Critic Reviews

Gun Crazy (1949) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Gun Crazy (1949) a score of 3.1132 out of 4

based on (22) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(7)

Very Good

(14)

Good

(1)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

As film noir this hard-boiled story is much superior to the more popular and more critically acclaimed "Bonnie and Clyde." ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

GUN CRAZY(director: Joseph H. Lewis; screenwriter: MacKinlay Kantor from his story in the "Saturday Evening Post"/Lillard Kaufman is the uncredited Dalton Trumbo-he was blacklisted; cinematographer: Russell Harlan; cast: Peggy Cummins (Annie Laurie ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

One of the greatest of all films, this "B" movie classic has it all. In telling his story of two lovers on the run, director Joseph H. Lewis uses a startling immediacy not found in any other films at the time. ItÂ¹s the kind of energy that only cropped ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

DVDBeaver

directed by Joseph H. Lewis USA 1949 (aka "Deadly is the Female") Theatrical Release: December 1st, 1949 - USA Even as a child, Bart Tare (John Dall) always loved firearms. After a brief stint in the military, his friends take him to a ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at DVDBeaver

Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)

There comes a point where the act of criticism breaks down, and I'd be hard-pressed to tell you exactly why I think Peggy Cummins is just awesome as Annie Laurie Starr in Gun Crazy. She's a little awkward -- in every scene, if you're listening carefully, ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)

Boxoffice Magazine

For everyone who's been wondering when all the really great film noirs will finally hit DVD in a flood instead of a trickle, Warner has decided to finally open up the vaults... with a vengeance. Three of the most acclaimed film noirs of all time, and two ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

filmcritic.com (Aaron Lazenby)

Combining the palpable, seedy desperation of its best big budget cousins with creative filmmaking born of frugality, Gun Crazy is sure to scratch the femme fatale, love on the run itch of any fan of film. Working from a screenplay by blacklisted scribe ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at filmcritic.com (Aaron Lazenby)

The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)

Gun Crazy (1949) (aka Deadly Is the Female), the forerunner of director Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967), is considered by many to be the ultimate B-movie - with film noirish elements. Director Joseph H. Lewis's cult picture was taken from a ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)

DVD Authority.com (John Stanley)

Gun Crazy is another in the long line of low budget Drew Barrymore flicks. And boy do I love them! This time Drew (Firestarter, Doppleganger) is playing Anita Minteer, a trailer park girl with less than average self esteem and an abusive, molesting ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at DVD Authority.com (John Stanley)

filmcritic.com

The Onion A.V. Club (Scott Tobias)

"Boxing Wednesdays. Wrestling on Fridays." It's fight night at Paradise City, the low-rent, small-town sweatbox in Robert Wise's underappreciated 1949 palooka gem The Set-Up, one of five sterling noirs collected from Warner Brothers' vault for a box set ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at The Onion A.V. Club (Scott Tobias)

MediaScreen.com

Sigmund Freud would have a field day with Bart Tare (John Dall), the gun crazy marksman who just can't live without always having a firearm in his possession. Feeling more than a little inadequate, shall we say, Bart soon teams up with Laurie Starr ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at MediaScreen.com

DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

Gun Crazy is a cinematic sketch book of good techniques used with perfect precision. Director Joseph H. Lewis worked with a motivated crew on this low-budget independent picture and it made his reputation as an extremely creative moviemaker. Shots are ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

digitallyOBSESSED.com (Rich Rosell)

Bart Tare (John Dall) is a guy with a keen fascination with guns (one character refers to it as a "dangerous mania"), and in the opening sequences we learn how this addiction to weaponry landed him a stint in reform school as a teen, and as the main part ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Rich Rosell)

Images Movie Journal

"Bart, I've never been much good--at least up till now I haven't. You aren't getting any bargain, but I've got a funny feeling that I want to be good. I don't know. Maybe I can't. But I'm gonna try. I'll try hard, Bart. I'll ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Images Movie Journal

Slant Magazine - DVD Review

I's actually a damned good thing that Joseph H. Lewis, proud member of Andrew Sarris's clan of "Expressive Esoterica," had as exciting a visual flair and as much a taste for zero-flab pacing as he did. Otherwise, Gun Crazy, his 1949 "pre-Bonnie & Clyde" ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Slant Magazine - DVD Review

DVD Verdict

"People are being cheated, robbed, murdered, raped. And that goes on 24 hours a day, every day in the year. And that's not exceptional, that's usual. It's the same in every city in the modern world. But suppose we had no police force, good or bad. ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at DVD Verdict

DVDFanatic.com (Sean Chavel)

One of the most entertaining vintage film noirs is Joseph H. Lewis' Gun Crazy (1949), featuring a dangerous couple on the run. From adolescence, Bart (John Dall) is obsessed with guns. ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at DVDFanatic.com (Sean Chavel)

Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)

Film Noir Classic Collection ($49.92 DVD) Warner Bros.' modestly priced five-pack retrieves five nifty noirs from the RKO vaults. The pick of the litter (available separately, like the other four) is Out of the Past (1947), directed by Jacques Tourneur ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)

Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)

Explosive, breakneck, combustible and sexy, Gun Crazy is a roller coaster ride with more ups than downs - a vicarious dive into sin that crackles with a kinetic energy that grabs you by the throat from the credits and never lets up. In five decades ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)

Movie Magazine International

Peggy Cummins IS Annie Laurie Starr in this film noir classic! Three years after her ignominious firing from Otto Preminger's "Forever Amber" (reportedly because she looked like a little girl playing dress-up in period costumes), Cummins showed that she ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at Movie Magazine International

New York Times (--)

Even with some adroit camouflaging, the Palace's new picture, starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall, is pretty cheap stuff. "Gun Crazy" just about covers it. Handsomely produced by the King Brothers, from an original story by MacKinlay Kantor, this ...read the complete Gun Crazy movie review at New York Times (--)

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