Deadly Is the Female (1950)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Joseph H. Lewis

Writers (WGA):

MacKinlay Kantor (screenplay) and
Dalton Trumbo (screenplay) (front Millard Kaufman) ...

Release Date:

20 January 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance

Tagline:

SHE BELIEVES IN TWO THINGS...-love and violence! (original poster)

Plot:

Since he was a child, Bart Tare has always loved guns. After leaving the army, his friends take him to a carnival...

Plot Keywords:

Gun | Carnival | Robbery | Female Criminal | Crime Spree

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Peggy Cummins	...	Annie Laurie Starr
John Dall	...	Bart Tare
Berry Kroeger	...	Packett
Morris Carnovsky	...	Judge Willoughby
Anabel Shaw	...	Ruby Tare
Harry Lewis	...	Deputy Clyde Boston
Nedrick Young	...	Dave Allister
Trevor Bardette	...	Sheriff Boston
Mickey Little	...	Bart Tare (age 7)
Russ Tamblyn	...	Bart Tare (age 14) (as Rusty Tamblyn)
Paul Frison	...	Clyde Boston (age 14)
David Bair	...	Dave Allister (age 7) (as Dave Bair)
Stanley Prager	...	Bluey-Bluey
Virginia Farmer	...	Miss Wynn
Anne O'Neal	...	Miss Augustine Sifert

Also Known As:

Gun Crazy (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #14023) | West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:PG (2008) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Montrose, California, USA

Company:

King Brothers Productions

Trivia:

Spoiler: When Bart is reading about the deaths at the meat packing plant, he says that the security guard's name was William Bechtel. It is unclear as to whether or not this can be taken as a nod to comedian William Bechtel.

Goofs:

Continuity: A shot from inside a sedan that Annie is driving shows a nameplate logo on the dashboard that says "Kaiser", but the only cars they are seen driving are the stolen Cadillac, a Packard convertible, a Chevy convertible, what appears to be an old Ford or Mercury convertible and a Ford sedan.

Quotes:

Bart: You were going to kill that man!
Annie Laurie Starr: Why not? He would have kill us, if given the chance.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Exhumed (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mad About You

A CRAZY underrated film-noir

Ever notice how some of the greatest noir films of the 1950s are usually the most overlooked? The stuff with no-name actors, low-budgets, cheap scenery and camera work, but also the best story lines. That's exactly what Joseph H. Lewis' GUN CRAZY is about.

Bart is a juvenile delinquent with a fetish for anything having to do with fire arms. After a few years of reform school, some time with the army, Bart returns to his hometown to reconnect with his childhood buddies. They go to a carnival where Bart is entranced by Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummings), an "old-west" gal who is a real dead eye shot. They fall in love and embark on a crime spree, a la Bonnie & Clyde.

GUN CRAZY is a story that will draw you into it. Unlike a lot of film-noir, with city scenery, and a murder mystery, this one takes place in the West, and the protagonists are the killers. Great mix of old West ideologies and Hollywood noir. Must see for any old Hollywood aficionados.