Manny Farber talked of termite art, films that were subtly, but distinctly unique and breathtaking. Gun Crazy is one of those films--all but ignored as a B movie, but idolized by those who see it (mainly the French, for some reason). Sure, it has the post-war women bashing that Noir often resorted to, but if you can look past all of the blame that Cummins' character receives, you can see one of the best doomed romances ever. A frenetic, crazed, strange and classic romance, where the characters had a real reciprocity and energy.
John Dall's (you're right, Levana, stiff) acting still is really charming for me, partly because of the silly, simple psyche his character is given. And Peggy Cummins, well, she's one of the most sexy women ever to play a circus performer on the big screen, and her raw, bad, gun-toting character really grabs onto you. It's hard not to look at Cummins and see this elemental force that John Dall really enjoys losing himself in. She's unstoppable in this film. The director once commented that he wanted Dall and Cummins to look like dogs in heat. Mission accomplished.
If you want some interesting commentary on the film, there's a documentary on Noir that talks a lot about the unconventional shooting of the film (most notably the first bank robbing scene) and a BFI classics book on it.
John Dall's (you're right, Levana, stiff) acting still is really charming for me, partly because of the silly, simple psyche his character is given. And Peggy Cummins, well, she's one of the most sexy women ever to play a circus performer on the big screen, and her raw, bad, gun-toting character really grabs onto you. It's hard not to look at Cummins and see this elemental force that John Dall really enjoys losing himself in. She's unstoppable in this film. The director once commented that he wanted Dall and Cummins to look like dogs in heat. Mission accomplished.
If you want some interesting commentary on the film, there's a documentary on Noir that talks a lot about the unconventional shooting of the film (most notably the first bank robbing scene) and a BFI classics book on it.