The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)

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.

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Jimmy Breslin (novel), Waldo Salt

Stars:

Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

mafia | gangster | new york city | punctuation in title | based on novel

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1972 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A banda, amelyik nem tudott jól lőni

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While Paramount brass dithered over whether to cast him as Michael Corleone, the role that would make him a star, a frustrated Al Pacino signed up for the role of Mario Trantino in this movie. When Paramount finally decided to offer him The Godfather role, they had to buy him out of his contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Ironically, the role went to Robert De Niro, whom The Godfather: Part II would also help to make him a star s well.

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Goofs

When Angela arrives at the airport, she exits the taxi and enter the terminal without paying the cab driver. There are no pockets in her dress and she had no purse to hold money so she could have not paid him before exiting the cab.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: War of the Colossal Beast (1991)

User Reviews

A Comic Misfire

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)

** (out of 4)

Weak adaptation of the Jimmy Breslin novel (adapted by Waldo Salt) about a Mafia family (led by Jerry Orbach) who try to take out a rival crime boss but every time they get close to killing him something goes wrong. I haven't read the novel that this film is based on but I've heard it's actually quite funny. With that said, clearly something didn't come over from the page to the screen and I think a lot of the blame has to go to director James Goldstone. The entire movie has such a serious tone that you're often having to remind yourself that you're watching a comedy because the film just needs to loosen up and let the cast do their job. For the life of me I couldn't understand why the comic moments weren't handled better and there are several scenes that should have been so much funnier. One example is when a couple guys are chasing a man they want to kill but they get to some dirty water and they don't want to mess up their expensive shoes. Flat. Another sequence happens when we learn that Mafia leaders send their wives out to start the car each morning just in case there's a bomb. Flat. The strange thing is that a love story breaks out between Orbach's daughter (Leigh Taylor- Young) and a guy named Mario (Robert DeNiro). This love story is actually the best thing about the film and I wondered if perhaps the two actors were so good that they just kept building up more scenes around them. Considering how far DeNiro's name is in the credits and the fact that he's got perhaps the biggest role tells you something. Both of them are quite good together and it's fun seeing a young DeNiro looking exactly like he did a few years later in MEAN STREETS only here he's nice. Orbach is good in his role as is Jo Van Fleet, Burt Young and Herve Villechaize who would appear in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN in a couple years. THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT is certainly a complete misfire in terms of a comedy but fans of DeNiro might want to check it out. It's also worth noting that his role was originally going to be played by Al Pacino but he had to back-out once Paramount agreed to let him have the part of Michael in THE GODFATHER.