- Actors: Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Tony Musante, Robert Lansing, Connie Stevens
- Directors: Robert Aldrich
- Writers: James Hadley Chase, Leon Griffiths
- Producers: Robert Aldrich, Walter Blake, William Aldrich
- Format: Letterboxed, PAL, Widescreen, Dolby, Digital Sound
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Fremantle
- DVD Release Date: 8 April 2002
- Run Time: 128 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000059RL6
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,771 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Grissom Gang is director Robert Aldrich's take on British author James Hadley Chase's once-notorious novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish, which was itself a synthesis of the plot of William Faulkner's Sanctuary with the lurid exposes of the criminal rampage of Arizona Clark "Ma" Barker and her alleged criminal brood. Aldrich sticks surprisingly close to Chase's plot, although he considerably deepens all the characterisations and cuts through the prurient sex sensation to create a surprisingly moving and complicated relationship between kidnapped heiress Barbara Blandish (Kim Darby) and the homicidally psychopathic but also childish Slim Grissom (Scott Wilson), the most feared member of the gang headed by the grotesquely horrible Ma (Irene Dailey). Barbara is abducted after a jewel heist gone wrong by a trio of inept small-timers, who are swiftly rubbed out by the more organised Grissom mob, and though Ma insists that after the girl's father has come across with the million-dollar ransom she will be mercilessly put down, Slim becomes enchanted with the girl, who eventually becomes his lover. In the book, the girl was drugged and raped, but here we get a delicate, creepy shifting of power to the point when Miss Blandish can browbeat her fearsome captor into mixing her a perfect martini, and the new attachment between crook and captive creates a rift with the rest of the gang that inevitably pays off in various hails of machine gunfire as the plan falls apart and the authorities close in. Aldrich manages the kind of claustrophobic black comedy games of terror and flirtation he perfected in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but attacks the rat-tat-tat tommy gun scenes with action skills honed on The Dirty Dozen. Most of these films trusted costumes, cars and music to evoke the 1920s, but screenwriter Leon Griffiths takes care with period slang and the supporting cast have a real Depression era Warner Brothers feel, with Connie Stevens as a dumb but ferocious blonde showgirl, Tony Musante as the slick-haired official ladykiller in the gang and Robert Lansing as an impeccably down-at-heel but compassionate private detective.
On the DVD: The advertised extras--notes, trivia and photo gallery--are disappointingly thin, but the 16:9 letterboxed print is almost flawless, with lovely pastels for the clothes and sets and bright scarlet for the many bursts of blood. --Kim Newman
Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English
Dolby Digital Mono
Original Publicity Notes
Production Trivia
Directors Biography
Photo Gallery
Chapter Points
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English
Dolby Digital Mono
Original Publicity Notes
Production Trivia
Directors Biography
Photo Gallery
Chapter Points
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Robert Aldrich is more known as a successful director of action movies like THE DIRTY DOZEN than as a sensitive observer of psychological dramas but with THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE, released in 1968 and THE GRISSOM GANG, Big Bob showed that a golden heart was beating under his elephant skin.
Don't get me wrong ! THE GRISSOM GANG is also a gangster movies loaded with machine guns duels and vicious killings but what's more interesting is the description of the relationship between Slim, the psychotic killer, and Barbara Blandish, the spoiled heiress. This unusual couple has to face a collection of secondary characters one will not forget so easily. For instance, Ma Grissom, played by Irene Dailey, a criminal genius and an overprotective mother, or Eddie - Tony Musante - Hagan, the archetype of the gangster of the 30's, so seductive but ready to kill anything that moves, even women, if necessary.
In the good guys section of the movie, there is someone who, in spite of his millions, could have been part of the Grissom gang : Wesley Addy, Barbara's father and often present in Aldrich's films, his attitude is one of the most disturbing seen in a movie.
All in all, an excellent addition to your library.
A DVD zone Bonnie and Clyde.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The acting in this move is rearly good. i'ts fun,giving an insite to what life was like. Also has the underlying story of love found in a strange way. Brilliant viewing,
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Make that 4 1/2 stars,this is an almost classic B-movie,made in 1971 but which captures the times very well.Maybe just a touch too long but i will definately keep it in my collection and look forward to seeing it again in the future.It may of been dismissed at the time as one of many gangster flicks jumping on the back of Bonnie & Clyde`s success,that may of helped the film get made but thankfully it`s a solid entry in the genre and is helped no end by the performances,especially Scott Wilson & Kim Darby.As for the dvd,not much extras wise but i found the picture quality to be excellent,it has been digitally remastered.Enjoy.
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