Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Wizard-8 No doubt inspired by the huge success of the big budget major Hollywood studio movie "Bonnie & Clyde", American-International Pictures teamed up with producer/director Roger Corman to make this story of Ma Barker and her sons. But the results are sort of disappointing. I feel I should point out that I didn't find the movie to be awful - the movie is never boring, the production values are okay, the cast (not just Winters but also the future stars) give good performances, and there are some trashy touches that are fun. However, the script should have had a lot more work before filming started. We don't really see what motivates not only the character of Ma Barker, but her loyal sons (who are pretty interchangeable for the most part.) Also, the first half of the movie has some pretty sloppy storytelling, being one vignette after another with no firm story being told. And in the end, the movie can't decide whether it is a serious look at the Barker gang or a trashy drive-in viewpoint.As I said, the movie is not terrible, but it doesn't really work at whatever angle you want to regard it as. It's probably best suited for viewing when you're in a real undemanding mood.

ma-cortes The most colorful epoch of criminality in America during the Depression era is brought to life in this story of a bank-robber family , in a period when any employment, even illegal, was cherished, ambition, money and power originated an interminable cycle of fury and violence. The infamous Ma Barker ( Shelley Winters)'s blood-thirsty gang of the 30s backed by his four rare sons ( Robert De Niro, Robert Walden, Clint, Don Stroud) carry out heists to banks and a crime spree that gets even bigger when she dreams up an abducting plot , its a fast road to ruin. A hooker ( Diane Varsi) appears to be falling for the moronic sibling (Don Stroud as the sadistic mama lover). Later on, they hook up with Robert Walden's (as the homosexual ex-con) prison lover, Bruce Dern. Meanwhile a wealthy businessman ( Pat Hingle) is kidnapped by the grotesques family led by the sadistic mummy. Based on the biography of the violent careers of Ma Barker, named Arizona Clark (1877-1935) and his perverted sons, who roamed the South robbing banks during the Depression as Missouri, Texas, and Florida . They're joined by nefarious criminal Alvin Karpis who doesn't appear at the movie.This is a perverse stew of murders, pronounced bloodshed, sentimental blood bonding, action , lots of violence and with a bullet-ridden ending . Overacting by Shelley Winters as sex-crazed lady killer and machine-gun toting mother. Imaginative musical score and evocative cinematography by classic cameraman John A Alonzo . Director and producer( along with Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson : American International) Roger Corman skillfully blends extreme violence that was highly controversial and some good scenes action. Good camera work, slick edition and nice 1930s period sets in average budget.Followed by ¨Big Bad mama¨ (1974) by Steve Carver with Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Tom Skerrit and ¨Big bad mama II¨ (1988) with Dickinson, Robert Culp and Julie McCullough. And a remake titled ¨Public enemies¨(96) by Mark L Lester with Theresa Russel Eric Roberts, Alyssa Milano and Frank Stallone. Furthermore, ¨The Grisson gang¨ (1971) by Robert Aldrich with Kim Darby and Scott Wilson.

JackMay23 This film has everything- nudity,violence,incest,homosexuality,drug addiction - that it takes to make a good drive-in exploitation flick. It also has some good acting from the likes of Shelley Winters,Robert DeNiro,Don Stroud and Bruce Dern.This Roger Corman directed crime film tells the story of real-life Ma Barker and her boys who ran a crime spree in the 1930's. Though Corman's film obviously does not have the wit or the style of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" it holds one's interest with bloody sensationalism. The newly released DVD which is part of the Roger Corman collection has a crisp widescreen transfer and is worth a look.

tingeyh-1 This movie was my introduction to Roger Corman. I am now hooked. I think other posters have put too much emphasis on accuracy and technique. Sure the plot is not always logical and some of the performances are not great. I find that classics like Bloody Mama are so fun because the director and actors are aware that the film is not Oscar-caliber but still have fun with it. What makes this film so great is that it is a disturbing,campy, slapped-together mess. I would also like to point out that the always great Don Stroud has said in interviews that he had an intense affair with Shelley Winters during the filming of Bloody Mama. As they played a creepy mother son duo, this little morsel of trivia adds a whole new level of disturbing to this fabulous film.