User reviews

This is fun movie to watch if you enjoy old, low-budget B movies. I enjoyed the California scenery and cars from the 1950s probably more than the movie.

The plot and acting is pretty corny but it's still an enjoyable movie, even if it's only for a few laughs.

I even like the stale kind of dialog you get from the cops ... "attention all cars" kind of thing.

It reminds me of something that might have played at one of those old drive-in double features.

The film probably would have been a total dud, but having Walter Matthau helped make it watchable.

In the early days of television, there was an influx of great actors and actresses who decided to test the waters of this new media. We had the likes of Dick Powell, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan, Loretta Young, for example. Not so with Walter Mathau. This great actor actually originated from the early days of television and then migrated to the movies. Mathau did countless guest appearances on many television programs before getting his big break in such films as "The Kentuckian" (1955) and "A Face in the Crowd" (1957). This film was only one of a few that he had under his belt until he made "The Gangster Story" in 1960.

Incidentally, this was his directing debut also, so between appearing in television and movies, this gave him the rare chance to show his talent in this aspect. Unfortunately for Mathau, this was his only attempt to direct a movie. The quality of this film in it's cinematography, the acting and the dialogue is way below standard and this probably was the reason why he never directed another film.

This is, at best, a fair film that is a potential cult classic. The plot is transparent and predictable. The supporting acting is stilted and awkward. His real wife, Carol Grace, plays the typical "bimbo" role of standing-by-her-man-no-matter-how-bad-he-is (*sigh*) in this cheesy docudrama. However, because it is an early Mathau vehicle, it is an interesting conversation piece for those who admire his talents.

Not an academy award winner, but an interesting chestnut from a long and illustrious career.

Gangster Story may have been more interesting with a higher budget and by ditching the California countryside locations. This story seemed to be in a smaller city (one scene has Matthau driving with cows in a field in the background) so I can't see why there would be such a mob presence here.

The bank robbery was actually quite funny. Matthau used all the wit and charm we saw in later films during this scene. He had a few other humorous lines in this film.

Some of the other dialouge was really stiff though, especially with the supporting cast. Looks like they just took people off the street and gave them lines to memorize. There was some really awful acting here. Matthau himself comes across stiffly in his tender scenes with his real wife. The kissing scene was embarrassing to watch.

Someone in another review made a comparison to the old "Highway Patrol" TV show and I agree. That show also was filmed in the California countryside and desert areas. The old black and white police cars in Gangster Story (minus any identification on them) looked and sounded just like THP cars.

I enjoy watching old, low budget films, though. Especially when it contains a major star in an early role. Kind of a cheap thrill, however, I wouldn't put this on anyone's "Don't Miss" list.

The only good thing in this flop is Matthau himself, due to his ever-reliable acting. It looks like a high school student's first film-making project.

The script is halfway digestible, but forget it as a film overall. The physical quality of the film is poor, rendering a hard-to-watch amateurish mess that looks like it was shot in Super 8 B&W.

Some aspects of the directing are good, such as continuity, camera angles, consistent characterizations, balance of lighting throughout, good splices between medium shots and close-ups, and between location long shots and close-up's, etc. But this is not enough to negate the schlockiness factor. The term "campy" camps in this film.

The casting was, for the most part, amateurish. With a big-name cast and higher quality filming, and maybe a slightly punched-up script, it might have gotten a few feet off the ground.

There is enough good acting on Matthau's part, and that of his girlfriend (played by his newlywed real-life wife, Carol Grace), to somehow help you struggle through this weak effort at cinematography, just to see how in the world it could possibly end. And it does end with an unusual surprise.

To Walter Matthau fans- of which I am one- 'Gangster Story' has the look and feel of a very early (possibly first) film acting appearance which was kept in it's rusty can upon completion, only to be released years later to cash in on his popularity once the actor gained more esteem. That's why I find it hard to believe this effort came after his riveting Oscar-worthy turn in 'A Face In The Crowd' (1957).

The effect is almost like watching Gene Hackman peddling frying pans at a swap meet. Mr. Matthau must have been in very dire straits to agree to sign on to this project. That being said, he is still the best element of this mercilessly low-budget film. His trademark dry humor peers through in some scenes, and his newlywed wife Carol Grace gives a performance that get better as her character is allowed to develop.

To say "Gangster Story' is a curiosity is a vast understatement. If one takes it for what it is, it will hold your interest, despite the rampant clumsiness of dialog and action throughout. Worth a peek.

.... because he leaps off the screen compared to the other actors, all of which have such wooden performances you could build a bonfire out of them.

It's about a bank robber, Jack Martin (Walter Matthau) who has just escaped the police but has one handcuff still attached to his wrist. He gets out of that cleverly. Then he decides to rob a small town bank in a most unconventional way. But the local mob - which Martin knows nothing about - is angry that this guy "invaded their territory" and are out looking for him. He realizes he's being followed, but he thinks they are the cops. Meanwhile, after the robbery, he has started working at a citrus ranch owned by a librarian, and things begin to get romantic between them. When the mob catches up to him, they make him an offer he can't refuse. How does this turn out? Watch and find out.

Matthau directed this and never directed another one. It's a virtue to cut your losses and apply yourself to what you are good at, in his case acting. The dialogue is very non-descript, the female lead (that's actually Matthau's wife playing this part) looks like she might have an intriguing backstory that is never examined, and the art design is ponderous. Why is there a big sign that says "Police Station" inside a police station? With a detective reading "Law and Order" magazine in his spare time.?

The film gets one thing right - When your actors make the ones in Ed Wood movies look like they are of Shakespearean quality, and your dialogue is flat, go with the one thing you have left - Hurry! Keep the pace quick, keep the action interesting, keep people guessing (sort of) what is going to happen next. And this film does that.

If you like Matthau - I do - this is probably worth a look. It is definitely not boring.

I do like low budget movies, they often have an intimacy that is hard to maintain in larger productions with more people involved. Mistakes and goofs can be accepted as additional content or message, they can even lend the movie its own personal charm. This is certainly the case in Gangster Story – definitely a low budget affair. I have the impression that for Walter Matthau this was a very personal affair. The basic theme is the relationship between him and the female lead who happens to be his wife in real life. Matthau plays a funnyman with a dark streak and a tendency for self destruction, Carol Grace a demure librarian with a will who starts a love affair with the gangster Matthau plays. The great achievement of the movie lies in the fact that it successfully shows that two people from entirely different backgrounds who meet by chance are attracted to each other. From the beginning there is a palpable erotic tension between the two. Difficult to say how this is communicated to the audience, there is not much kissing going on or any nudity. But then one has to remember that despite of the grainy black and white, the clipped dialog and the not very inspired direction that one is watching two top performers in a character driven movie. The story is not very original but tight and minimalistic. Thanks to the good acting performances it works quite well nonetheless.

I like to think that Matthau and Grace tried to analyse their own characters and their relationship in real life by means of making Gangster Story, I also like to think that Matthau at that time dabbled in directing the way John Cassavetes did. It might be just as well that he didn't pursue this part of movie making. The only thing I do regret is that Carol Grace cannot be seen in more movies. Her only other part was, according to IMDb, in Mikey an Nicky, where she played alongside John Cassavetes and Peter Falk in a performance that was equally memorable.

Gangster Story (1958)

* (out of 4)

Walter Matthau directed this film, his only stint in the director's chair. Matthau plays a hardened bank robber/cop killer who tries to hide in a small town but mafia dudes come chasing him. The plot of this film really makes no sense and the performances are all rather bad. This is an ultra low budget film that seems to have been filmed without sound and then later dubbed in. I'd recommend everyone watch this film at least once to see the dumbest bank heist in the history of film.

Thankfully Walter went back to acting.

Gangster Story has the distinction of being the first film Walter Matthau ever starred in and the only film he ever directed. And for him personally he wedded his leading lady Carol Grace aka Carol Marcus. She became the second Mrs. Matthau.

It has a lot of similarities to one of Matthau's better serious roles Charley Varrick which was directed by Don Siegel after Matthau became a star. Unfortunately this one was shot on a dental floss budget and Matthau the actor did not get any great performances out of his cast.

Matthau plays a bank robber who has just escaped police custody and goes right to work and pulls off a nice bank robbery which comes to the attention of a local crime boss. He gets Matthau in his organization and they pull a big score, but the getaway was a bloody mess.

Matthau also has taken up with a local librarian who is intrigued by him even before she learns he's a professional criminal. The chance to leave her humdrum life as a librarian to become possibly Bonnie Parker is also intriguing, but up to a point.

As for the ending, no surprises but it doesn't end like Charley Varrick. Think of the film Heat from Robert DeNiro's point of view.

The only other person in the cast of note is Garry Walberg who plays one Matthau's henchmen from the big score who proves to be a loyal friend.

The whole affair in noir black and white looks like it was shot with a Kodak home movie camera. Matthau makes it interesting, but Ed Wood had bigger budgets.

This was a really low budget movie that was directed by Walter Matthau and the only one he directed too. This was the only movie Matthau's wife starred in and her name was Carol Grace. Before this movie Matthau had been only supporting actor in movies like The Indian Fighter and A Face In The Crowd. This is a really short movie at 65 minutes and it's easy to see why he didn't direct another movie. The plot to this movie is pretty simple in which Matthau is a bank robber who works alone and he goes out west. Matthau robs a bank and the cops think he works for the top mobster out here and they blame him. Matthau then falls in love with a librarian, played by Carol Grace, who won't turn him in after she finds out he's wanted.

It is noteworthy that this was made in 1959, around the same time that "Breathless" and the French Nouvelle Vague was beginning. It looks like a new wave film, but instead of celebrating the freedom and independence of low budget, auteur film-making, it seems to be trying and failing to be a "B" movie or even a Monogram "C" movie.

It is much closer to bad early Roger Corman ("Swamp Women" or "She Gods of Shark Reef" than to great early Roger Corman ("Attack of the Crab Monster," or "Bucket of Blood") Matthau has some interesting cutting and camera angles, but he gets no performances out of his cast, including himself. The writing is bland and Ed Wood amateurish. The first bank robbery where Matthau pretends to be shooting a movie to lure the bank president inside his closed bank is ridiculous. The cops who stand guard outside the bank while this is going on would have to be mentally retarded or the most trusting souls in California to fall for the ruse.

Matthau kills about seven cops, and a couple of innocent people, yet the movie seems to want to create sympathy for him by making him a Korean/Invasion of Normandy army veteran. Matthau has a bloodhound face that immediately makes us want to sympathize with him. This is the secret of his success, perhaps. It is too bad that as a director he was unable to put it to use.

I would recommend this only for fans of Matthau who wish to see every film he was in. Otherwise, if you want a film where Matthau plays a gangster who falls in love and likes to gamble on horses, like this one, but unlike this movie is professionally done, try "Little Miss Marker." That film is delightful.

I just saw Gangster Story(1960). It was funny to see the great Walter Matthau in such an awful, extremely low budget film. It made the old Broderick Crawford Highway Patrol look good in comparison. I think that this would give Plan 9 From Outer Space competition as the worst movie ever.

Saddled with a colorless generic title, "Gangster Story" plays like an episode from a 1950's TV show like "Dragnet" or "Highway Patrol." Drifting bank robber, Jack Martin, casually cons local police and robs a bank in broad daylight, drops into the public library and picks up the blonde be-spectacled librarian, then accepts her job offer to work at a small ranch outside town. Martin's successful bank job is noted by the town's mob boss, who then hires him to beef up his own bank robbing operations. The body count rises, while the totally unconvincing plot unfolds, and Martin embarks on a low heat affair with the librarian.

Walter Matthau directed and stars as Martin. While his direction is lackluster, his acting is acceptably professional; however, better known now as a comedian, Matthau at times comes across as playing for a laugh rather than straight. Other than Carol Grace as the librarian, the cast is largely non-professional, and the B-minus budget kept filming locations to real banks, country clubs, and apartments. The black-and-white cinematography is flat like a vintage television show, although classic car buffs will delight in shots of Cadillac, Ford, Chevrolet, and Hudson models from the mid to late 1950's, when fins and chrome ruled. Based on a story by Richard Grey, the script for "Gangster Story" is lame and has enough bad dialog and situations for an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000;" in fact, the action often resembles that of a cheapie sci-fi movie from the period, only a giant mantis or tarantula is missing. Obviously, Matthau went on to better roles, and this early low-budget entry on his resume offers a glimpse of the young actor while still learning his trade. "Gangster Story" is for complete-ists among Matthau's fans, aficionados of 1950's American automobiles, and those who relish the delights of B movies.

Although this is film-making from the lowest echelons of independent cinema, with a budget that makes a shoestring look fat, there is something about it that just occasionally raises it above the countless other no-budget b-movies of its type.

Of course, the fact that Matthau's in it is probably the only reason we still have the opportunity to see it today. As well as starring, Matthau directed, and it's easy to see why he chose to stick with acting. Walter's choice of shots is sometimes comically bad; at one point, two characters holding a conversation look as if they're both staring at empty corners of the room because of the confused shooting angles he adopts.

The story is a run-of-the-mill crime plot chronicling the rise and fall of Jack Martin, an escaped convict with nerves of steel and a sense of humour. Martin manages to persuade the police to help him rob a bank, and gets his pursuers to hold a library door open for him so that he can make his escape. Inside the library, he woos the prim librarian (the future Mrs Matthau) by admitting he's a bank robber. No ordinary anti-hero then - at least not for the early sixties.

Sadly, that's pretty much all this film's got going for it. Matthau aside, the acting is pretty awful and there are plot holes you could drive an armoured truck through.

I recently saw this on TCM. I tuned in after it started so I had no idea what it was. I thought it was one of those corny educational films they used to show in classrooms in the 1950's that occasionally show up in TCM for the laugh value. That is, until I heard what sounded like Walter Matthau's voice and sure enough it was him so it must actually be a theatrical release. Matthau plays Jack Martin a hood rising up on to the FBI's most wanted list. Despite all the references to the FBI in this so-called film you only see the Anaheim police as the only guys doing any crime fighting here. Martin is hiding out in rural southern California and goes to work for local mob boss Earl Dawson (Bruce McFarlane) and his number two henchman Adolph (Garry Walberg) and somehow convince pretty bi-speckled librarian Carol Logan (Matthau's real-life wife Carol Grace) to become his girlfriend. This movie is so bad it doesn't even deserve to a B movie or even a C movie. This is like a high school class film project. It's Matthau's only turn as a director and as such he no idea what he's doing. I don't know how this project was ever green-lighted. After appearing as a guest star in 20 different TV series and nine films up until this time, including a couple of well known movies, I have no idea why he would diminish his talents and rising reputation as an actor to be in this 1959 flop.This is like watching a car wreck. I would give this 2.5 out of 10. That's generous just out of curiosity sake.

If you were born in the 1950s/60s this movie is right up your alley pun intended. Lots of awesome cars scenery and Walter Matthau In his late 30s, It's It's hokey unpredictable but it's a fun watch, I was curious to see what kind of directing style he would have directing this movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But then again I really like cars scenery and and cheap snub nosed revolvers, and Walter Matthau. I really hadn't thought of him as a director and I'm going to look for more movies that he might have directed. I've always been a fan of his work I love his deadpan comedy and the odd couple is one of my favorite movies. So if you got an hour to waste and nothing better to do give it a look but again only if you like cars old school California scenery, If you like that kind of stuff you'll be fine.

One of the more pleasing aspects of having a cable channel like TCM is the comforting knowledge that sooner or later so many wonderful quasi-obscure little film noir gems will eventually be broadcast and make their way into the home libraries of those who so ravenously covet them.

One such deliriously sublime example is GANGSTER STORY, a no-budget 1960 indie noir that starred and was directed by Walter Matthau. Produced in Los Angeles on virtually no money at all, it tells the simple but compelling story of criminal Jack Martin (Matthau) who, at the outset of the story has escaped his police captors and killed a cop in the process. His flight takes him to a quiet little town where he holes up while planning an outrageously weird bank job back in the big city. The heist nets him a bundle and now with the cops, the FBI and the outraged local crime kingpins (how dare this punk upstage them!) hot on his trail, the chase that will lead to Martin's ultimate destiny becomes hotter by the minute.

This is a tough one to recommend across the board, as there will no doubt be many who are put off by the obvious lack of resources devoted to the making of this picture. But connoisseurs of ragtag B crime noirs are likely to savor the abundance of eccentric touches that Matthau invests in this truly odd and surprisingly inventive thriller. Trivia freaks will enjoy knowing that Carol Grace, the actress who plays Matthau's love interest, became the real-life second Mrs. Matthau a couple of years later.

I think this movie was directed and produced by Matthau himself. What leads a person to create such a waste is beyond me.

The acting is horrible from every single other actor except Matthau. Which is extremely jarring since Matthau's acting is at quite a similar standard to what one would expect. He has good delivery and even has a couple of funny one-liners here and there.

And that's the most salient aspect of the film. The writing as a whole is terrible, with the plot being nothing more than a hackneyed rise and fall of a criminal story and the dialogue being cliche, uninspired, and repetitive. In one scene a victim of Matthau's crimes says "you won't get away with this" twice within a two-minute stretch. And that about sums up that.

The film is shot so cheaply and in black and white so there's not much to say about the cinematography or sets. It appears to be California, but it could've been shot or set anywhere for all it's worth. The whole thing is permeated with this impression that there was a complete lack of effort, almost like it was naught but an experimental vehicle for something.

This is a rather odd turn of events, seeing as Matthau is one of the finest character actors to grace the big screen. If nothing more, however, it's interesting to see what happens when you put a good actor in a picture where everything is wrong. Still not entertaining or in any way valuable.

Honourable Mentions: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937). The plot here is so basic as to be a waste of time, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. You can make a fine movie with a very basic plot on other qualities, such as good acting, immersion, good dialogue, etc.