Masterful Movie

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Blistering performances.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

To give criminal mastermind Ed Nelson a touch of class, the writers have him listening to classical music while planning his next criminal activity with teenaged thugs doing all the dirty work for him. One of them is an angry teen out for revenge because of the murder of his father. It is cliché after cliché, combining jazzy music into the actual crime sequences. Nelson is fine and would fortunately go onto other things that would really give his career some class. But this isn't it with a string of warehouse robberies being connected for a burp of a plot. If this is what American independent film producers considered new wave in the mid 60s I gladly wave it goodbye. At any rate, it is over in just an hour, so you won't have to put up with the excessive violence and angry atmosphere that was appropriate for the time but seems a bit too much today. When you see a movie and can only praise the score and certain technical elements, that's a pretty sad commentary.

First off, let me state that this film is okay. I typically love 50s B- movies of essentially any genera rather they be wonderful examples of what can be done on a low budget, or complete schlock that is mainly enjoyable because if its failings. Based on the reviews I had read on IMDb, I watched T-Bird Gang because I thought it would have been of the former. I must admit I was a little let down. The film tells the story of a young man named Frank, (John Brinkley) who becomes an inside man for the police in order to find his father's killer. The young man infiltrates the gang and eventually he succeeds in helping the police. The story has been done before, both poorly and well, here in T-Bird Gang, it's done "okay." Frankly, the story itself is told so quickly the viewer really doesn't have anytime to care about any of the characters involved. It isn't that the acting is bad, in fact, I found the acting in this film to be rather good. I was even impressed by Coleman Francis' portrayal of a stereotypical overworked police detective, which he plays very convincingly. The problem is, the film just doesn't make me care very much. The viewer isn't given the time to understand what Frank is going through with the murder of his father, and although it is hinted that Frank and the detective have a history with one another, it isn't ever really discussed in depth. In stark contrast to this is the 1959 film "The Bloody Brood." "The Blood Brood," has a very similar story line to T-Bird Gang, but instead the viewer is shown how the characters feels about the people and situations unfolding around them, which makes the viewer care more. T-Bird Gang gives me enough information to want to care, but it doesn't give me enough of a story to MAKE me care. Recommended, but only to those like me who just love 50s B-Movies.

T-Bird gang is a fun quick one from the 50's, complete with hip talk and beat music. Despite the title and some descriptions, this is definitely not a car movie at all, and especially not a hot-rod movie. The title of the film really just relates to the white T-Bird that Alex, the brains of the criminal gang, drives and that car is hardly even in the movie at all! But it's an OK flick about a young man who infiltrates a local gang to get to the killer of his dad, a cop. There are some dull sequences where nothing much happens and there are some pretty girls too. It all comes down to not exactly the ending you thought would happen, but something similar.The leader of the gang does a few funny things, such as spill milk on the dress of his "moll" because she was laughing too much, and boss his workers around by giving sudden orders and snapping his fingers. The rest of the cast isn't bad and they probably had a good time making this movie. Definitely a fun way to spend 65 minutes.

This is without a doubt one of the finest movies I've seen, a real period classic. It's obscure, but well worth the time it would take to find a copy. Vic Tayback is especially good -- in a small role, admittedly, but displaying early hints of the greatness he achieved in later roles.