Deadly Is the Female (1950)

Director:

Joseph H. Lewis

Writers (WGA):

MacKinlay Kantor (screenplay) and
Dalton Trumbo (screenplay) (front Millard Kaufman) ...

Release Date:

20 January 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

SHE BELIEVES IN TWO THINGS...-love and violence! (original poster)

Plot:

Since he was a child, Bart Tare has always loved guns. After leaving the army, his friends take him to a carnival...

Plot Keywords:

Robbery | Gun | Mountain | Love | Carnival

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Peggy Cummins	...	Annie Laurie Starr
John Dall	...	Bart Tare
Berry Kroeger	...	Packett
Morris Carnovsky	...	Judge Willoughby
Anabel Shaw	...	Ruby Tare
Harry Lewis	...	Deputy Clyde Boston
Nedrick Young	...	Dave Allister
Trevor Bardette	...	Sheriff Boston
Mickey Little	...	Bart Tare (age 7)
Russ Tamblyn	...	Bart Tare (age 14) (as Rusty Tamblyn)
Paul Frison	...	Clyde Boston (age 14)
David Bair	...	Dave Allister (age 7) (as Dave Bair)
Stanley Prager	...	Bluey-Bluey
Virginia Farmer	...	Miss Wynn
Anne O'Neal	...	Miss Augustine Sifert

Also Known As:

Gun Crazy (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #14023) | West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:PG (2008) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Montrose, California, USA

Company:

King Brothers Productions

Trivia:

Bart Tare and Laurie Starr are modeled on the infamous Depression-era bandits Clyde Burrow and Bonnie Parker who are also the subject of Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and You Only Live Once (1937).

Goofs:

Continuity: Cadillac stolen from Illinois man that was used in bank holdup (featuring the single take) had a silver ashtray at the top backside of the front seat for rear seat passengers to use (and visible when car first seen at hitch-hiker pickup) but in the holdup scene it is gone.

Quotes:

Annie Laurie Starr: Let's go for a walk on the beach.
Bart: I just read an article about funerals.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Exhumed (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mad About You

Crazy bout this underrated gem

Sharpshooters Ben Tare and Annie Laurie Starr, fall in love at a carnival sideshow, marry soon after and hope for a peaceful married life. When the money runs out Annie tells Ben that using the guns for nefarious purposes will the only way for them to survive. While placid Ben agrees to the proposal, trigger happy Annie soon gets them deeper and deeper in trouble with the law following robbery after robbery, stickup after stickup, until it becomes kill or be killed. Very daring and overlooked film, rises above the status of the B movie genre to which this film is delegated to. Cummins is perfect as the gun-crazed, as well the love-hungry Annie. Great cinematography by Russell Harlan, shooting all of the bank holdups from the back seat of the couple's car, making the audience feel a part of the getaway. Rating, 9 of 10