The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Jimmy Breslin (novel)
Waldo Salt (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Plot:

This is the funny story about two warring Mafia gangs in New York. The weaker gang use incredibly a lion to blackmail the opposite gang's "clients". The police succeeds to stop one of the gang, while the other remain without the Boss. |

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | Punctuation In Title | Based On Novel

Cast

Jerry Orbach	...	Kid Sally
Leigh Taylor-Young	...	Angela
Jo Van Fleet	...	Big Momma
Lionel Stander	...	Baccala
Robert De Niro	...	Mario
Irving Selbst	...	Big Jelly
Hervé Villechaize	...	Beppo (as Herve Villechaize)
Joe Santos	...	Exmo
Carmine Caridi	...	Tony, the Indian
Frank Campanella	...	Water Buffalo
Harry Basch	...	DeLauria
Sander Vanocur	...	Television Commentator
Philip Bruns	...	Gallagher (as Phil Bruns)
Philip Sterling	...	District Attorney Goodman
Jack Kehoe	...	Bartender

Also Known As:

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot (UK) (cable TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including some violence, racial slurs, drug use and brief nudity.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1996)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This movie was supposedly based around the life of Joey Gallo, a New York gang leader. Word has it that the members of Gallo's crew wished to seek vengance on the writers.

Goofs:

Continuity: The lion in the back of the van is female. By the time it gets to the basement, it has become a male.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: D-Girl (#2.7)" (2000)

great example of '70's cinema

I went to see this movie with my mother when it first came out. Now I am waiting for this to come out on DVD because it is one of the few movies that I want to own. When we went to see it in 1971 I laughed so hard I thought I might either pee on myself or vomit. I'd never seen anything so funny…or so familiar. I'm sure that it helped that the action took place primarily in my own neighborhood in Brooklyn, but I believe this movie has something for everyone. The humor didn't seem subtle to me at the time but in light of the brainless fare that has become so popular this movie does require that you actually pay attention from beginning to end. If you get nothing else out of it, the realization that it's not possible to housebreak a lion is worth the price of admission. That and the valuable lessons about car bombs, but to talk about that would require a spoiler alert.