Guns Girls and Gangsters

Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) gets out of prison and heads to Las Vegas to enact an elaborate heist where he plans to steal an armored car carrying over $2 million in post-New Year's gambling money. He enlists the aide of local gangster Joe Darren (Grant Richards) and his lounge singer fiancé Vi (Mamie Van Doren), who just happens to be the wife of Wheeler's old cell mate. They plan everything out and it looks like it will go smoothly until Vi's ex-husband, Mike (Lee Van Cleef), breaks out of jail. This is a quick moving B-picture and director Edward L. Cahn never lets it lag through its 70 minutes. Van Doren isn't as much of a bad girl as in the previous feature I saw, VICE RAID. Here she is more of a good girl caught in a bad situation. To show how good she is, Van Doren gets two musical numbers in this one. Surprisingly, they don't play up her curves as much as VICE, but the swelling horn section is still abused plenty on the soundtrack. The supporting cast is all good and it is funny to know that even when he was young, Van Cleef still looked old.

"Guns, Girls, and Gangsters" not only has a great title, but this inexpensively made film works well for lovers of film noir. While it doesn't have all the great lighting and camera angles of some of the best noir, it does have a cold, nasty edge to it that makes it a standout picture.

When the film begins, Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) boldly approaches the nightclub singer, Vi Victor (Mamie Van Doren*) and insists she introduce him to her boss...a sophisticated hood. When I say insists, I pretty much mean he forces her with threats and intimidation. Why would Chuck take his life in his hands this way? After all, this boss ALSO is sweet on Vi. Well, it seems that Chuck and his cellmate in prison came up with a great plan to steal $2,000,000 and if they keep their heads, they'll all be rich.

Unfortunately, like almost all film noir movies, there is a glitch that gets in the way of this can't miss plan...that cellmate, Mike Bennett (Lee Van Cleef) escapes from prison. Mike is a sociopath and is mostly concerned with killing anyone who is involved with Vi- -even though she divorced him long ago. Without even bothering to find out what was going on, he starts killing folks! In fact, killing people is like eating potato chips with this guy...he can't stop at just one! So what is the clear-thinking and slick Chuck going to do? And, will this great plan STILL work?

I appreciated a lot about the film. Despite Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr and Lee Van Cleef all being B or C-list actors, they are all excellent and very convincing. Additionally, the script is very tough and gritty. An exciting little film...one not to be missed by noir nuts like me!

*I have no idea HOW she's done it, but I've seen recent pictures of Miss Van Doren. Despite her age, she is incredibly sexy and not the least bit apprehensive about posing in the nude. Heck, most 30 year-olds would be thrilled to have a body like hers....and I can only assume she has some sort of Dorian Gray sort of pact with the Devil that allows her to be so timeless.

Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) gets released from prison and decides to hold up an armor truck outside of Las Vegas. He gets involved with his cell mates former squeeze (Mamie Van Doren) but everything gets messed up when that guy (Lee Van Cleef) breaks out of prison and wants in on the action. The best thing about GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS is the rather catchy title and while nothing new is done for the crime genre, overall this here is a pretty fun "B" movie as long as you don't take it too serious or expect any sort of masterpiece. A lot of the film's entertainment value must be given to the cast who manage to fit their roles nicely and they help keep the film moving. I thought Mohr did a nice job in the role as the baddie as he had no problem being tough but you could also like him. It was fun seeing Van Cleef in a film long before he hit that image of the Sergio Leone films. He too manages to do a nice job in the role of the real villain without any redeeming factors. Mrs. Mamie Van Doren certainly is a looker and she manages to fit the role nicely but I will freely admit that her singing numbers were rather painful and should have been cut out all together. Director Edward L. Cahn manages to build up some nice drama at the end during the finale, which also includes some excellent gun fights and a rather violent conclusion. The narration that runs throughout the picture is certainly something very weak and just wait until you hear that closing line! I'm sure it was meant to be tough or raw yet it comes off hilariously bad. GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS should appeal to those who enjoy "B" pictures.

Released from San Quentin, slick and ingenious Gerald Mohr (as Charles "Chuck" Wheeler) travels from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. There, Mr. Mohr plans to carry out a $2 million dollar heist. He needs assistance from dangerous gangster Grant Richards (as Joe Darren), who runs the nightclub where blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren (as Vi Victor) performs. All hell breaks loose when Mohr's steely-eyed cell-mate Lee Van Cleef (as Mike Bennett) escapes from prison. Having helped Mohr concoct the plot, he wants his share of the action...

The men must decide how to divide Ms. Van Doren and the money. They do well amid silly narration and lesser production values. Filmmakers Robert E. Kent and Edward L. Cahn know how to showcase Van Doren's notable assets. This is not one of better her acting vehicles, but Van Doren is arousing throughout. She has an outstanding lingerie scene and saunters two songs. Sung in a sultry Christmas scene, "Meet Me Half Way, Baby" is pedestrian, but "Anything Your Heart Desires" is a nicely staged (by Jack Baker) number for Van Doren.

***** Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1/59) Edward L. Cahn ~ Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Grant Richards

This film begins with an ex-convict named "Charles Wheeler" (Gerald Mohr) going to a nightclub in Las Vegas to meet a showgirl named "Vi Victor" (Mamie Van Doren) who just happens to be the wife of his former cell mate "Mike Bennett" (Lee Van Cleef). As it turns out, Charles has discovered that Vi has been having an affair with a man named "Joe Darren" (Grant Richards). That being the case, Charles needs Vi to set up a meeting between him and Joe. To further elaborate, Charles has formulated a plan to rob an armored car worth $2 million and he needs Joe's connections to the black market to launder the stolen money. But having spent several years in prison staring at a picture of Vi, the money isn't the only thing that Charles wants. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film turned out to be slightly better than I anticipated due in large part to the interesting plot and the presence of the incredibly beautiful Mamie Van Doren who dominated every scene she was in. Of course, being a low-budget production this film had some limitations but even so it managed to keep my attention for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.