just an elderly woman who tried to protect her criminal sons.Even though "Bloody Mama" has its faults, however, it is highly recommendable to lovers of crime flicks, and interesting enough for any cineaste to enjoy. Recommended!
What I was slightly disappointed with was the acting. Not that the performances are bad, but with a cast like the one in "Bloody Mama" I would have expected more. Young Robert De Niro, who plays one of the Barker brothers, delivers a great performance as always, and Pat Hingle is also very good in a smaller role. These are the only two performances that I can really praise, however, I was especially (and negatively) surprised with how Shelley Winters overacted in the lead. Don Stroud did not impress me as the eldest son, and neither did Bruce Dern, who is usually a very good actor. "Bloody Mama" is also quite far away from the (probable) truth. The real Ma Barker was (with the utmost probability) not the criminal mastermind she is depicted as in the film, but just an elderly woman who tried to protect her criminal sons.Even though "Bloody Mama" has its faults, however, it is highly recommendable to lovers of crime flicks, and interesting enough for any cineaste to enjoy. Recommended!