Garotas, Gatilhos e Gangsters

This film begins with an ex-convict named "Charles Wheeler" (Gerald Mohr) going to a nightclub in Las Vegas to meet a showgirl named "Vi Victor" (Mamie Van Doren) who just happens to be the wife of his former cell mate "Mike Bennett" (Lee Van Cleef). As it turns out, Charles has discovered that Vi has been having an affair with a man named "Joe Darren" (Grant Richards). That being the case, Charles needs Vi to set up a meeting between him and Joe. To further elaborate, Charles has formulated a plan to rob an armored car worth $2 million and he needs Joe's connections to the black market to launder the stolen money. But having spent several years in prison staring at a picture of Vi, the money isn't the only thing that Charles wants. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film turned out to be slightly better than I anticipated due in large part to the interesting plot and the presence of the incredibly beautiful Mamie Van Doren who dominated every scene she was in. Of course, being a low-budget production this film had some limitations but even so it managed to keep my attention for the most part and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Released from San Quentin, slick and ingenious Gerald Mohr (as Charles "Chuck" Wheeler) travels from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. There, Mr. Mohr plans to carry out a $2 million dollar heist. He needs assistance from dangerous gangster Grant Richards (as Joe Darren), who runs the nightclub where blonde bombshell Mamie Van Doren (as Vi Victor) performs. All hell breaks loose when Mohr's steely-eyed cell-mate Lee Van Cleef (as Mike Bennett) escapes from prison. Having helped Mohr concoct the plot, he wants his share of the action...

The men must decide how to divide Ms. Van Doren and the money. They do well amid silly narration and lesser production values. Filmmakers Robert E. Kent and Edward L. Cahn know how to showcase Van Doren's notable assets. This is not one of better her acting vehicles, but Van Doren is arousing throughout. She has an outstanding lingerie scene and saunters two songs. Sung in a sultry Christmas scene, "Meet Me Half Way, Baby" is pedestrian, but "Anything Your Heart Desires" is a nicely staged (by Jack Baker) number for Van Doren.

***** Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1/59) Edward L. Cahn ~ Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Grant Richards

Given the title Guns, Girls And Gangsters I was ready to trash even with what I thought was an interesting cast. But this independent film from United Artists turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would be given budget constraints.

Gerald Mohr is newly released from prison and he's got the germ of an idea for an armored car heist on the highway from Las Vegas to Los Angeles near the California/Nevada state line. It takes some split second timing and someone, namely him, who has to make a very accurate rifle shot.

It also depends on Mamie Van Doren checking into and occupying a room at a motel with a gas station and auto repair shop within feet of the spot picked by Mohr.

Mamie being Mamie has a lot of men interested in here, but they keep some distance because her husband Lee Van Cleef was Mohr's cellmate in the penitentiary is a most jealous type with a hair trigger. In fact the whole idea for the heist came from Van Cleef while he and Mohr were together in prison.

As in these films things that you can't plan for usually are what upsets the apple cart. In this case a jealous Van Cleef busts out of the joint with only three months left on his sentence.

Due to the nature of the plot Van Cleef only appears in the second half of the film. But when he comes on, he dominates. This is definitely one of his best early films.

The whole cast is outstanding. Mamie Van Doren always gives us something to look forward to. But Lee Van Cleef just totally steals Guns, Girls, And Gangsters.

Don't dismiss this one because of the exploitive title. This one is a real find.

Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) leaves prison and plans an armored truck robbery which is carrying money from a Las Vegas casino. He forcefully recruits night club singer Vi Victor (Mamie Van Doren), the wife of his possessive ex-cellmate Mike Bennett (Lee Van Cleef). Mike escapes right before the planned robbery and all hell breaks loose.

The first memorable visual is Mamie Van Doren with those pants. One expects a ball gown but no, it's pants. She's the definition of the blonde bombshell. It's a little bit of a grind for a small time until Lee Van Cleef comes crashing in on the party. It's no doubt a B-crime thriller but it's still a good fun little short movie.

Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) gets out of prison and heads to Las Vegas to enact an elaborate heist where he plans to steal an armored car carrying over $2 million in post-New Year's gambling money. He enlists the aide of local gangster Joe Darren (Grant Richards) and his lounge singer fiancé Vi (Mamie Van Doren), who just happens to be the wife of Wheeler's old cell mate. They plan everything out and it looks like it will go smoothly until Vi's ex-husband, Mike (Lee Van Cleef), breaks out of jail. This is a quick moving B-picture and director Edward L. Cahn never lets it lag through its 70 minutes. Van Doren isn't as much of a bad girl as in the previous feature I saw, VICE RAID. Here she is more of a good girl caught in a bad situation. To show how good she is, Van Doren gets two musical numbers in this one. Surprisingly, they don't play up her curves as much as VICE, but the swelling horn section is still abused plenty on the soundtrack. The supporting cast is all good and it is funny to know that even when he was young, Van Cleef still looked old.