Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

jotix100 Roger Corman, who specialized in low budget films show an ambitious side in directing "Bloody Mama" a sort of loosely based biographic picture about the criminal family that terrorized rural America during the Great Depression. Mr. Corman evidently took liberties in telling the story, the way he presents it, more as an entertainment than a factual account of the Barkers.Ma Barker, a hillbilly from the backwoods is tired of living in poverty. Her four sons clearly adored her because otherwise it would make no sense of following the old lady into a crime spree unlike the ones the country had seen up to then. The four sons, Herman, a trigger happy individual, Arthur, the quiet one, LLoyd, the junkie and Fred, an openly gay man, way ahead of the times he was living. Herman brought along his girlfriend Mona, and Fred, his lover, Kevin Dirkman, who is one is to believe the material, also serviced a horny Ma Barker.The director achieved a coup just in the mere casting of the film. Shelley Winters, who played Ma Barker, made a terrific contribution to our enjoyment. Don Stroud, Clint Kimbrough, Robert Walden and a young Robert Deniro are seen as the four sons. Diane Varsi and Bruce Dern are the two of the people the family attracted.

samgrass-3 Roger Corman's take on Ma Barker, with Shelley Winters hitting rock bottom as Ma. Corman mentions in the credits that any similarity between anyone living or dead is purely coincidental, except for the Barker family. Well, we can include them in with the rest, because other than naming the characters after Ma and her sons, there is no similarity. It's just good, cheesy fun. Going for a psychological turn, the movie seems to revolve around sex, except for parts where Corman inserts his social commentary on America, which is always a hoot. It was made during the period where Corman, applauded by the French, was believing his own reviews and imagining himself not as a B director, but as an important social commentator. Anyone who sat through Gas-s-s-s knows the depth of Corman's thinking. Robert DeNiro has one of his early parts, playing one of Ma's sons. I can just imagine method actor DeNiro asking Corman what his motivation is. Oh to be a fly on that wall. Not to be outdone, Shelley also mumbles quite a few of her lines, perhaps competing with DeNiro. Bruce Dern is also in there, as son Arthur's (Clint Kimbrough) sadistic prison friend who joins the gang. Don Stroud plays oldest son Herman. Lots of nude scenes, though I kept wishing that Shelley would keep her clothes on. Thankfully, she did. It's fun to watch, but Corman did this sort of nonsense better in Big Bad Mama.

MartinHafer This is an incredibly tasteless tale that is reputed to be the story of the notorious Ma Barker and her demented criminal sons. Unfortunately, most of what you see in this Roger Corman production is pure hooey--with no basis in the real lives of this criminal family. The biggest problem with the story is that Ma is shown as the brains and motivating force behind the Barker gang, though most histories of the gangster era of the late 20s and early 30s completely contradict this. In addition to playing fast and loose with this, many other details of the film are pure fabrication, so if you are looking for a biography, don't bother.However, if you are looking for a very guilty pleasure--sort of like "The Jerry Springer Show" combined with the Barker story, then this is for you! The story you'll see if almost completely depraved and rather shocking even today, as prison sodomy, senseless murders, drug abuse, rape and the most psychologically twisted semi-incestuous family on film is what you'll see. Now this might be really hard to take, but having the actors (particularly Shelly Winters) overact so severely actually made most of it seem rather funny instead of realistic. Still, given these topics, nudity and a lot of blood, it's certainly not for children or the squeamish. Entertaining but pure trash.

JackMay23 This film has everything- nudity,violence,incest,homosexuality,drug addiction - that it takes to make a good drive-in exploitation flick. It also has some good acting from the likes of Shelley Winters,Robert DeNiro,Don Stroud and Bruce Dern.This Roger Corman directed crime film tells the story of real-life Ma Barker and her boys who ran a crime spree in the 1930's. Though Corman's film obviously does not have the wit or the style of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" it holds one's interest with bloody sensationalism. The newly released DVD which is part of the Roger Corman collection has a crisp widescreen transfer and is worth a look.