{"id":24946,"date":"2012-03-28T13:21:05","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T20:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24946"},"modified":"2024-08-09T17:23:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-10T00:23:57","slug":"gun-crazy-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24946","title":{"rendered":"Gun Crazy \/ Deadly is the Female (1950)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Some guys are born smart about women, and some guys are born dumb.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Poster-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-24947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Poster-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA gun-loving but peaceful veteran (John Dall) falls in love with a sharpshooting carnival performer (Peggy Cummins) who convinces him to assist her in a series of hold-ups. Soon they&#8217;re on the run from the law, desperate to do one last job before retiring.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Criminal Couples on the Run<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>John Dall Films<\/li>\n<li>Joseph H. Lewis Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary argues that while &#8220;there have been many fine movies about young couples driving across the country with the police on their trail, including Arthur Penn&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4421\"><em>Bonnie and Clyde<\/em><\/a>, which this film surely influences&#8221;, &#8220;none is more fascinating or exciting than&#8221; <em>Gun Crazy<\/em> (a.k.a. <em>Deadly is the Female<\/em>). He notes that this &#8220;low-budgeter&#8221; by director Joseph H. Lewis is &#8220;supercharged with energy, non-stop action, violence, passion, and sex&#8221;, and, despite being &#8220;set against a backdrop of poor, insensitive, smalltown America of the forties&#8221;, remains &#8220;remarkably contemporary, especially in its portrayal of a country turned on by speed, violence, and crime&#8221;. He points out that &#8220;Lewis&#8217;s achievements are great, ranging from maintaining a terrific pace throughout to attaining a distinct sense of time and place&#8221;; a <em>cin\u00e9ma v\u00e9rit\u00e9<\/em>-like bank hold-up taking place in the middle of the movie &#8212; shot in one long take (Lewis&#8217;s idea), without informing nearby pedestrians they were filming &#8212; is merely the most famous example of his creative genius. <\/p>\n<p>Peary notes, however, that Lewis&#8217;s &#8220;more inspired contribution was giving his leads to the relatively unknown Cummins (a British actress) and Dall&#8221;. In his review of the film for his first <em>Cult Movies<\/em> book, Peary elaborates on this point by writing that &#8220;they both prove to be highly skilled actors who lend an intelligence to the proceedings and express such a complex array of emotions so honestly that it is truly hard to believe that they are not playing themselves&#8221;; in sum, &#8220;they are simply terrific&#8221;. Dall &#8212; who most film fanatics will only know from one other movie, Hitchcock&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=18528\"><em>Rope<\/em> (1948)<\/a> &#8212; was particularly inspired casting; Peary notes that in an interview with Lewis, he learned Lewis specifically wanted to cast a gay male in the lead because of the inner tension he felt such a man (in mid-century America) would inevitably bring to the role. Meanwhile, unknown Cummins is simply a revelation as (in Lewis&#8217;s own words) a &#8220;beautiful demon who no man can resist or help forgiving when she does wrong&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Peary points out that he actually differs from Lewis&#8217;s own interpretation of Laurie (Cummins); Peary sees her as &#8220;the victim of a world that doesn&#8217;t forgive past sins&#8221; &#8212; a woman who may &#8220;play men for suckers&#8221; and &#8220;lead a bad life&#8221; but who &#8220;is sincere when she apologizes to Bart [Dall] for being unable to control her mean temper&#8221;. He likens her thrill-seeking tendencies to &#8220;a fiend who needs a fix or an alcoholic unable to control the urge to drink&#8221; &#8212; and this is exactly how I interpret her, too. Indeed, it&#8217;s fascinating to see a character who so clearly fits the <em>femme fatale<\/em> mold, yet remains oddly sympathetic throughout; we really do get the sense she can&#8217;t help herself, and <em>wants<\/em> to (in her words) &#8220;be good&#8221;. Adding to our sympathy is the fact that she and Dall are (eventually) so obviously in love with each other: as Peary notes, &#8220;Even when they flee police on foot through rough terrain, are soaking wet, dirty, bruised, exhausted, and in a panic because they can hear the bloodhounds, he still calls her &#8216;honey&#8217;, and they still take a moment to hug and kiss&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peggy Cummins as Annie (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cummins.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cummins.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cummins.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cummins-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cummins-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>John Dall as Bart (nominated as one of the Best Actors of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Dall.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Dall.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Dall.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Dall-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Dall-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The justifiably lauded &#8220;one-shot&#8221; hold-up sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24956\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Consistently creative direction by Joseph Lewis<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Direction3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Russell Harlan&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography3-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography4.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography4-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Gun-Crazy-Cinematography4-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>MacKinlay Kantor and Dalton Trumbo&#8217;s screenplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an enormously enjoyable cult classic. Voted the Best Picture of the Year in Peary&#8217;s <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0042530\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/guncrazy.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1273gun.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/77083\/gun-crazy#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/gunc.html\">Greatest Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/gun-crazy\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Some guys are born smart about women, and some guys are born dumb.&#8221; Synopsis: A gun-loving but peaceful veteran (John Dall) falls in love with a sharpshooting carnival performer (Peggy Cummins) who convinces him to assist her in a series of hold-ups. Soon they&#8217;re on the run from the law, desperate to do one last job before retiring. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Criminal Couples on the Run Femmes Fatales John Dall Films Joseph H. Lewis Films Response to Peary\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24946\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24946"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98604,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24946\/revisions\/98604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}