Bloody Mama

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Cast & Crew

Shelley Winters
'Ma' Kate Barker

Pat Hingle
Sam Adams Pendlebury

Don Stroud
Herman Barker

Diane Varsi
Mona Gibson

Bruce Dern
Kevin Dirkman

Clint Kimbrough
Arthur Barker

Robert Walden
Fred Barker

Robert De Niro
Lloyd Barker

Alex Nicol
George Barker

Michael Fox
Dr. Roth

Roger Corman
Director

Roger Corman
Producer

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Critic Reviews for Bloody Mama

Audience Reviews for Bloody Mama

• Oct 26, 2013

  Bloody Mama is an average low budget gangster film that is quite entertaining, but also has plenty of wasted potential in being a great picture. The cast are good here, but I felt that the story lacked a bit in comparison to other genre pictures. Roger Corman does assemble a great cast here, but his script does lack a bit and it is an average gangster film. Despite this, Bloody Mama is still an entertaining film, and a must see for gangster film fans; however it could have been much better as well. In terms of a low budget cult film, Bloody Mama is quite good, but like I said, considering its subject should have been a standout feature. The feel of the film feels slightly rushed, which is a great shame because the film has all the necessities to really make this a standout gangster feature. Other films of the era that deal with outlaws are better such as Bonnie & Clyde. Bloody Mama is a good film, but it's one of those movies that never realizes its potential due to an underdeveloped script. Still for what we get here, this is an entertaining ride, but considering other crime films, I expected a bit more out of this one. Bloody Mama has its flaws, but it's not a bad movie by any means, it's one that had the misfortune of having a rushed script. Luckily the cast keep it together, and Roger Corman's direction is effective to make this one soar above its limitations. For cult film fans, Bloody Mama is entertaining viewing, but like I stated, it should have been better, however it's a well crafted film nonetheless.
  Alex r Super Reviewer
• Jul 30, 2011

  Corman is in more familiar territory now and relies on his camp abilities once more. So, this is the 70s we are entering now, dangerously approaching unaware audiences to... (bam bam baaammm): exploitation times! Instead of using gangsters and a Capone as a lead role, Shelley Winters takes the wheel and gives us a mentally sick ride with his little boys. It is described as a "psychological gangster movie based on fact". That's summing up heavily the focus of Bloody Mama, but perhaps it was the climactic sequence which had audiences guessing what Bloody Mama really was. 76/100
  Edgar C Super Reviewer
• Apr 17, 2010

  Lurid B level junk but not like anything you're likely to run across anywhere else. Shelley consumes the scenery as Ma Barker and her crazy brood includes a young DeNiro. Something to watch at least once for the curiosity factor.
  jay n Super Reviewer
• Dec 30, 2008

  Had this pre-dated Bonnie and Clyde, it would be hailed as a classic and taught in film schools everywhere. As it is, it is a very entertaining exploitation flick from Roger Corman, featuring Shelley Winters in the lead role. I personally prefer it to Bonnie and Clyde, as this odd family is far more complicated and just as socially radical. The dialogue feels very authentic, and the characters suffer just the right amount of sexual and developmental confusion to make them empathetic if perturbed killers. The Herman character is perhaps the most compelling and developed of the sons. The ending is directly alluded to in the beginning of Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects". Don't skip this if you want to see Depression era criminals, Corman exploitation, or Winters playing psychologically deranged. "So Fucked Up" highlight: Mama keeps a boy in her bed every night
  _kelly . Super Reviewer

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