Film noir at the Angelika: Gun Crazy
A docious gun enthusiast (John Dall) and a driven, sizzlingly hard-bitten sideshow sharp-shooter (Peggy Cummins) meet, marry, and make tracks that ultimately lead to murder in this “thrill crazy, kill crazy” masterpiece. It wasn’t Hollywood’s first go-round with the legend of Bonnie and Clyde; Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda starred as the star-crossed, depression era stick up artists in Fritz Lang’s embryonic noir, You Only Live Once. That was followed by Nick Ray’s archly romantic, They Live By Night. In spite of its nobel predecessors, the King of the B's crown goes to Joseph H. Lewis' resolute blueprint on how to make a film noir. The one-take bank heist — with viewers looking on from the back seat of the getaway car — will leave your jaw unhinged. Legend has it that the only ones aware of the location shoot were a few bank employees, the two principles in the front seat, a nosy guard (Robert Osterloh) posted curbside, and the crew members scrunched in the jerry-rigged trunk of the car. Brilliance on a budget, the film should be studied in every film class in the land.