Review of Bloody Mama (1970) by Allan C — 16 Jan 2016

Roger Corman rarely delivers a dud, but the one is pretty close. Shelley Winters, who I've never liked all that much or ever really understood how she got into so many films, play Ma Barker who leads her unpleasant brood (Don Stroud, Pat Hingle, Bruce Dern, Robert De Niro) on a crime spree in the depression era dust bowl.

It's far cry from Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" or even John Milius' "Dillinger". It's watchable, but good performances can't overcome a mess of a script. Like most of Corman's film, it's scrappy, fast paced and visually engaging.

However, this film feels like an amateurish mix of trying to mix lowbrow action and an overreaching as a psychological character study. Scatman Crothers also appears in the film.