Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

adrian-43767 The infamous Bonnie and Clyde pair of the Depression years is updated in this film of 1950, but with the femme fatale as a supposedly British woman from London (actually, Peggy Cummins was born in Wales), possibly because no US female could be half as bad (the real Bonnie was, though) and no self-respecting US actress would soil her image by taking on such a depraved role.As it turns out, Cummins does indeed look crazy throughout the film, killing as a matter of course, and even thinking of kidnapping her own baby nephew. Her eyes reflect a demented state throughout.In contrast, John Dall plays the part of the wholesome American boy who just loves guns, and even cries when he shoots a baby chicken dead with his BB gun. He does not want to kill anybody but he loves to steal guns, and he falls in love at first sight of that crazy British woman, so he can't help but rob places, and then feel terrible about stealing just not to have to work for a living. Curiously, the one thing that works is that these two misfits really love each other, and cannot be apart, even when it would be wiser to split for a while and reunite somewhere else.Inconsistencies of character undermine what could potentially be a very good film noir, but photography, some wonderful car chases, and assured direction make GUN CRAZY well worth watching.

MissSimonetta The postwar era was ripe with cinematic outcasts, characters who either struggled to conform to all-American ideals of normalcy or outright rebelled. One thinks of James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause, Marlon Brando in The Wild One, or the young lovers in They Live By Night. Gun Crazy (1950) is a great example of this tradition as well, a violent and erotically-charged B-noir about married couple Bart Tate and Annie Laurie Starr who commit serial bank robberies and obsess over firearms.Being a B-noir, Gun Crazy is allowed to be a little more rough and experimental. There is a stunning scene shot from the back of a car, for instance, one that felt like something out of a Tarantino movie. The action scenes are great too. The main couple's obsession with violence and one another has a sense of amour fou; their love is destructive and yet also tragic, despite their unsavory natures.Annie Laurie Starr is about the best example of a femme fatale out there, perhaps because she is the most complex of them during the classic period. She is alarmingly amoral in her regard for human life, yet she is not a simple seductress out to conquer saps. You get the feeling she does love Bart, but neither she nor he can bear the traditional postwar dream of a stable job, three kids, and a picket fence. They are restless rebels, driven compulsively to seek greater and greater thrills. There is a fatalistic bent to their lives, as is common with most noir.The film never suggests that it would have been better for the lovers to live a domestic life. Annie is compared with Bart's hapless sister, who starts the movie as a content young bride and ends up in a dumpy house, burdened by several children and a respectable husband who rarely bothers to come home it seems. She is all but a prisoner in the domestic space, making Annie's revulsion to such a life all the more understandable, even if her attraction to violence isn't.

PimpinAinttEasy Dear Joseph.H.Lewis, you are a pretty good director. Gun Crazy begins with a boy getting caught after stealing a gun. The subsequent scene at the court house is riveting with multiple flashbacks as various characters vouch for the boy's basic good nature. This is narrated through flashbacks. A lot happens in the first 30 minutes itself including the boy coming out of jail as a grown up man (John Dall). But the shooting competition where he runs into the femme fatale (Peggy Cummins, who gets a terrific entry scene where she shoots into the screen) could have been shot and edited better. It was such a great idea where their mating dance happens during a shooting competition in which they are the competitors. The lack of interesting camera angles and discreet use of close ups makes the scene quite dull. What happened, Joseph? The hero's law abiding sister is used to show the contrast between the thrilling life of the protagonists and the mundane life of the housewife. Peggy Cummins is awesome as the materialistic femme fatale. The character's craziness really comes through in the final scenes of the film shot in a smoky swamp (probably a studio). The rather square looking John Dall might have been chosen as the male lead to emphasize Cummins' manipulative nature. The film had some great ideas. The story and the two main characters are fantastic. But I don't think you realized its true potential, Joseph. It certainly deserves a re-imagination with a better writer. I cannot believe it has not been remade. Best Regards, Pimpin. (7/10)

SnoopyStyle Bart Tare has always been gun crazy. As a child, he kills a little chick with a BB gun. As a teen, he gets caught stealing a gun from a hardware store. At court, his friends recount how he couldn't shot a mountain lion while his teacher tells the incident of him bringing a gun to class. The judge sends him to reform school. He is released as a young man after sharpening his shooting skills. While attending a traveling carnival, he meets sharpshooter star Annie Laurie Starr. The boys push him to accept a shooting challenge. After beating Annie, he accepts a job in the carnival. The possessive drunken boss tries to force Annie and Bart comes to the rescue. They are both fired. They go off and get married. Soon they're out of money and she returns to her old ways pulling him along with her. They go on a crime spree of holdups.This is a fascinating noir of its era. The look is pulpy good. The acting is somewhat old fashion. The performances are a little stilted. My big complaint is for the era. The story is calling for more sex and violence. At least, it's more than what the code at the time allows. There is a very interesting long uncut scene inside the car where it's shot out of the backseat. There are some exciting car chases although they're still using projection screens. Generally, it's pretty good for a B-movie.