The Grissom Gang

The Grissom Gang should have been a great film. WIth its vicious comic sense, hard-boiled crime story and Gothic overtones, and of course its episodes of wild violence, this would have made a wonderful 80 minute B-movie. Unfortunately, at 125 minutes, it's way overlong. The middle seems to go on and on, during which not much happens beyond the ersatz courting of the kidnap victim by her psycho-hick kidnapper. Within any one scene, the pacing is rather good, creating a tension that leads one on for at least one viewing; but the pacing scene-to-scene is atrocious, and there are a lot of scenes that should have been cut or reduced to mere snippets. The role of the private detective should have been broader, but he doesn't really figure into the story until the final third and by then there's no real reason to get interested in his point of view. The kidnap victim's changes of heart are not well handled, partly because the role is given to Kim Darby, an unattractive actress of limited range. The acting throughout is intentionally over the top, rather as we saw from the AIP gangster films of the same era (eg., St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Bloody Mama), but those films used the broad performances to quicken the pace. Here the saggy pacing allows the camp of the performances to appear unintentional and thus flawed. Aldritch, taking his cue from the imprisonment of the kidnap victim, has given the film a sense of stuffy claustrophobia - most of the film seems to take place in small rooms. If the film were shorter and the drama heightened by more focused performances, this could have been effective, but as it is, one rushes to the window gasping for air after the movie's over. Finally, one has to note the confusing soundtrack which, though original, manages to sound cut-and-paste.

Aldritch can certainly take credit for the best of the film, but he has to take blame for the worst of it as well. He seems to be trying to make James Hadley Chase into another William Faulkner, and I'm afraid that can't be done. Aldritch needed to let Chase be Chase and make a tight slam-bang actioner; if he wanted to do Faulkner's "Sanctuary," he should have bought the rights to that novel instead.

A few years before Patty Hearst was kidnapped and then joined her kidnappers on their crime spree we had The Grissom Gang. Based on a British film and book the scene shifts from working class Great Britain to the midwest of the Depression.

Kim Darby light years from Mattie Ross in True Grit plays the spoiled debutante daughter of Wesley Addy who gets kidnapped after the first gang that kidnaps her botches a robbery and kills the man with her. Then The Grissom Gang kills the original bunch and takes over. Addy pays the ransom, but his daughter doesn't come home.

The brains behind this crew is Ma Grissom who is played with extreme malevolence by Irene Dailey. She wants her killed, but her lunkhead son Scott Wilson wants her for his very own. He's not real good with the social skills.

At first Darby is playing for time, but eventually she works out a strange relationship with Wilson. She knows he's keeping her alive and for the first time it isn't because of her wealth that he's interested in her. A new experience for her even though she's the object of the affection of a stone cold killer very expert with a knife.

The Grissom Gang is one of the bloodiest films I've ever seen so if your taste runs to violence this is the film for you. It also really captures the essence of Kansas City in the 20s, a very wide open town run by political boss Tom Pendergast.

Scott Wilson turns in the best performance. It's a difficult part because you never forget he's a killer. But you almost feel sorry for him with his lack of social skills and his puppy love crush on Kim Darby. There's also good role for Robert Lansing who plays a private detective who unravels the whole mystery about Kim Darby's whereabouts.

All in all a good gangster film is The Grissom Gang.

a better Patty Hearst movie than the ones actually made about Patty Hearst. not quite up there with the likes of Bonnie and Clyde and Thieves Like Us, but definitely worth seeing as an example of the 1970's ambivalence about anti-social characters and crime. the reviews make quite a big deal about the violence but you will hardly notice it--a great deal of shooting, some of that orange glop they used in the 1970s, but hardly emotionally wrenching like, say, The Wild Bunch or Texas Chainsaw Massacre...great performance by Scott Wilson who shows up on TV a lot these days.

I especially love the 1970's film making era, and with a seasoned director such as Robert Aldrich managing the cameras, I was sure I would not be disappointed with the Grissom Gang. The opening panoramic scene which takes place at a gas station/general store was vintage 1970's film making style, and I thought the film was off to a great start.

The movie takes place in the 1930's era and stars Kim Darby as Barbara Blandish who plays a rich and spoiled heiress who is kidnapped by a crew of semi smart gangsters who are led by a tough talking Ma Grissom played by Irene Dailey. Ma Grissom's slow witted son Slim Grissom who has never had physical contact of any kind with the opposite sex becomes infatuated with their kidnap victim Barbara. While in captivity Barbara is shown several times screaming her rich pretty little head off, thus the scream queen summary. The dim witted Slim takes a lot of verbal abuse from the other gang members as they like to make fun of his so called friendship with Barbara when in fact they know that after the ransom is paid, they will have to dispose of Barbara as she is the only living witness to their crime.

No plot is complete without including a weasel eyed gang member in the story line and who better to play this part than the venerable character actor Tony Musante who plays Eddie Hagan. Eddie expresses that he is more than up to the task of killing Barbara when the time is right because he knows how much that will just torment Slim who has fallen in love with Barbara.

As the law closes in on the gang, Barbara continues to try and escape and Slim promises to protect his new found love from the other gang members. Tempers flare amongst the gang members, and the audience is anticipating one of those great Bonnie and Clyde shootouts with the law. Director Robert Aldrich includes a number of car chases and shoot outs in the Grissom Gang, the three main characters are exposed to the audience for who they are and who they believe in. I wouldn't want to spoil a good ending so you will just have to watch it. I would not call this a great movie, but it is certainly worth a Sunday matinée watch. I give it a 6 out of 10, and I thank Robert Aldrich for another good film on his extensive resume which includes the classic and hard to find on DVD Choirboys, as well as box office bonanzas The Longest Yard, and the Dirty Dozen.

The Grissom Gang is the best film based on a James Hadley Chase novel hands down! Been awhile since I saw it but it's as great as when I saw it the first time. It was a surprise when I realized that Slim was played by Maggie's dad from The Walking Dead (Scott Wilson). He is such a great actor!