Tue 24 Oct 2023
Movie Review: GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS (1959).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[10] Comments
GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS. United Artists, 1959. Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Grant Richards, Elaine Edwards, John Baer, Paul Fix. Director: Edward L. Cahn. Currently streaming on YouTube (see below).
A heist movie, and everyone reading this knows exactly how heist movies, go, if not having possible scripts already in mind and ready to go, if only someone would come along and offer you the money to start filming it tomorrow. In this one, Gerald Mohr’s character has just been released from prison and has a armored car hijacking all figured out.
He hooks up with a night club owner (Grant Richards) who could use a sizable cut of the loot (somewhere in the two million range) to help finance the robbery. Working for Richards is a singer (Mamie Van Doren) who, as it happens, is/was (I’m not clear on this point) married to Mohr’s cellmate (Lee Van Cleef), who is still in prison.
I won’t go into how the heist goes wrong, but the movie certainly picks up its rather slow and sluggish pace when Van Cleef breaks out of prison, even with only a few months before he is due for a parole. Livens the movie right up, it does.
Unfortunately, while Gerald Mohr had a great tough-sounding voice for radio (Philip Marlowe), he has been rather stiff in any of the movies I’ve ever seen him in. Mamie Van Doren is always easy to look at, but in this movie her voice is harsh and bitter-sounding. Lee Van Cleef’s eyes brighten up with glee whenever he can do some damage to whatever the plot is that he’s walked in on, and he walks away with full acting honors in this otherwise lackluster black-and-white crime film.
October 24th, 2023 at 3:39 am
We watch Mystery movies to see clues come together. We watch Caper films to see plans fall apart.
We watch this one to cure insomnia.
October 24th, 2023 at 8:02 am
Somehow I missed this one. I loved Mamie – still around at 92! – in HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL and COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL.
October 24th, 2023 at 8:06 am
Just discovered that Mamie has a blog – Don’t Be Dumb, America! – where she talks about Trump’s “breathtaking stupidity”!!!
October 24th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Regarding Gerald Mohr on screen.
The films he appeared in as lead have little or no style, merit of justification for existence, but films he played supporting parts are better and so is he. A example of that, Dragonfly Squadron, Mohr is just fine,as are the leads,John Hodiak, Barbara Britton (a personal favorite) and Bruce Bennett.Not a great picture, but also not a misfire.
October 24th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
Makes me want to see that one, totally new to me, but so far nothing’s turned up online, only the trailer:
October 24th, 2023 at 6:15 pm
Gee. Is that Mohr pictured above? I’ve never seen a shot of him as a mature star, only as a young radio player with thick moustaches. He looks quite different without the caterpillar.
As far as I know, yea he has always been slightly stiff in flickers but –he is in the cast of one of Marty Scorcese’s favorite films. One of his 130 ‘guilty pleasures’. I think it’s named “Invasion USA”.
Beg pardon if anyone here loathes Scorcese. But at least Mohr made good here-and-there.
Been listening to a lot of him lately as Marlowe. Mohr certainly shines verbally. Nimble as anybody.
Unrelated: hope there’s a seasonal-themed radio rec for this week!
October 24th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
https://tubitv.com/movies/499712/invasion-u-s-a
Also new to me. Looking at the credits just now, I see that both Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill are in it. I wonder if they spoke to each other?
October 24th, 2023 at 7:44 pm
A few years back, Stan Freberg hosted a syndicated radio show, When Radio Was, which would showcase various episodes of classic Old Time Radio series, of all types.
In his intros, Freberg would mention the cast members we’d be hearing, spotlighting people he’d known from his own radio days.
So one evening, Freberg was introducing an episode of Philip Marlowe, starring “my old friend, Gerald Mohr.”
That image stuck with me; I’d just seen Mohr in one of his many Perry Mason guest shots, and the idea of him and Freberg doing something together in any medium …
… well, use your imagination …
October 24th, 2023 at 10:10 pm
I remember the final season of Foreign Intrigue with Gerald Mohr taking over the lead from Jerome Thor and James Daly. All three were fine.
October 25th, 2023 at 4:40 pm
I suspect Mohr tired of playing these roles. He was much better in ANGRY RED PLANET and the otherwise tired Lone Wolf films. These kinds of roles he could play in his sleep, and here seems to.
It says something about both Van Doren and director Edward L. Cahn that this is considered one of both their better efforts.