Machine Gun Kelly (film)
| Machine-Gun Kelly | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Roger Corman |
| Produced by | Roger Corman |
| Written by | Robert Wright Campbell |
| Starring |
Charles Bronson Susan Cabot Morey Amsterdam Jack Lambert |
| Music by | Gerald Fried |
| Cinematography | Floyd D.Crosby |
| Edited by | Ronald Sinclair |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Allied Artists |
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Release date
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1958 |
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Running time
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80 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100,000 |
| Box office | 138,293 admissions (France) |
Machine-Gun Kelly is a 1958 film noir directed by Roger Corman, chronicling the criminal activities of the real-life George "Machine Gun" Kelly. The film was considered low budget, but received good critical reviews. It was the first lead role for actor Charles Bronson.
Following the 1967 success of Bonnie and Clyde, American International Pictures re-released the film as a double feature with 1958's The Bonnie Parker Story.
George Kelly (Charles Bronson), dubbed "Machine Gun" by his partner in crime Flo Becker (Susan Cabot) because of his obsession with Thompson submachine guns, pulls off a bank robbery and eventually becomes Public Enemy #1. Discord grows among his inner circle, and Kelly, deathly afraid of being jailed or killed, is dominated and ridiculed by the tough-talking Flo.
A botched robbery causes one of their partners, Michael Fandango (Morey Amsterdam) to lose an arm. Kelly, goaded on by Flo, kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy businessman for ransom. Fandango fingers him to the police, but is killed by one of Kelly's gang as the house is surrounded.
Kelly intends to surrender, if only to receive a more lenient sentence and avoid execution. Flo again questions his nerve, whereupon Kelly slugs her with his fist, knocking her unconscious. Both are taken away to jail.
Although Dick Miller was originally announced as star the film was the first lead role for actor Charles Bronson who would later be acclaimed for roles in Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, and the Death Wish series. Susan Cabot was the female lead, as part of her agreement with director Roger Corman, for whom her roles would be the end of her film career.
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