GUN CRAZY (1950) - Film Review

Joseph H. Lewis’s film Gun Crazy is not a film noir. Gun Crazy is an existentialist film disguised as a film noir. It could also be classified as a two person crew gangster film, lovers on the lam picture, or possibly even a criminal psychology flick. It defies a simple definition as its two main characters and their story may comprise some or all of these elements. I’m far from the type of person who over-intellectualizes or reads too much into films (especially 1950s B-Movies) however, the philosophical dark waters of Gun Crazy run deep below its turbulent surface. Fortunately for the viewer, the story we watch unfold on that surface is gripping, dangerous and crackerjack filmmaking at its best. The core of the film however consists of two characters who are questioning what they are, if they were created that way, or if their actions define their identity.

We first meet young adolescent Bart Tare (Russ Tamblyn) on a miserable night of pouring rain and unsatiated desire. Bart is stopped on the street outside the shop window of a small town hardware store, fixated on its display case prominently presenting an ornate revolver. From inside the store we watch him heave a rock through the front window, creating a big hole just above the gun. He turns himself around and attempts to obstruct the view of the hole in case anyone about is looking to see where the sound of the crash came from. He does this by blocking the hole with his torso and outstretching his arms perpendicular to his vertical body. This ends up looking eerily like he is about to be crucified rather than slyly covering his vandalism. He grabs the gun, a few small boxes of ammo and begins to run away. Bart trips and falls dropping the gun. The camera follows the gun skidding across the street where it stops in front of the boots of a man. The camera tilts up and we see the figure of the local sheriff. The lust for guns, we later discover, is Bart’s cross to bear.

Cut to a court room where we get a glimpse into Bart’s life as this juvenile’s crime is being weighed by the judge before sentencing. Bart’s parents are absent but his sister informs the judge that Bart has always had an obsession with guns but he wouldn’t harm a fly. One flashback later reveals that as a young boy he accidentally killed a baby chick with his BB gun and was deeply traumatized and regretful of this action. Since then he has refused to kill anything. His friends Dave and Clyde attest to this by recounting a story to the judge that one day, while they were exploring the local mountains, they had an opportunity to kill a mountain lion they spotted while hiking. Bart (never without his rifle apparently) is goaded into shooting the lion by his friends but he purposely misses. His friends chide him for his inaccuracy but Bart proceeds to throw his canteen high in the air and pump it full of several rounds before it hits the ground to prove a point: Barton Tare is a dead eye marksman. He is not however, a killer. A former teacher testifies about Bart bringing in a gun to school a year prior and refusing to give it to her after she catches him showing it off to his classmates at his desk (ah, the good old days). The judge wisely decides that Bart must go to reform school as his actions must have consequences. Bart however feels misunderstood as he tells the judge that shooting guns is the only thing he’s good at, it’s what he wants to do when he grows up and, “I feel good when I’m shooting them. I feel awful good inside like I’m somebody.”

A dozen years later we are re-introduced to Bart now played by John Dall. He has come back to town and is taking some leisurely target practice in the mountains while drinking beer (ah, the good old days) with his same old friends Clyde (now sheriff) and Dave. Bart has just gotten out of the army and is unsure what he will do next in life. For kicks his friends suggest they all go to the traveling carnival in town that evening. Little does Bart know that by going to the carnival his fate is about to change faster than a speeding bullet.

They enter a tent where a gun demonstration is being held by one Miss Annie Laurie Star (Peggy Cummins). Beautiful and dressed to the nines in a cowgirl outfit and tight slacks, Laurie comes out with guns blazing and then points and fires one straight at Bart. The gun, it turns out, is filled with harmless blanks, but her effect on Bart however is like a .38 caliber slug from cupid’s gat right through his heart. She proceeds to demonstrate her prowess with the six-shooter by blasting a cigarette out of her assistant’s mouth at twenty paces and so forth. Bart is mesmerized by Laurie as if his dream woman has been dropped from the sky before him. The carnival host then challenges anyone in the audience to match bullet for bullet the deadly accuracy of Annie Laurie Star. Naturally Bart accepts and what happens next is one of the most ludicrous and amazing seduction scenes ever filmed. As the two take turns back and forth shooting dangerously close to each other in a deadly William Tell like competition, Laurie has noticeably become interested in Bart. Here the two meet for the first time in their purest forms: deadly accurate marksmen who love the tools of their trade and the rush they provide.

Bart takes a job at the carnival to be close to Laurie and they begin falling hard for each other and eventually leave the carnival. They decide on a shotgun wedding but before tying the knot Bart confesses his stint in reform school and Laurie confides that “I’ve never been much good but I want to be good. I don’t know, maybe I can’t but I’m going to try.” Despite the confessions of being outcasts they pull the trigger on their nuptials and travel around the country honeymooning like a typical happy couple. They honeymoon ends as the money runs out and Laurie becomes discontented. Bart suggests that he take a job at Remington (guns not electric shavers) for 40 dollars a week. That kind of dough isn’t enough for Laurie because she wants to do “a little living” so she suggests a lifestyle of crime where they can earn easy money with their guns by stealing from others. Bart expresses his concern at this proposal by stating that he doesn’t want, “to look in the mirror and see nothing but a stickup man staring back at me.” Laurie on the other hand believes she is entitled because, “I’ve been kicked around all my life and from now on I’m going to start kicking back.” Faced with the ultimatum of Laurie leaving him or seeing that stickup man in the mirror, Bart caves and they begin robbing everything from gas stations to banks.

While what comes next is a series of exciting crime scenes, the most interesting aspect of the film is the characters of Bart and Laurie. As the viewers, we wonder what makes them tick and we see that they are trying to figure that out for themselves as well. Their identities are nebulous entities that they never quite know where they begin or end. Is Laurie rotten to the core even though she honestly tries and wants to be good for Bart? She reminds Bart she told him from the beginning that, “…I was no good. I didn’t kid you did I?” yet she demonstrates moments of real tenderness, concern and love for Bart. Is Bart nothing but that criminal he sees in the mirror even though he is essentially good at heart? Keep in mind that Bart can’t bring himself to shoot anyone if the need arises whereas Laurie has an over itchy trigger finger when she gets scared and stressed. Most would argue that’s not conducive makeup for the life of being successful armed robbers, but Bart and Laurie are misfits and walking contradictions. Bart comments that “It’s all going so fast it doesn’t seem like me.” This elusive selfdom both share is further evidenced by their crime spree where they are literally and figuratively trying on different identities, disguises and role-play while pulling jobs and being on the lam. They impersonate a bookish straight couple, Army officer and wife, beret and sunglasses wearing 50’s hipsters and finally “disguise” themselves in full on cowboy and cowgirl costumes during the infamous single take bank robbery scene shot from the back seat of their car (there’s plenty written about it this deservedly classic part so I will refrain). Despite all these various guises and roles, at their core Bart and Laurie are rare birds that have never quite found nests to call their own. Yet they look for validation and comfort in each other as they are united in their existence as square pegs. Bart tells Laurie “We go together Laurie, I don’t know why, like guns and ammunition go together.”

The two decide to pull one last big heist which goes awry, produces two corpses (thanks to Laurie’s hair trigger finger) and sends them running back to Bart’s home town for a confrontation with his past. Here he faces his sister, Clyde and Dave who beg for their surrender but it’s too late for the two. They have finally established their identities in the form of outlaw robbers; and like their predecessors Bonnie and Clyde, they can run for only so long before he law catches up with them.

Director Joseph H. Lewis makes the Gun Crazy script jump off the page and crackle with dazzling energy. Lewis has a very strong sense of patience and payoff when it comes to visually narrating a scene. For example, he knows when to finally give the audience a close-up for maximized emotional impact at just the right time in the context of the entire scene, whereas another director may give one to the audience too soon. They would expect the close-up to create significance, just because of our viewer's conditioning to register it as such. Lewis does it with impeccable timing and feeling. Overall the film looks fantastic with great camerawork bolstering its visual strength. Lewis also paces the action at a brisk clip yet knows when to slow down to let the viewer savor the fantastic characters of Bart and Laurie. He lets them breathe and come to life without too heavy a hand and too broad a brush. The only flaw I find with the film is the pace lags for a brief time at the very end but otherwise Gun Crazy is a lean, streamlined movie from start to finish. I’ve barely scratched the surface of this film as it has so many great nuances, qualities and themes that are all worthy of exploration. I will say (and go out on a biased limb) that Gun Crazy is one of, if not, the most underrated film noir (okay it is a film noir) from the classic period of 1940 to 1958. Truly a must see for any fan of film noir or great filmmaking in general.