Deadly Is the Female (1950)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

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

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:

Gun | Carnival | Robbery | Female Criminal | Crime Spree

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

Colour:

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:

Spoiler: When Bart is reading about the deaths at the meat packing plant, he says that the security guard's name was William Bechtel. It is unclear as to whether or not this can be taken as a nod to comedian William Bechtel.

Goofs:

Continuity: A shot from inside a sedan that Annie is driving shows a nameplate logo on the dashboard that says "Kaiser", but the only cars they are seen driving are the stolen Cadillac, a Packard convertible, a Chevy convertible, what appears to be an old Ford or Mercury convertible and a Ford sedan.

Quotes:

Bart: You were going to kill that man!
Annie Laurie Starr: Why not? He would have kill us, if given the chance.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Exhumed (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mad About You

Good drama at a fast pace in this classic 50s film noir piece

Another great human drama from the pen of McKinley Kantor. This gripping tale of a young couple on a crime spree rings of "Natural Born Killers" albeit watered down, fifties style. The sturdy, but less than stellar cast turn out moving performances. Once again, we are reminded that Kantor(author of "The voice of Bugle Ann" and "Wicked Water") was one of our century's finest writers. Of course, this picture reaches the only down-beat conclusion possible.