I love this movie so much

Touches You

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Bloody Mama is directed by Roger Corman and written by Don Peters and Robert Thom. It stars Shelley Winters, Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert De Niro, Diane Varsi, Robert Walden and Pat Hingle. Music is by Don Randi and cinematography by John A. Alonzo.Story is loosely based on the infamous Kate "Ma" Barker, who along with her sons would cause criminal carnage wherever they went."I told my boys to just rob banks and stay out of trouble" Very much coming off like the bastard son of Bonnie and Clyde, Bloody Mama finds Roger Corman on devilish form. He somehow manages to create violence that cuts hard, and yet there's still a pantomime vibe to things. The characters range from a mad matriarch who is a deathgasm addict - to a psychopath - a sadist - a submissive homosexual - a junkie torturer - and a hapless girlfriend, is it any wonder there's murder, robbery and seedy sexual shenanigans going on?! Hell the pic even begins with incestuous rape! Kiss me Kate!It's all very chaotic at times, led by a blunderbuss turn from Winters, but just when you think it's going out of control to the point of no return, Corman and his cast pull it back on track. It's often thrilling and unnerving, and with Corman blending newsreel footage of the era with the fact the pic is filmed on location in Arkansas, there's an earthy docu style feel to the tale - even if as a history lesson it's hokey at best.Not everybody's idea of enjoyment but from that chilling opening to the blood and thunder of the finale, Bloody Mama holds court with shifty glee. 7.5/10

Bloody Mama is a dramatic feature that is loosely based on the real story of Ma Barker,a corrupt mother who encourages and organizes her children's criminal activities.It stars Shelley Winters in the title role together with Bruce Dern,Don Stroud,Diane Varsi,Robert De Niro, Robert Walden and Pat Hingle.The film was directed by Roger Corman.The movie starts as young Kate Barker is brutalized by her father and older brothers, who rape her. After 35 years, the middle-aged Kate 'Ma' Barker now get her chance to brutalize innocent people herself.She gets to make a living by robbing banks with her four sons namely: the pragmatic Arthur;the sadistic Herman;the bisexual Fred; and the loyal Lloyd. They did it to build a fortune during the late 1920's when the United States was suffering from The Great Depression.This is obviously a gangster film.By today's standards,it is dated but nevertheless,it still manages to be fun and entertaining especially when we see good performances from the cast like Shelley Winters and the young Robert De Niro.It could have been a great classic gangster film probably similar to Bonnie And Clyde if only it had a better script instead of an underdeveloped screenplay. It still worth to view at least once though.

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.

This movie was my introduction to Roger Corman. I am now hooked. I think other posters have put too much emphasis on accuracy and technique. Sure the plot is not always logical and some of the performances are not great. I find that classics like Bloody Mama are so fun because the director and actors are aware that the film is not Oscar-caliber but still have fun with it. What makes this film so great is that it is a disturbing,campy, slapped-together mess. I would also like to point out that the always great Don Stroud has said in interviews that he had an intense affair with Shelley Winters during the filming of Bloody Mama. As they played a creepy mother son duo, this little morsel of trivia adds a whole new level of disturbing to this fabulous film.