Little Laura and Big John

"Little Laura and Big John" was not based on Bonnie and Clyde, but on the true story of the capture of the infamous Ashley Gang at the Sebastian inlet bridge in Florida. It is not particularly well done, however, it is very interesting to residents of the Treasure Coast because of its historical significance. The movie depicts the gang as they rob banks and kill on a northward path along the Gold and Treasure Coasts of Florida, running just ahead of the then sheriff of Palm Beach County, who was determined to end their violent rampages. In addition to the well known professional cast, numerous local citizens (amateurs)took extra parts as deputies, bystanders, etc. While this was great fun for the locals, the practice of utilizing so many amateurs did nothing to enhance the quality of the film. The movie is something Karen Black probably wishes she had never done. It is poorly acted, poorly directed and generally as captivating as a high school video class's production.

My entertainment of this movie was laughing at it. I think the point when it really goes over the edge was when Fabian's eye patch actually switched from his one eye to his other eye and back again. I thought this was such an obvious mistake that I rewound and watched the one scene again. He is running on a dock when this happens. Sure enough his eye patch switched eyes with no explanation.

I watched this movie because it was on late night and it was free. And I was interested in seeing Karen Black and Fabian Forte in a movie together. So it was an okay movie for that type of watching. But if you really want to see a movie about lovers being outlaws. I would stick to Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

This movie was based on an 80 page book "The Notorious Ashley Gang" 'A Saga of the King and Queen of the Everglades' by Hix C.Stuart, printed/copyright date 1928 by St.Lucie Printing Co, Inc. Stuart, Florida. Hix was my husband's grandfather who lived in the area at the time the Ashley Gang was most active. It amazes the heck out of me how they could have made this movie based on an 80 page book...but it was non-the less a fun opportunity for the Stuart families as well as many of the locals with the film being made. (I had to give the movie a '2' just to be kind... but what can you say, most of those stories about the gangs of the late 1800's & early 1900's were pretty much pieced together with speculations; things people would journal; and many handed down stories with a touch of glamor to make them entertaining)

Fifth-rate 1920s crime spree with Fabian Forte cast as real-life Prohibition-era crook John Ashley who, along with his girlfriend Laura and assorted pals, preceded even Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in the bank robbing field. Luke Moberly directs with a wink and a smile; he must have known this threadbare outing was no "Bonnie & Clyde", though he was clearly inspired by that film in visual terms, and his picture gets off to a decent start. However, with very green and inexperienced actors in front of the camera--and poor cinematography and sloppy editing going on behind it--the picture loses steam even before the halfway mark. Bill Walker's inappropriate score and some terrible quasi-period tunes on the soundtrack make the film unbearable to hear, much less to watch. It is inconceivable that rising star Karen Black, having already earned attention for her performances in "Easy Rider" and "Five Easy Pieces" (for which she was Oscar-nominated), should appear in such a low-rent production. Black and Forte are really the only cast members with legitimate acting experience (Forte had recently portrayed 'Pretty Boy' Floyd in 1970), yet their performances are just as lousy as everyone else's (like the script, perhaps they were simply confused as to how to proceed). The early scenes give hint that maybe Moberly was onto something with his approach, but he loses his footing quickly--and the movie doesn't so much crash and burn as it does disintegrate on impact. * from ****

This is a good example of the kind of movies which were influenced massively by Bonnie and Clyde (1967). That film was one of the key American films that kick-started a golden age of 70's cinema that would later become known as New Hollywood. Little Laura and Big John is hardly one of those films in fairness but it nevertheless is clearly indebted to its famous precursor. It shares its rural southern USA location and its period setting, in this case the 20's. It also is a crime drama biopic about real criminals who were a romanticised male/female couple. More specifically, it's based around the exploits of the Ashley Gang who operated in Florida. Their leader John Ashley was jailed for accidentally killing a man, only to escape and become a bank robber and bootlegger.

Despite its real-life basis, its characters aren't very well developed sadly. The main star is Karen Black, who is good enough but her role is a very limited one; the main character is played by Fabian Forte who tries his best but lacks the necessary screen charisma to make his character as interesting as he needs to be. It is odd that this low budget film was made after Karen Black had already rose to considerable prominence off the back off Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1971), because it has the definite feel of a minor movie and her role is quite under-written; you would have expected her to be involved in a product that better utilised her at this stage in her career. Some have already noted the contemporary 70's musical score which is used in this period set drama sounds a little odd in this context. However, I personally didn't mind this very much even if it was somewhat unusual. The film on the whole is not very good, yet hardly as bad as it's made out to be either. Its story could certainly have been told in a much more engaging fashion but it was still a half-decent period crime flick in my eyes.