Gun Crazy (Deadly Is the Female) (1950)
89%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win
Well-acted and strikingly filmed, Gun Crazy (Deadly Is the Female) delves into the darkness of human nature with noir-fueled B-movie flair.
Gun Crazy is the perfect movie for anyone who loves a good crime thriller with a side of romance. John Dall and Peggy Cummins have amazing chemistry on screen, and their characters’ obsession with guns and crime will keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus, the chase scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in a while. Sure, the story may not be the most original, but who cares when the execution is this good? Overall, Gun Crazy is a must-watch for any fan of the genre.
Production Company(ies)
The Directors Company, Saticoy Productions, Paramount Pictures,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
2300 E Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1950
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 27m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 1950 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 6, 2004
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky, Anabel Shaw, Harry Lewis, directed by Joseph H Lewis, written by MacKinlay Kantor, Dalton Trumbo, Crime, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marion Aitchison, Mildred Martin, Mae Tinee, Marjory Adams, Helen Bower, Wanda Hale, Josephine O’Neill, Elsa Branden, Hortense Morton, P.S Harrison, Harold V Cohen, Peggy Cummins as Annie Laurie Starr, John Dall as Bart Tare, Berry Kroeger as Packett, Morris Carnovsky as Judge Willoughby, Anabel Shaw as Ruby Tare Flagler, Harry Lewis as Deputy Clyde Boston, produced by Frank King, Maurice King, MPAA rating, United Artists, Mono, 35mm
Worldwide gross: $17,322
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $244,535
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,898
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 26,667
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
John Dall – Bart Tare
Berry Kroeger – Packett
Morris Carnovsky – Judge Willoughby
Anabel Shaw – Ruby Tare Flagler
Harry Lewis – Deputy Clyde Boston
Director(s)
Joseph H. Lewis
Writer(s)
MacKinlay Kantor, MacKinlay Kantor, Dalton Trumbo
Producer(s)
Frank King, Maurice King
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win
Academy Awards
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (6)
Tightly knit suspense and deft character drawing make [Gun Crazy] one of the surprise thrillers of the season. You can fairly hear the audience holding its breath as events build up to the crashing climax.
September 15, 2021
Marion Aitchison
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Dall is particularly good as the boy who only feels important with a gun in his hands, and Miss Cummins, a pleasant surprise histrionically as the girl who doesn’t give a hoot about anything except John, money and not getting caught.
September 15, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
John Dall docs fine acting in this crime melodrama, which is frequently better than many of the more elaborate and expensive films on the same subject.
September 15, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
For the most part, the film seems to be one that you’ve seen before.
September 14, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Dall is good in the role, Miss Cummins sulkily pretty. Berry Kroeger and Morris Carnowsky have support roles as carny owner and a judge, respectively. But a juvenile-delinquent opening slows and lengthens the picture unnecessarily.
September 14, 2021
Helen Bower
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
Lately there have been a number of these pictures about young couples that go in for this type crime. Gun Crazy is slightly different in introduction but after the story gets under way, the action is the same.
September 14, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Wanda Hale
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
[This] little melodrama, as lurid in sex and action as they come, contains the best chase-stuff of the year.
September 15, 2021
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Whether you find this movie thrilling or depressing, depends on your capacity for violence. It’s exciting in a sordid sort of way.
September 15, 2021
Elsa Branden
Photoplay
[Gun Crazy] is one of those terrifically swell suspense dramas, which should prove a comeback trail for two excellent screen players.
September 14, 2021
Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
San Francisco Examiner
Although the story is unpleasant because it deals with crime, the acting is so realistic that one feels as if present in real-life occurrences. The scenes that show where John Dall and Peggy Cummins are being hunted hold one in tense suspense.
September 14, 2021
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports
Gun Crazy has its share of the normal excitements that accrue from hold-up, chase and escape, but the whole design of the picture is bankrupt from use and exploitation.
September 14, 2021
Harold V. Cohen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In its classification as a nerve-tingling melodrama, the picture is superb, for it sets a relentless pace and is continuously absorbing.
September 14, 2021
Mandel Herbstman
Motion Picture Daily…
Plot
Since he was a child, Bart Tare has always loved guns. After leaving the army, his friends take him to a carnival, where he meets the perfect girl; Annie, a sharp-shooting sideshow performer who loves guns as much as he. The 2 run off and marry, but Annie isn’t happy with their financial situation, so at her behest the couple begins a cross-country string of daring robberies. Never one to use guns for killing, Bart’s dragged down into oblivion by the greedy and violent nature of the woman he loves.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Peggy Cummins’ portrayal of Annie Laurie Starr is described as a “sinister and psychopathic” femme fatale.
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