GUN CRAZY

For this visit to the Lonely Streets Bar Noir Pub Crawl, we stop off at the 1950 noir classic GUN CRAZY starring John Dall and Peggy Cummins as a latter-day Bonnie and Clyde. Joseph H. Lewis directs a script penned by Millard Kantor, Miles Kaufman, and Douglas Trumbo. 

Like all emotionally stunted, ill-fated lovers (Romeo and Juliet, Bonnie and Clyde, you get the picture) Bart Tare (Dall) and Annie Laurie Starr (Cummins) share a desire for adventure and guns. They meet at a circus where Cummins is a trick shooter with a handgun. One shot is all it takes to ignite a passion inside Dall's Bart Tare. They playfully take turns firing at one another.

From this moment on they become two wild and crazy kids on a crime spree.  They're actually too busy knocking over pharmacies and holding up payroll departments to go out to let off a little steam. Then again, shooting up a place is probably how they relax. Like visiting one of those stress-release places where you smash things but with dire consequences.

This is some fine cinematography from Russell Harlan.

With the cops on their tails, they manage to make a pit stop at some little, out-of-the-way diner that looks like a submarine. It's not much, and it looks like the only beverage they serve is coffee, so maybe this is a morning after the pub crawl kind of place.

Of all the places to eat, why here?

When you want a steak and a beer....

...and all they have is ham and cheese and coffee.

Maybe afterwards a little dancing?

(Is that a location shot of the city behind the detectives or some kind of an interesting matte?)

Dall and Cummins have no time for such nonsense. They're on the run and in one of the most suspenseful and gripping climaxes, the two part ways in a foggy swamp.  

🎶🎶🎶

In the wetlands, the foggy wetlands, our antiheroes hide

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It's film noir at its finest, even if there aren't many nightclubs and bars to visit.

GUN CRAZY (1950) shouldn't be confused with the 1992 GUNCRAZY (one word) starring Drew Barrymore as a delinquent teen who helps her boyfriend escape from jail before also heading off to adventure with guns and crimes. The 1950 GUN CRAZY is a quick study of the genre. Five out of five slugs.

MY GUN IS QUICK

It's been a long minute since I walked these lonely streets.  Tonight I found myself on the streets of L.A. I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been watching BOSCH: LEGACY. It reminded me that even in its noir infancy, L.A. was a lady with a dark secret. 

(Pamela Duncan as Velda: The Secretary in love with her boss)

The Boss

My Gun Is Quick is Mike Hammer at his grittiest. Robert Bray makes his film debut as the titular private eye. Tired, fed up, and hungry, Hammer stops at the Star Cafe, a narrow hole in the wall of a Los Angeles side street. There he meets Red, a working gal too tired to go out on the streets for the night. The soles of her shoes are worn much like her soul. See, she came to Hollywood from Nebraska to be a star but the only gigs she could get were live performances in seedy motels. Shorty, the owner of the cafe knows it and berates her to force her to leave. 

Hammer ain't having it. 

He buys her a bowl of the Soup du Jour. Gives her money to buy shoes, clothes, and a bus ticket back to the 37th state. Unfortunately, before she can do any of that, a thug named Louis shows up presumably to get her working again. Hammer beats him up and sends him on his way. Before she leaves, Red shows Hammer a ring connected to a wartime heist in Europe.  Later, when Red is killed in a hit and run, the ring turns up missing.

The Stolen Ring

(Jan Chaney/ Robert Bray)

For as misanthropic as Hammer can be, something about Red's death triggers the white knight in him and he's off on a crusade that will take him to the two latest stops on the Bar Noir Lonley Street Pub Crawl.

Tonight's first stop is the Star Cafe, owned and operated by the diminutive stock character Shorty.

Red waits for two cents worth of coffee.

(Jan Chaney as Red/Phil Arnold as Shorty)

Long and narrow, the Star Cafe gives off the vibe of having once been nothing more than an alley. There doesn't seem to be a kitchen, more like a flat top grill where he can heat soup an make chopped egg sandwiches. It's the kind of place a public payphone doesn't guarantee any privacy and everyone eats with everyone.

It's Hammer Time

                    

Where Everyone Knows What You Ordered

(Richard Garland as Louis)

The Star Cafe kind of has a roadhouse feel to it. Things can get a little heated in small spaces. Just ask Shorty and Louis.

With a belly full of lukewarm coffee, colder soup, and a chopped egg sandwich, it's time to follow a lead to the Bluebell Club, a burlesque joint with murder on its menu.

Note the intimate latticework to convey a false sense of privacy. It sort of matches the checkerboard tablecloth. Each table has a lamp! Please add a Michelin star to the review!

The Bluebell Club provides classy adult entertainment. The dancers are very demure. 

(Gina Maria Hildago as Maria)

Treat Your Spouse and Friends to a Fun Night Out!

What a perfect way to spend an evening with your spouse! The Bluebell Club offers that down home friendly feeling as the dancers peel off their clothes.

Maybe you'll make new friends who will ask you back to their pad. Just remember to have a safe word.

Finally, if you're feeling overwhelmed from all that bar hopping, maybe a relaxing getaway aboard a strange woman's boat is what you need. 

A word of caution: She may demand you take her to Mexico with millions of dollars worth of diamonds.

(Whitney Blake as Nancy Williams)

MY GUN IS QUICK was co-directed by Victor Saville and George White from a script by Mickey Spillane, Richard Collins, and Richard Powell.  

Harry Neumann handled the cinematography and had several great location shots of L.A. 

Back when the 101 or the 5 or the 405 or the 10 or the 15 were just starting to get clogged.

Junkyard Suspense!

Alley #1

Alley #2

Alley #3

Robert Bray went on to make 130 appearances in film and TV. He played the circuit landing roles on The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason. 

Overall, three out of five film reels.

Here's hoping it's not another two years between posts!

 

DETOUR (1945)

This week the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl visits the party spots of the 1945 film, Detour! A favorite of Noir Alley, Detour offers several stops between Reno and Los Angeles.

The night begins with a road trip outside of Reno. Why party in the biggest little city in the world when just down the road something special awaits your visit?

Hit the road with a pal!

Our first stop is the small but popular Nevada Diner. 

The Nevada Diner

Counter service only! A crack waitstaff is there to provide coffee, pie, and a little lesson on manners! 

Best coffee on the road!

Don't criticize a customer's taste in food or music!

It's somebody else's nickel, pal!

A cigarette machine for your convenience. 

Warning!

Ready for some fun? Head on back into Reno and hit the Break O' Dawn Club! 

Head back to Reno

Highly recommended as a fleabag joint, this hole-in-the-wall offers a full swing orchestra and a torch singer with a dream. 

The Break O' Dawn Band

Some day she'll be a star!

Perfect for an evening of dancing. 

Table service for sandwiches and cocktails. 

A BLT and Martini pairing

 Back on the road, it's time for a stop at another roadside diner before you drive all night in the rain with the top down as you head to L.A.

Keep the change

 Take in the many sites of a growing City of Angeles.

Photo ops

Plenty to see and do on this part of the. Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl. Until we hit the road again, be sure to settle your tab!

AND NOW THE STORY:

A gifted piano player fears he'll be blamed for two accidental deaths and hits the road. That's pretty much it. What follows is screenshots of cast and crew.