Shelly Winters is completely over the top in this freaky crime drama bio of the Barker gang with Ma completely in charge and totally demanding of love and loyalty. An unneeded estranged husband (Pat Hingle) is easily disposable in her mind, and she finds satisfaction from her sons when the urge calls, fortunately only insinuated.
The crime spree begins as she goes out of her way to free two of the sons in prison, then does is all she can to prevent them from finding happiness with other women. But eventually they start to rebel against her domination which leads them to hiding out in Florida where it all comes to a head.
There have been various films based on the Barker legend, some fictionalized and some basically spoofs. I recommend "Queen of the Mob" and "The Grissom Gang" (loosely based on the book "No Orchids for Miss Blandish") and this for Winters' over-the-top performance, a string of which dominated her career between "A Patch of Blue" and "The Poseidon Adventure".
Pamela Dunlap and Diane Varsi are the unfortunate other women, and Bruce Dern is a friend of the boys who joins the gang, but all eyes are on Winters who in spite of being completely hammy is unforgettable. Don Stroud and Robert DeNiro are among her boys, boys, each fighting against spending the night with her. It's disturbing and violent, yet an interesting tall tale on the life of a real life crime matriarch.
The crime spree begins as she goes out of her way to free two of the sons in prison, then does is all she can to prevent them from finding happiness with other women. But eventually they start to rebel against her domination which leads them to hiding out in Florida where it all comes to a head.
There have been various films based on the Barker legend, some fictionalized and some basically spoofs. I recommend "Queen of the Mob" and "The Grissom Gang" (loosely based on the book "No Orchids for Miss Blandish") and this for Winters' over-the-top performance, a string of which dominated her career between "A Patch of Blue" and "The Poseidon Adventure".
Pamela Dunlap and Diane Varsi are the unfortunate other women, and Bruce Dern is a friend of the boys who joins the gang, but all eyes are on Winters who in spite of being completely hammy is unforgettable. Don Stroud and Robert DeNiro are among her boys, boys, each fighting against spending the night with her. It's disturbing and violent, yet an interesting tall tale on the life of a real life crime matriarch.