T-Bird Gang

Saw for the first time on a public domain youtube channel. Low budget, but worth watching for those interested in Roger Corman's Hollywood. Needed more characterization and background stories. to be a true classic, but interesting nevertheless.

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.

It is an interesting coincidence that I watched "What Price Crime?" about a week before watching "T-Bird Gang" because this second movie turns out to be a remake of the earlier film. "What Price Crime?" is a dandy low-budget film and in the case of "T-Bird Gang", it's an even lower budgeted film. And, while this remake isn't bad, the original is better for several reasons.

"T-Bird Gang" begins with the beating death of a night watchman. The son of the watchman finds him just before he dies and all he can say is that the killers were in a white Ford Thunderbird (also nicknamed a 'T-Bird'). So, this young man decides to try to locate the gang and exact his revenge. However, a level-headed cop discovers the guy's plan and gets him to agree to work with them to bring the gang to justice. However, this gang isn't the trusting sort and it takes him some time to gain their confidence—and the viewer isn't sure if the gang will be stopped before this infiltrator is discovered and liquidated.

Apart from a few small changes, the two plots in the two films are nearly identical. However, "What Price Crime?" is a better film because it is more subtle and at least has a soundtrack that seemed professional. "T-Bird Gang", on the other hand, has one of the crappiest soundtracks—often consisting of someone banging on bongos or a small combo playing free-form jazz. 95% of the folks watching this will probably hate the music—I know I did. However, if you can ignore this and just take the film for what it is (a cheap B-movie), then it's not bad and is a decent time-passer. Not great but enjoyable because the basic plot is still decent.

The T-Bird Gang, a Fifties masterpiece, is one of my all-time guilty pleasure classics. I watch it at least once a month and have never stopped discovering new aspects of its scope and grandeur. Vic Tayback is outstanding in a minor role.

John Brinkley & Tony Miller wrote & star in this tale of a high school student that goes undercover to bust a gang of twisted youths.

Watching these kids rob houses, even the rooms occupied with sleeping occupants, is simply delightful. These guys are slick! Big belly laughs at the similarities between some of these "sneaking" scenes and the dance in "Beat It".

Worth watching a couple of times. This film has recently been re-released on DVD & VHS.