critics consensus

Well-acted and strikingly filmed, Gun Crazy (Deadly Is the Female) delves into the darkness of human nature with noir-fueled B-movie flair. Read critic reviews

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Gun Crazy Photos

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Movie Info

When gun-obsessed pacifist Bart Tare (John Dall) witnesses expert shooter Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins) demonstrate her firearm prowess at a carnival one night, it's love at first sight. Aimless Bart joins the traveling show and begins a romance with Annie, but her dangerously rebellious spirit soon gets them both fired. After eloping, the young lovers embark on an armed robbery spree, managing to elude the authorities until Annie insists on pulling one last job.

Genre:

drama, crime
Original Language:

English
Director:

Joseph H. Lewis
Producer:

Franklin King, Maurice King
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 21, 2016
Runtime:

1h 27m
Production Co:

King Brothers Productions
Sound Mix:

Mono
Aspect Ratio:

35mm

Cast & Crew

Peggy Cummins
Annie Laurie Starr

John Dall
Bart Tare

Berry Kroeger
Packett

Morris Carnovsky
Judge Willoughby

Anabel Shaw
Ruby Tare Flagler

Harry Lewis
Deputy Clyde Boston

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Critic Reviews for Gun Crazy

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (1)

The film may have been a quaint display of American decency and small-town folksiness were it not for the electrifying and darker, more complex presence of Cummins.

February 25, 2020 | Full Review…

Ela Bittencourt
Hyperallergic
The already-classic trope of lovers on the run, à la Bonnie and Clyde, gets a stylish workout from the director Joseph H. Lewis.

November 16, 2015 | Full Review…

Richard Brody
New Yorker
Fault is in the writing and direction, both staying on the surface and never getting underneath the characters.

April 27, 2009 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
One of the most distinguished works of art to emerge from the B movie swamp.

April 27, 2009 | Full Review…

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

February 27, 2009 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Gun Crazy' is a magnificently enjoyable film, distinguished by Joseph H Lewis's restless, catch-all directorial style.

February 27, 2009 | Rating: 4/6 | Full Review…

Tom Huddlestone
Time Out
Features amusing chase choreography, a Bonnie and Clyde set of antiheroes, and a pervasive sense of doom, of gnawing tension, for the main characters.

August 22, 2020 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
It represents the very pinnacle of what film noir was all about: an uncompromising look at the darkness of humanity, the torment of wealth and sex.

July 15, 2020 | Full Review…

Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
Notable for its use of point of view, such as putting a camera in the back seat of a car and other odd angles, also highly sexual for a film at that time. Happiness is a warm gun, indeed.

April 9, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Patrick McDonald
WBGR-FM (93.7 FM - Monroe, WI)
A relentless little melodrama-the cinematic equivalent of juke-joint music...

August 13, 2018 | Full Review…

Geoffrey O'Brien
The New York Review of Books
A seminal film noir as well as a cinematic primer for 1967's Bonnie and Clyde.

May 27, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
Artistically ambitious B-movie classic.

December 1, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Phil Hall
Film Snobbery

View All Critic Reviews (40)

Audience Reviews for Gun Crazy

Feb 21, 2021

Simply an out-and-out classic, we follow the life of a guy (John Dall) who is fascinated with guns, which is okay - until he meets his better half (Peggy Cummins). Both actors look and seem like that "perfectly nice couple who live next door", but together they spark like dynamite, leading to a action-packed, cross-country chase that's sure to excite. Highly recommended.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Jun 15, 2020

Femme fatales don't come any more sinister and psychopathic than Peggy Cummins' Annie Starr. Gun Crazy is among the most inventively shot B-movies I've ever seen.

Aldo G Super Reviewer
Feb 25, 2011

A solid noir that really focuses on gun ownership as a metaphor for masculinity. Focusing on Barton's upbringing, the gun is where he finds his male identity. We he eventually meets his love, he does it by winning a shooting contest. Clearly asserting his manliness. For the films femme fatale Annie, wielding the gun is a source of power and in one scene in particular, she shows off her shooting skills to a sea of young men. She shoots out into the crowd, almost as if she is shooting her masculinity all over these men. There is even a scene when she pulls out a gun and sets it on her lap and it is as if she too has her source of masculinity, her very own penis. These are just a few examples of all that Lewis leaves the viewer to unpack. The influence that it would later have on Penn's Bonnie & Clyde is obvious. Although not as intriguing as other Noirs, this psychologically dense film is certainly a good watch.

Reid V Super Reviewer
Oct 03, 2010

"Gun Crazy" is square in the predictable "lovers on the run" genre, but it stands out because the suspense as the couple's resources and options thin is unusually fierce and prolonged. Also, both of the lead actors seem to belong in a much different, nicer sort of film, so we especially identify with their frantic confusion and insecurities. On the other hand, the good/bad contradictions of Bart's character strain credibility and it's hard to understand why his less rational mate can manipulate him so easily.

Eric B Super Reviewer