Bob Griffin Movies
- 1958
The real-life "Machine Gun" Kelly was a clumsy, two-bit petty thief, goaded into bigger and badder things by a publicity-hungry wife; legend has it that when Kelly was finally captured by the FBI, he had a smile on his face, as if relieved to get away from the gorgonlike Mrs. Kelly. This film version of Kelly's life alters the facts considerably: as played by Charles Bronson, "Machine Gun" is a cold-blooded sadist who kills because he's sensitive about his height. Together with his ever-lovin' moll Flo (Susan Cabot), Kelly decides to top off his criminal achievements with a high-profile kindapping, a decision that leads to his bloody downfall. Comedian Morey Amsterdam delivers a surprisingly effective performance as a stool pigeon who "gets his" from the business end of Kelly's eponymous weapon. Directed with sweaty intensity by Roger Corman, Machine Gun Kelly was originally released on a double bill with The Bonnie Parker Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot, (more)
- 1953
Within its own modest limits, The Great Jesse James Raid is a well-crafted western. Willard Parker plays Jesse James, who when the film opens is seen comfortably settled into respectable retirement. At the instigation of the unscrupulous Bob Ford (Jim Bannon), Jesse leaves hearth and home behind to commit one last robbery. Somewhere in the deep recesses of a mine is $300,000 in hidden loot, and Jesse aims to get his mitts on it. Featured in the cast of The Great Jesse James Raid are Barbara Payton and Tom Neal, whose turbulent real-life romance resulted in a great deal of negative publicity. The film is stolen by Wallace Ford as a Scripture-quoting dynamiter; perhaps it is true, as one historian observed, that Ford was in more movies than anyone else in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willard Parker, Barbara Payton, (more)
