Machine-Gun Kelly

"Without His Gun He Was Naked Yellow!"

1958 1h 23m EN

😐

6.0

MID

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 50★6.1IMDB · 2,101

CrimeAction

Synopsis

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George Kelly is angry at the world and scared to death of dying. A career bank robber, Kelly gets his confidence from his Thompson SMG and his girl Flo. After a botched robbery, Flo, Kelly and his gang try their hand at a more lucrative job: kidnapping.

“Without His Gun He Was Naked Yellow!”

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Cast

Charles Bronson
George R. 'Machine Gun' Kelly
Susan Cabot
Florence 'Flo' Becker
Morey Amsterdam
Michael Fandango
Richard Devon
Apple
Jack Lambert
Howard
Frank De Kova
Harry
Connie Gilchrist
'Ma' Becker
Wally Campo
Maize

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roger Corman
Writers: R. Wright Campbell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roger Corman, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Gerald Fried. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ronald Sinclair shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles Bronson and Susan Cabot and Morey Amsterdam carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Without His Gun He Was Naked Yellow!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0051887 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roger Corman directs. Floyd Crosby behind the camera. Gerald Fried scores. Ronald Sinclair cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
268 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Roger Corman, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Gerald Fried. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ronald Sinclair shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Charles Bronson and Susan Cabot and Morey Amsterdam carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Without His Gun He Was Naked Yellow!".
8IMDB entry: tt0051887 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 50 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Floyd Crosby
Original score: Gerald Fried
Editing: Ronald Sinclair
Makeup / hair: David Newell
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Machine-Gun Kelly (1958)
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 2,101 votes
MPAA: Approved

Also by

Roger Corman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-05-16
★ 7/10
Lion’s Stare You Down. Machine Gun Kelly is directed by Roger Corman and written by Robert Wright Campbell. It stars Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot, Morey Amsterdam, Jack Lambert, Frank DeKova and Connie Gilchrist. Music is by Gerald Fried and cinematography by Floyd Crosby. George Francis Barnes Junior, AKA: Machine Gun Kelly, was a prohibition era American hoodlum, this movie is an interpretation of his time in the public enemy limelight. Never climbing up to high energy rat-a-tat-tat action levels, Corman’s “mini” biopic none the less breezes along and remains fascinating throughout. The makers paint Kelly as something of a weak willed type of guy who is impotent without his Thompson Submachine Gun. This is a man firmly dangling on the end of the puppet strings being twirled and pulled by his Moll, Flo Becker. Oh he’s not beyond slapping his woman around, or bullying one of his weaker willed accomplices, but Corman and Campbell assure us that Kelly is not to be gloried, even giving him a pathological fear of dying that shows him in this movie form as something of a coward. Of course this is just a movie, and for historical facts and figures et al, folks are warned this is not a biography to use as a starting point to explore Kelly’s reputation… Bronson as Kelly is wonderfully broody and he handles the fluctuations in Kelly’s psyche with convincing skill. Cabot as Flo is a sex-bomb, and deviously appealing with it she is as well, while Amsterdam gets to play a character so colourful and kinked, it wouldn’t be out of place in classic era film noir. Crosby was an ace cinematographer, capable of making the cheapest crime movie production looking a whole lot more expensive, such is the case here. While Fried provides a progressive jazz musical score that ranges from Ant Hill Mob like breeziness to funky piano based frenzies. All in all, a good gangster movie that benefits from some well written and performed characterisations. 7/10

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