Bloody Mama (1970)

A psychologically-disturbed matriarch presides over her damaged family of bank-robbing misfits.

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Don Peters (story), Robert Thom (screenplay)

Stars:

Shelley Winters, Don Stroud, Pat Hingle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shelley Winters	...	'Ma' Kate Barker
Pat Hingle	...	Sam Adams Pendlebury
Don Stroud	...	Herman Barker
Diane Varsi	...	Mona Gibson
Bruce Dern	...	Kevin Dirkman
Clint Kimbrough	...	Arthur Barker
Robert De Niro	...	Lloyd Barker
Robert Walden	...	Fred Barker
Alex Nicol	...	George Barker
Pamela Dunlap	...	Rembrandt
Michael Fox	...	Dr. Roth
Scatman Crothers	...	Moses (as 'Scatman' Crothers)
Stacy Harris	...	Agent McClellan
Lisa Linsky	...	Young Kate (as Lisa Jill)
Steve Mitchell	...	Sheriff

Storyline

A psychological gangster film based on fact. Machine gun totin' Ma Barker lead her family gang (her sons) on a crime spree in the Depression era. Her loyal brood have every perversion imaginable. The sadistic Herman sleeps with his Ma. When Fred Barker is released from prison, he brings home his cellmate and lover Kevin Dirkman, who also sleeps with Ma, much to Fred's chagrin. Lloyd Barker is a spaced-out drug addict who sniffs glue if nothing better is around. Ma kidnaps happy-go-lucky millionaire Sam Adams Pendlebury and holds him for ransom. Arthur Barker, Ma's wallflower son, and Herman's hooker lady friend Mona Gibson also figure in the story. The bloody finale is virtually choreographed, and a visual stunner. Filmed in the Ozarks.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | cult director | shoulder holster | murdered in a bathtub | woman in a bathtub | 

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Taglines:

MEET MA BARKER who took her bibles, her hymn book and her tommy and raised four sons and more hell than most of the mobs in Chicago.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1970 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Mamá sangrienta

Filming Locations:

Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dirkman (Bruce Dern) is a combination of several Barker Gang members, most notably Alvin Carpis, who was a cellmate of Freddie Barker and the primary member of the gang (outside of the family).

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Goofs

In the prison cell when Freddie is walking on Dirkman's back, if you look on the cell wall behind him, you'll see graffiti of a Nazi swastika on the wall. The movie takes place circa 1930 and the Nazi symbol didn't even exist (at least in America's consciousness) until the late 1930's-1940's. Correction: The swastika was used as good luck symbol long before the Nazis. It was a common Native American symbol of good fortune and was on the official patch of the 45th Infantry Division of the US Army prior to 1930. So it's use as graffiti is not impossible.

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Quotes

'Ma' Kate Barker: It's supposed to be a free country Mona. But unless you're rich, you ain't free and you know that. So I aim to be freer than the rest of the people.

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Alternate Versions

The film was originally rejected for a UK cinema certificate by the BBFC and then released 8 months later in 1971 with cuts to nudity, violent beatings, a rape scene, the drowning of Rembrandt, Lloyd's injection scenes and the violent shooting of Herman. The 18-rated UK video release of this film was cut by 11 seconds by the BBFC and removes the scene where Bruce Dern drops a tethered piglet into a river to use as alligator bait. The cuts were fully waived for the 2009 Optimum DVD.

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Connections

Featured in Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)

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Soundtracks

Bloody Mama
Written by Don Randi, Guy Hemric and Bob Silver
Performed by Bigfoot

User Reviews

Leaves Something to Be Desired

This film is Roger Corman and Sam Arkoff's answer to "Bonnie and Clyde". But not only did they take the theme of Depression-era gangsters, they also borrowed the idea of completely eradicating the facts. I would be hard-pressed to name one thing in this film that was based a real event.

That being said, it has some historical merit. Shelley Winters gives a good performance, and has said she was proud of the film (which she oddly enough promoted as a film denouncing violence, despite its clearly violent nature). She even allegedly took a punch to the face, resulting in a nose injury bad enough to get X-rays.

Bruce Dern and Robert DeNiro give some of the earliest performances of their careers, and any DeNiro fan who has not seen him in this is really missing out on his humble beginnings. These days, he is past his prime, making cheesy comedies. But have you seen him before his prime?

Perhaps most interesting, this was the big-screen debut of cinematographer John A. Alonzo. While he may not be well-known, he did go on to film "Harold and Maude", "Chinatown" and "Scarface" and snagged an Oscar nomination. Not bad for a graduate of the Corman School.