Gun Crazy

Quintessential film noir. [20 Mar 2005, p.N03]

It's a superbly crafted film by a cult film-maker and features a virtuoso bank robbery sequence shot in a single take from a camera in the back seat of a car.

Lewis's long takes and sure command of film noir staples (shadows, fog, rain-soaked streets) make this a stunning technical achievement, but it's something more--a gangster film that explores the limits of the form with feeling and responsibility.

Darker and more subtly complex than you'd expect from a 1950s crime caper.

Gun Crazy is a burst of movie id all its own, a confluence of sex, sexism and violence.

In its B-picture way, it has a fascinating crumminess.

Pretty cheap stuff.

Solid noir, with some amazing one shot sequences by cult director Lewis. The fun factor mostly comes with the bizarre relationship between the two charismatic leads, with Peggy Cummings getting more psycho as the movie goes along, and her partner in crime, realizing this way too late.

This dated, sensationalistic morality play warns against the dangers of chasing one’s heart (or other sensitive bits) into a bad situation. We meet Bart when he’s still a youngster, arrested for smash-and-grabbing a handgun from a hardware store, then briskly follow him through reform school and the Army into early adulthood. He’s not such a bad seed, really, just easily misled, and that character flaw draws the attention of a beautiful, pistol-spinning carnival starlet. When Bart bests her in a shooting match, she spies opportunity and turns on the charm. Shortly thereafter, the fresh newlyweds pull the first in a series of audacious hold-ups, reliving Bonnie and Clyde’s most romantic notions while pursuing lawmen sniff their trail and zero in. As evidenced by their breakneck race to the altar, there isn’t much time for magic with this particular pair of star-crossed lovers. Bart is smitten like a puppy, drug out of his comfort zone by the constant threat of desertion, while lust and convenience seem to suffice for Laurie, his girl. Embracing her soon-to-be beau outside a late night justice of the peace, she seems positively bored by the prospect of matrimony. The two do a lot of on-screen canoodling, but the stiff body language and flat expressions make their purported passion less than convincing. They even look nonplussed while pulling a job, all but yawning while threatening the life of a white-faced convenience store clerk in a cheap montage. Let’s try it once more with feeling, eh guys? Gun Crazy is best remembered for the fantastic no-cut, single-camera bank robbery in the second act, primarily for its dazzling technique, but also because it’s the one scene where the headline duo acts like a recognizable pair of human beings. In that long, captivating shot, they chatter nervously, shark for a prime parking space, spot trouble, provide a distraction and race away amidst a sweaty clatter of flaring sirens. It lasts less than three and a half minutes, but tells us everything we need to know about Bart, Laurie, their demeanor and their partnership. By comparison, the rest of the picture looks positively silly.