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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.
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Bloody Mama

Critics Reviews

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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

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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 Audience Member a loose Hollywood version bio-pic Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Bloody Mama

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Cast & Crew

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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

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Bloody Mama

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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
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