Roger Corman’s exploitation crime thriller “Bloody Mama” was the filmmaker’s second-to-last feature for American International Pictures and it was a far cry from his best. Though moderately successful, the film was handcuffed by Corman’s steadfast desire to milk the recent success of Arthur Penn’s Oscar-winning “Bonnie and Clyde”. His efforts in “Bloody Mama” were so apparent that it prompted Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Champlin to label it “Mommie and Clyde“.

While the film was lambasted by critics, it earned enough of an audience to inspire Corman to fund “Boxcar Bertha” and hire a young Martin Scorsese to direct it. But that doesn’t mean “Bloody Mama” is a good film. Despite its wealth of young on-screen talent, the movie struggles under the weight of its own inconsistency. While Corman’s inspiration is clear, it doesn’t seem like he’s at all sure about the kind of movie he wants to make. His tonal hodgepodge is maddening, hopping from lighthearted to dark on a whim and unwisely mixing such things as rape, murder, and incest with elements of comedy.

“Bloody Mama” is very loosely based on the antics of Kate “Ma” Barker. While Barker’s reputation as a hardened crime matriarch have been debated over the years (J. Edgar Hoover called her “vicious” and “dangerous” while those who knew her said she had no role in her sons’ many crimes). Corman sticks with the pop culture interpretation, even taking it further by portraying Ma barker as an absolute monster. She’s played by a tempestuous Shelly Winters who fully commits to the role.

Set and filmed in rural Arkansas, “Bloody Mama” takes place during the Depression as Ma Barker leaves her husband George (Alex Nicol) and takes her gaggle of unruly twenty-something sons with her. Her pack consists of the unhinged Herman (Don Stroud), the more reserved Arthur (Clint Kimbrough), the masochistic Fred (Robert Walden), and the drug-addicted Lloyd (Robert De Niro). The five set out on a crime spree across 1930’s Arkansas, picking up a few tag-alongs and killing more than a few along the way.

There isn’t much in the way of character development as Corman is far more interested in the luridly violent exploitation that helped solidify his legacy. The lone exception may be De Niro’s Lloyd, the troubled outcast of the backwoods brood whose inner turmoil resonates the most realistically. He’s very much a part of the family, and his sociopathic bend takes him down some rather sinister paths. But he also comes across as alienated and alone which only fuels his self-destruction. Stroud doesn’t get nearly as much to work with, but he does make the psychotic Herman a terror.

As for Ma Barker, she mostly comes across as a collection of character types. We get some early flashes to her incestuous and abusive childhood which somewhat explains her own vile deviancy. But the bulk of the film sees Winters as a blustering swirl of anger and resentment. Her Ma Barker lives up to the sensationalized portrayal that has found its way into many movies, songs, and stories. It’s a performance that’s both fascinating and frustrating, much like “Bloody Mama” as a whole.

VERDICT – 2 STARS