- Annie Starr (Peggy Cummins) and Bart Tare (John Dall) go together "like guns and ammunition." Bart's been obsessed with firearms all his life, stretching back to when he got his first BB gun as a kid. His fixation eventually lands him in reform school, but everybody knows Bart would never turn his gun on a living thing. Annie's "been kicked around" all her life, too, but she's inclined to "start kicking back." Unfortunately, she's stuck working as a sharpshooting carnival performer under the thumb of a crooked manager (Berry Kroeger). That is, until Bart happens to attend her show one evening. Pretty soon, the two are shooting matches off of each other's heads in a very impressive and memorable contest of marksmanship. All this excitement is obviously just a prelude to elopement, and before long Annie finally gets to see some of that action she's been craving as she tours around the country with Bart.
- Trouble is, Annie and Bart don't exactly have any stable means of supporting themselves. Bart could always go get that oft-mentioned job with Remington, but that's not exactly the lifestyle Annie has in mind. One night, they're sitting in the car at an out-of-the-way diner when Annie reminds Bart of that idea she had. Although we aren't explicitly told, the audience has a pretty good idea what that idea would entail. "Somebody might get hurt," Bart objects. "How can anybody get hurt if we don't hurt them?" Annie answers. Later that night, Annie tells him "You better kiss me goodbye, Bart, because I won't be here when you get back." But Bart never leaves, and their life of crime begins.
- The bank heists in Gun Crazy are probably the most memorable scenes in the film, primarily because of the creative way in which they were staged. Here, director Joseph H. Lewis gives the audience a chance to come along for the ride by shooting these scenes in unbroken takes from the backseat of the getaway car. This means that the camera never sees Bart taking the money from the tellers, but always lingers outside with Annie as she tries her best to look nonchalant. In the film's best and most tense moment, the backseat camera focuses on Bart's expression as Annie keeps yelling at him to shoot the pursuing police as they make their desperate escape. He looks a lot like that boy who couldn't bring himself to kill a mountain lion many long years before.
- Their final caper, that "one more job" that always spells trouble in heist films, is a payroll robbery at a meatpacking plant. They get the money alright, but Annie is a little too enthusiastic with her gun as they escape. Now the police are looking for two murderers, and they can even tie Annie to an earlier killing in St. Louis. I guess this wasn't the first time she had that idea of hers. As the dragnet drops, the unhappy couple takes refuge in the mountains where Bart used to camp as a kid. His friends (Harry Lewis and Nedrick Young) want to help him, but can a pair of gun-obsessed lovers and refugees from the law ever be expected to surrender peacefully? The violent climax caps off a wonderfully weird combination of shooting, sex, and criminality most famous for influencing films like Bonnie and Clyde, Natural Born Killers, and True Romance. But here's the surprise: Gun Crazy is the best of the lot.
- Young Bart is played by Russ Tamblyn!
- In case you had any doubt who was at fault here, the film is alternately titled Deadly is the Female.
- Obviously, this was at least partially influenced by the real Bonnie and Clyde.
- Okay, I should re-watch Bonnie and Clyde before I claim that this film is better. It's got the others beat easy, though.
