Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Bloody Mama

Play trailer Poster for Bloody Mama R Released Mar 24, 1970 1h 30m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
13% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Sexually abused as a young girl, Kate "Ma" Barker (Shelley Winters) grows into a violently powerful woman by the 1930s. She lovingly dominates her grown sons, and grooms them into a pack of tough crooks. The boys include the cruel Herman (Don Stroud), who still shares a bed with Ma; Fred (Robert Walden), an ex-con who fell in love with a fellow prisoner; and Lloyd (Robert De Niro), who gets high on whatever's handy. Together they form a deadly, bizarre family of Depression-era bandits.
Watch on Prime Video Stream Now

Where to Watch

Bloody Mama

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Despite its wealth of young on-screen talent, the movie struggles under the weight of its own inconsistency. While Corman’s inspiration is clear, it doesn’t seem like he’s at all sure about the kind of movie he wants to make. Rated: 2/5 Jul 31, 2024 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Submits itself as "fun," only to detail horrific, lurid acts of dehumanization, sold with customary Corman frugality. Rated: C Sep 21, 2020 Full Review Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat Rated: 3/5 Apr 7, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: C Nov 24, 2004 Full Review Jonathan R. Perry Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) Rated: 1/5 Aug 17, 2003 Full Review Bob Bloom Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) Schlocky AIP venture, with Winters hamming it up. Rated: 2/5 Aug 30, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (53) audience reviews
christopher c. m I was expecting a reign of terror Except that there isn't much of a reign of terror. More of a sprinkle of terror, and the only depression is from the audience. The movie has one bank robbery. The movie is aimless. Frankly I've never been the one to like making the lead character a criminal, especially when they glamorize them instead of the murderers they are. But back to the lack of a plot. The bulk of the movie is some narrated historical facts and the characters sitting around in a living room. I swear it was like Tyler Perry zipped back in time to co-direct this part of the film. I almost was expecting "Medea" to show up to make a child abuse joke. Plus the police exist but except for one chase are absent from the movie. Plus I'm not even sure that was the police because it wasn't a police car chasing them, just a normal car. This is nothing but a boring unfocused mess. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review lars p The best movie with Robert De Niro EVER! ; ) Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Matthew D Blackly humours retelling of the Ma Barker legend. A mix of tragedy, camp, bloody-violence, social-satire and Shelly Winters that is not to be missed. Critics seem to hate it, but if it had been made the exact same way only with the name Quentin Tarrantino replacing Roger Cormon, they'd be singing its praises now and forever. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/18/21 Full Review dave s An interesting cast, some fun stock footage for historical context, and decent set designs and costumes to capture the feel of the era save Bloody Mama from being the disaster it could have been. Roger Corman's low-budget gangster flick, inspired no doubt by Bonnie and Clyde, follows the criminal activities of the downtrodden Barker family. Ma Barker, played by a seemingly unhinged Shelley Winters, and her four sons (a young Robert DeNiro among them) terrorize those unfortunate enough to cross their path. It's overacted and meanders around without much direction or purpose and is generally pretty distasteful, but isn't as horrible as has been purported. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The best gangster movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member An irredeemable piece of lurid trash despite the star power that it boasts. Don't waste your time. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Bloody Mama

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew

Roger Corman

Director

Shelley Winters

'Ma' Kate Barker

Pat Hingle

Sam Adams Pendlebury

Don Stroud

Herman Barker

Diane Varsi

Mona Gibson

Bruce Dern

Kevin Dirkman

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
Boxcar Bertha 54% 33% Boxcar Bertha Watchlist Foxy Brown 59% 66% Foxy Brown Watchlist Black Caesar 64% 63% Black Caesar Watchlist The Honeymoon Killers 95% 68% The Honeymoon Killers Watchlist They Call Me Mister Tibbs! 50% 36% They Call Me Mister Tibbs! Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All Bloody Mama photos

Bloody Mama

Bloody Mama (1970) Bloody Mama (1970) Bloody Mama (1970) Bloody Mama (1970) Bloody Mama (1970) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Sexually abused as a young girl, Kate "Ma" Barker (Shelley Winters) grows into a violently powerful woman by the 1930s. She lovingly dominates her grown sons, and grooms them into a pack of tough crooks. The boys include the cruel Herman (Don Stroud), who still shares a bed with Ma; Fred (Robert Walden), an ex-con who fell in love with a fellow prisoner; and Lloyd (Robert De Niro), who gets high on whatever's handy. Together they form a deadly, bizarre family of Depression-era bandits.
Director
Roger Corman
Producer
Roger Corman
Screenwriter
Robert Thom
Production Co
American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 24, 1970, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 17, 2017
Runtime
1h 30m
Most Popular at Home Now