Crazy Mama

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

Movie Info

Cloris Leachman stars as Melba, a woman with whom violence is a way of life, in Jonathan Demme's high-pitched "B"-movie Crazy Mama. The film spans three decades in the violent life of Melba, beginning in Jerusalem, Arkansas in 1932, when law enforcers kill her father (Clint Kimbrough), turning her mother Sheba (Ann Sothern) into a bitter widow. Mother and daughter take off to Long Beach, California, and the time jumps to 1958, when the two are thrown out of their beauty salon for non-payment of back rent. Melba now has an attractive (and pregnant) teenage daughter Cheryl (Linda Purl). The three generations take to the road, stealing cars and creating general mayhem across the United States, robbing a motorcycle racetrack box office and a bank. But in 1959, Melba and Cheryl are picked up again, running a Miami Beach snack bar, their lives wasted in free-living terror.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Action & Adventure, Classics, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By:

Jonathan Demme
Written By:

Robert Thom, Frances Doel
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1975 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

May 28, 2002
Runtime:

82 minutes
Studio:

New World

Cast

Cloris Leachman
as Melba

Stuart Whitman
as Jim Bob

Ann Sothern
as Sheba

Jim Backus
as Mr. Albertson

Don Most
as Shawn

Linda Purl
as Cheryl

Bryan Englund
as Snake

Merie Earle
as Bertha

Sally Kirkland
as Ella Mae

Clint Kimbrough
as Daniel

Dick Miller
as Wilbur Janeway

Carmen Argenziano
as Supermarket Manager

Harry Northrup
as FBI Man

Ralph James
as Sheriff in 1932

Dinah Englund
as Melba in 1932

Robert Reece
as Mover

Mickey Fox
as Mrs. Morgan

John Aprea
as Marvin

Cynthia Songey
as Lucinda

Hal Marshall
as Bartender

Charles Beach Dickerson
as Desk Clerk

Barbara Ann Walters
as Lady Teller

Bill McLean
as Bank Manager

William Luckey
as Newsman

Warren Miller
as Justice of the Peace

Barbara Walters
as Lady Teller

Saul J. Krugman
as Col. Snodgrass

Vince Barnett
as Homer

Bill Paxton
as John

Tisha Sterling
as Sheba in 1932

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Critic Reviews for Crazy Mama

All Critics (8) | DVD (1)

If Demme's career wasn't exactly helped by this somewhat endearing mess, he had much greener pastures ahead.

Aug 28, 2018 | Full Review…

Pat Padua
Spectrum Culture
Pure exhilaration

Mar 1, 2012 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Opening nine months after the R-rated 'Big Bad Mama,' the PG 'Crazy Mama' substituted comedy for sex and a 1950s Mad magazine/rock-and-roll vibe for 1930s rusticity.

Jan 18, 2011 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
... relies more on momentum and personality than narrative but that's just fine for this misfit crime spree road comedy.

Dec 7, 2010 | Full Review…

Sean Axmaker
Parallax View
The film wonderfully tears down the conventions of '50s womanhood, while providing loads of quirky fun along the way.

Dec 4, 2010 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…

R.L. Shaffer
IGN DVD

View All Critic Reviews (8)

Audience Reviews for Crazy Mama

May 06, 2011

This movie has a lot of action, mostly gun fights and car chases, but the acting is average and the story is like Big Bad Mama, just with more characters. I was expecting a dark comedy, as the summary says, but there are very few laughs, and it's not very dark either. It's not a horrendous movie, though, it just needed more work.

Aj V Super Reviewer