Coventry I've always been a tremendous fan of Charles Bronson! Let's be honest, if you like testosterone-packed action cinema with a minimum of intellect and a maximum of violence, you simply have to be a Bronson fan. But this love and admiration has always been based on straightforward action flicks (like "Death Wish", "10 to Midnight" and "Mr. Majestic) or – perhaps to a lesser extent – to his modest share in great classics (like "The Great Escape" or "The Magnificent Seven"). These are all terrific movies, and then I haven't even yet mentioned all the guilty pleasures (like "Murphy's Law", "Telefon", "The Stone Killer"…), but now I can safely guarantee that you simply haven't seen the true nature and versatile talents of Charlie Bronson before you've seen "Machine Gun Kelly"! This is truly a spectacular one-man tour-de-force performance that provides more than enough evidence that Bronson can carry an entire film, memorize a scenario full of dialogues and bring depth and personality to a seemingly bland character! Once again my deepest sympathy and respect for Roger Corman. Not only did this man discover numerous of greatly talented people and offered them their first chances in the film industry, he often also provided them the opportunity to demonstrate their versatility and potential, like here with Charles Bronson. For those too lazy to read Wikipedia (and I don't blame you), George "Machine Gun" Kelly was a real gangster during the 1920s and 1930s, active around the same time as other infamous and often heard names like John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. The film states at the beginning, however, that the titular character is real but that the rest of the events and supportive characters in the story are pure fictional. That may be true, but still I 'm sure that both Corman and Bronson carefully studied the personality and factual crime cases that George Kelly committed in great detail, because it's too intense and plausible to be invented by a scriptwriter. The story and structure of the film are extremely well-developed. We open with a meticulously planned and executed bank robbery during which Kelly and his accomplices switch vehicles, split up in groups and hand over the loot to a fourth accomplice and successfully mislead the numerous amount of police officers. Throughout this entire robbery scheme, not a single word is spoken, yet we already find out everything we need to know about the hierarchy within the gang and a lot about the gangsters' personas. It's praiseworthy how Corman brings all of this into scene. In fact, if you watch both "Machine Gun Kelly" and also "The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), you find it almost regrettable that he didn't make any more factual mafia/gangster sagas. Under the subtle influence of his woman and her brothel-owning mother, Kelly wants to climb up the gangster ladder and become more than a feared bank robber. He develops a plan to kidnap the only daughter of a rich industrialist widower and becomes public enemy number one in a very brief period of time. But Machine Gun Kelly is such a megalomaniac and aggressive individual that he turns all his henchmen against him. On top of that, he has a phobia for death and dying that interfere with his plan at the most inconvenient moments. Bronson's performance is one of the most impressive ones I've ever seen in a low-budgeted B-movie. He finds the exact right balance between psychopathic and pathetic, between robust and vulnerable and between petrifying and pitiable. Kelly insults and shouts at everybody, takes pleasure into hurting people and carelessly cheats on his wife, but when he spots a coffin or even just a funeral home, he cringes! With a few exceptions left, I've seen all of Bronson's movies, but this is the one and only where he puts a dozen (and more) emotions into his character. Corman also ensures a fast pacing, suspense and many action-packed sequences. The only real default of the film is the rather irritating and excessively overused music.

MartinHafer Many minor thugs of the 1930s were glamorized and their exploits way overstated in movies and TV shows (like "The Untouchables"). One of the more overstated was George "Machine Gun" Kelly--a mostly unsuccessful loser of a criminal who is given star treatment here in a low- budgeted Roger Corman film. So understand...much of what you see is fiction...especially the way Charles Bronson plays the guy like he was a complete psycho. It IS enjoyable to watch...just understand it's really not a history lesson!In the film, Kelly mostly threatens and kills his criminal associates with the exception of his girlfriend. Some he shoots, some he betrays to the cops and two he pushes into a crate with a mountain lion so it can maul them!! Clearly, this sort of gangster had trouble getting along with others!! And, throughout the entire film, Kelly is a total jerk and is totally unhinged--like a psychotic with a bad migraine. As I already said, it is cool to watch...but also patently ridiculous. No one this nutty would be allowed out in public more than about 5 minutes before the guys with nets would show up to welcome him to his new home! I think the poster currently associating the movie on IMDb is about what you see in the movie!!While most of the stuff Kelly does in the film is fiction, the second half of the movie is all about the very famous kidnapping case that brought him to national attention....and a long prison sentence. And, the craven way that he surrendered...that WAS the real George Kelly!

ebiros2 The movie is so so but the acting of Charles Bronson shines even in this early career low budget film.The movie is made by American International Pictures that produced many low budget movies of the '50s with varying qualities. One thing American International Pictures did right was choosing their actors, and many future greats had their start with their movies. Charles Bronson was on the verge of breaking big with this movie. He would soon become a recognizable face with TV series "Man with the Camera". His rise to stardom was definitely not a fluke as you can see in this movie. He plays a mean character, but he has charisma that's not of a rough gangster without principles.The production of the movie is woefully basic, but actors are good, and the way the scene changes is very different from the movies made today, which gives the feeling of nostalgia. Maybe nostalgia is not misplaced as you see many faces that played supporting roles in many of the '60s and '70s movies. Not a great movie, but the presence of Charles Bronson makes this movie worth watching.

mlraymond This is a pretty dull excuse for a gangster movie, but it is a curiosity worth checking out, due to its cast. Bronson is effective as Kelly, though the script is uninspired. Susan Cabot turns in another of her strangely charismatic performances as Kelly's moll.Veteran bad guy Jack Lambert is well cast as a surly gangster, with Morey Amsterdam a bit incongruous as one of the mob. The most memorable character might well be Connie Gilchrist as the bordello madam ,who is the mother of Kelly's girlfriend. She has to be one of the most obnoxious characters in movie historyThe Depression background is reasonably authentic, and a few action sequences are okay, but it generally is lacking in real excitement. This movie is mainly of interest to Roger Corman cultists and Charles Bronson fans. Gangster movie buffs and true crime enthusiasts might find it of minor interest.