The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight

My parents' taste in films they took me to as a kid was quite questionable. Yes, at age 4 I went with them to see "Rosemary's Baby". At 6, "Start the Revolution Without Me". And, at age 7, "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" and Woody Allen's "Bananas". No wonder I am a weirdo today.

I decided tonight to watch "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" as I can only recall tiny bits and pieces of the film...such as the mobster's wife starting his car each morning. After all, my parents loved the movie....and I have no idea if they were right or wrong about this one.

The first thing that struck me when I began watching was the very interesting cast. With the likes of Robert De Niro, Jerry Orbach, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander and, of all people, Hervé Villechaize (who is badly dubbed) it certainly isn't a typical movie!

So is this story of two rival mobs fighting each other any good? At times, yes...as watching the idiot gangsters killing themselves when they try to make hits is kind of funny...like in "The Ladykillers". And, while the film isn't the rollicking comedy that they intended it to be, there was enough enjoyable about it to make it a worthwhile time-passer.

I always want to see a movie that has Robert DeNiro starring in it, so seeing him play Mario an imported Italian bicycle racer who will steal anything even if it is nailed down, was unique. This movie was made in 1971 when Mr. DeNiro was very hungry for lead roles so you can't blame him for the movie's poor content and flow. The movie evolves around a band of goofy dressed Italian mobsters led by Jerry Orbach as Kid Sully who spoof the Mafioso, and Kid Sully's Big Momma (the Godmother figure) is played by a convincing Jo Van Fleet. She certainly nailed her part and blends sweetness with ripe viciousness.

There were some smaller parts for good actors such as Burt Young, as Willie Quarqulo the bomb maker, Jack Kehoe as a scared bartender assigned to spike two of the rival gang's drinks, and Lionel Stander as the made man Baccala.

I guess the animal rights groups made pictures like this a target for changing the times, as the poor lion was mistreated in front of the camera by a few of the actors, including a scene which shows the fully grown lion shackled to the conveyor belt in a car wash and forced to go through the car wash even if it was just with sprayed water. The lion appears in quite a few scenes and does some stunts that needed a great Animal Trainer to handle. I was very surprised that the lion did not receive any acting credit what so ever, nor did the animal trainers. Shame on you MGM.

Well I wouldn't roar about this movie, (no pun intended) but it is a victim of the times, and the screenplay could have been a lot stronger even for a mafioso spoof.

This movie is a complete misfire, and a very talented cast (Jerry Orbacj, Lionel Stadler, George Loros, Joe Santos) is wasted thanks to a bad script and very sloppy direction. Comedy sequences fall flat; some scenes are so incomplete you can only guess they failed to get some shots; Herve Villacheve's dubbing is almost painful to watch.

The only reason to see this today would be if you are studying Robert DeNiro's acting career and want to see him in some early roles. He's actually quite good as an Italian biker come to New York who gets involved in a gang war. But he's not enough to save the movie, at least not for me.

I don't read much in the way of fiction, but one of the exceptions was Jimmy Breslin's wry novel The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. It was based in part on Joey Gallo's buccaneering crew in South Brooklyn challenging the big Mafia bosses. It didn't Breslin any fans, but Gallo would soon be in no position to exact any vengeance.

The film has some good moments, but overall it should have been a lot better. Jerry Orbach is the Gallo character who thinks he and his crew hasn't been getting enough of a split from the big capo Bacala played by Lionel Stander.

In the meantime a young Italian bicycle rider just come to this country gets caught up in the war mainly because he's interested in Orbach's sister Leigh Taylor-Young. The bicycle rider is Robert DeNiro who would really make his mark in these kind of films.

Two blacklisted people of note are prominent in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Lionel Stander who had up to the mid 60s been doing films in Europe and screenwriter Waldo Salt.

Two performances really stand out. One is Jo Van Fleet as Big Momma who is Orbach's and Young's mom. I'd worry about getting on the bad side of that woman. The second is crusading for the camera District Attorney Philip Sterling. I've seen so many politicians like him.

A lot of the subtleties from Jimmy Breslin's work are missing here. Nice Brooklyn location shooting helps. It's good entertainment, but it isn't the classic it should have been.

"The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" has all but been forgotten more than 40 years after it was made. Seeing it, it's easy to figure out why. In its defense, the movie gives an interesting look at a New York City that was seedy before it was cleaned up. It's also interesting to see a young Jerry Orbach, and the movie has the occasional mild chuckle. But for the most part, the movie simply doesn't work, and the problems come with the script. For some reason, the movie does not go into depth with ANY of its characters, and they all end up being pretty interchangeable with each other. Also, there really isn't much of a story here - instead, it's one seemingly unrelated vignette after another. The movie is never aggressively bad, but it still ends up being a big disappointment.