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Gun Crazy [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Thrill Crazy, Kill crazy, thats Gun Crazy
Review date: 2008-03-16 Rating: 10 out of 10
"Gun Crazy" is one of my all time favourite film noirs.Made and set in 1949, they dont come more raw and exciting than this.I first saw "Gun Crazy" on BBC2 in the UK. I was mesmerized from beginning to end by the power house performances of its two stars, american actor John Dall and english actress Peggy Cummins. The film opens with Bart Tare (played by a young Russ Tamblyn) being placed in a young offenders institution after his obsession for guns leads him to break into a hardware store and steal a gun on display.After a spell in reform school and the army a grown up Bart(John Dall) returns to his home town a reformed man. At the local carnival he meets sharp shooter "The Darling of London England" Annie Laurie Starr.
The two are immediately attracted to one another.In a scene super charged with sexual tension and subtle inneundo, they play off eachother in a thrilling gun contest.Bart may want to be a good guy but he wont stand a chance with the very bad Annie Laurie Starr. A grade "A" Pychopath with a lust for killing.Soon she has Bart around her little finger and in deep trouble as they loot and shoot their way from state to state.
Although they realise they are total opposites and probably doomed for destruction they cant break from each other. As Bart says, they go together somehow like guns and ammunition.
There are many great moments in this film. A a bank raid shot in one take thats so real that a passer by actually yells out "the banks being robbed!" not realising its all been staged for the film.
Peggy Cummins is a revelation as the femme fatale from hell who comes across like a cat on heat.She actually gets sexually excited when Bart is shooting his gun,while at the same time he's doing his best not to shoot anyone.Sigmund freud would have a ball with the sexual symbolism.Dall gives a great performace as a man who knows he is in too deep but loves Annie so much he can never leave her. Even he knows that if he does'nt kill someone then she will do his killing for him. Director Joseph H Lewis really pulls out all the stops on this rollercoaster ride of a film that boasts some striking photography. There are also some terrific lines too.Especially from Peggy Cummins who seems to say them as if she were spitting them through gritted teeth.
The Restored print looks amazing on this region 1 disc and the sound is very crisp.I remember the BBC2 print that was shown was terrible with too much contrast and no definition, not so with the DVD.
Hopefully Warner Brothers will release a Region 2 version with plenty of extras - which sadly the American version lacks although you do get a commentary by film noir specialist Glenn Erickson.
forget the Drew Barrymore remake and see the the original unforgettable and icomparable "Gun Crazy"
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
John Dall
Peggy Cummins
Anabel Shaw
Morris Carnovsky
Berry Kroeger
Creators:
John Dall (Primary Contributor)
Peggy Cummins (Primary Contributor)
Russell Harlan (Cinematographer)
Harry W. Gerstad (Editor)
Frank King (Producer)
Maurice King (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 9780790783208
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 0790783207
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-07-06
Universal product code (UPC): 085393197124
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1950-01-20
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)