Pretty Boy Floyd (1960)

Trying to shake his troubled past and start a new honest life, Floyd loses his job because of that past. With nowhere to go but back home in Oklahoma he gets news that his father's been ... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert J. Leder

Writer:

Herbert J. Leder

Stars:

John Ericson, Barry Newman, Roy Fant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ericson	...	Charles Arthur 'Pretty Boy' Floyd
Barry Newman	...	Al Riccardo
Roy Fant	...	Jed Watkins
Joan Harvey	...	Lil Courtney
Carl York	...	Curly Winwell
Jason Evers	...	Sheriff Blackie Faulkner (as Herb Evers)
Effie Afton	...	Ma Parks
Shirley Smith	...	Ann Courtney
Casey Peyson	...	Gail Crouder
Peter Falk	...	Shorty Walters
Al Lewis	...	Machine Gun Manny
Leo Bloom	...	Ed Courtney
Norman Burton	...	Bill Courtney
Philip Kenneally	...	Baker
Charles Braswell	...	Special Investigator Neil Trane

Storyline

Trying to shake his troubled past and start a new honest life, Floyd loses his job because of that past. With nowhere to go but back home in Oklahoma he gets news that his father's been murdered and the local sheriff lets the killer off with a self-defense plea. Bent on revenge, Floyd does what he must which leads him down a dark road littered with robbing banks and loose women. Floyd's final days are anything BUT pretty!

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | independent film

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Taglines:

THE KISS OF DEATH - WHERE THE UNDERWORLD BECOME THE JUDGES AND A HOODLUM WINDS UP DEAD! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

De erfgenaam van Al Capone

Company Credits

Production Co:

Le-Sac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Barry Newman)

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Goofs

Pretty Boy Floyd, a 1930s outlaw, is seen throughout the movie using German-made MP-40 machine guns which were used by Nazi soldiers during World War II and not available in the U.S. until after the war (illegally, of course). He is also seen using 1950's era snub-nose .38 revolvers. Pretty Boy Floyd famously used a pair of 1911-style .45 automatics.

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Soundtracks

"Black Emanuelle"
Written by Del Serino & Bill Sanford

User Reviews

Forgettable

The career of notorious 1930's bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd is recounted in this sleazy production that also manages to unfold in rather lackluster fashion. Ericson certainly merits the nickname 'Pretty Boy', however his romanticized killer fails to generate an eye-catching level of viciousness. Thus, the story lacks necessary spark at the center. Still, the producers do manage a few compensations. The movie does a pretty good job showing Floyd's lingering roots in Oklahoma where he was something of a folk hero, banks being not too popular in the Depression era 30's. The rural set-ups are also well done showing the shantytown poverty of the time. However, the rest of the production is threadbare, to say the least.

Then too, poor Joan Harvey (Lil) may look the part of Floyd's squeeze, but her acting skill sort of comes and goes. On the other hand, Carl York as Curly manages to inject some real feeling into an otherwise colorless narrative. Good to see Peter Falk getting his first movie break. Too bad he wasn't given a bigger role and a chance to spice things up. Lives of real gangsters were popular on both TV (The Lawless Years, and The Untouchables) and in a number of movies of the time (Capone, Baby Face Nelson). Unfortunately this minor effort is one of the more forgettable ones.