Customer Reviews

The Grissom Gang

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The psychotic kiler. The young heiress. The kidnapping that becomes a love story.

This violent, over-the-top Robert ("DIRTY DOZEN") Aldrich directed thriller is a remake of the 1948 British film "NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH" which was in turn adapted from the once banned-as-pornographic novel of the same name.

It's the 1920s. Kim Darby is the beautiful young heiress Barbara Blandish who is kidnaped by the brutal Grissom gang. Their plan is simple and savage: keep the ransom and kill the hostage. Unfortunately (for the gang) dimwit Slim Grissom (Scott Wilson) falls in love with Barbara. And the even more unfortunate Barbara is forced into a relationship -- as the poster says -- of "violence and desire."

Finally, when the police close in and the gang comes apart, the question becomes: Who will survive the final frenzy of love and bullets?

Tony Musante, Ralph Waite, Robert Lansing and Connie Stevens co-star in this still shocking, extremely vicious gangster thriller. The tense screenplay is by Leon Griffiths and the edgy, very 70s score is by Gerald Fried.

Those who knew director Aldrich, who was also responsible for "KISS ME DEADLY" and "THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE," say this film was intended as a black comedy and was a reflection of his bizarre, almost sadistic, sense of humor. He said, "if it makes you laugh or cringe or both is more about who you are..." ...

Adapted from the 1939 novel "No Orchids for Miss Blandish", Robert Aldrich's 1971 gangster flick is violent and punishing in it's nature. Set in the poor and barren Mid-Western region of the US during the Depression, the film immerses the viewer in a world of poverty, greed & lust.

Kim Darby plays snotty society girl Barbara Blandish, the product of her boorish and society climbing parents who is kidnapped by a group of petty thugs....however they in turn are ambushed by a more professional crew of hoodlums. Irene Dailey plays Ma Grissom, the cold blooded leader of the small time gang....Scot Wilson is the simple-minded and lovestruck thug, Slim Grissom....Connie Stevens portrays the air headed blonde gangster moll, Anna....and Tony Musante is the oily and vicious, Eddie Hagan.

Whilst definitely not a gangster classic, "The Grissom Gang" is an over looked addition to the genre that's not without it's redeeming qualities. Aldrich had a flair for directing hard edged films that explored the more violent side, and the underbelly of human nature....and this film does all that !!

Another superb DVD has just been released by Anchor Bay : Robert Aldrich's THE GRISSOM GANG, adapted from James Hadley Chase's "No Orchids for Miss Blandish". Excellent movie but only the choice between the standard and the widescreen version and a scene access as bonus features. Extra meager. Sound and images more than OK for me.

Robert Aldrich is more known as a successful director of action movies like THE DIRTY DOZEN than as a sensitive observer of psychological dramas but with THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE, released in 1968 and THE GRISSOM GANG, Big Bob showed that a golden heart was beating under his elephant skin.

Don't get me wrong ! THE GRISSOM GANG is also a gangster movies loaded with machine guns duels and vicious killings but what's more interesting is the description of the relationship between Slim, the psychotic killer, and Barbara Blandish, the spoiled heiress. This unusual couple has to face a collection of secondary characters one will not forget so easily. For instance, Ma Grissom, played by Irene Dailey, a criminal genius and an overprotective mother, or Eddie - Tony Musante - Hagan, the archetype of the gangster of the 30's, so seductive but ready to kill anything that moves, even women, if necessary.

In the good guys section of the movie, there is someone who, in spite of his millions, could have been part of the Grissom gang : Wesley Addy, Barbara's father and often present in Aldrich's films, his attitude is one of the most disturbing seen in a movie.

All in all, an excellent addition to your library.

A DVD zone Bonnie and Clyde.

This is an overlooked movie, in my opinion; one that I wanted to view simply to see Kim Darby playing a more mature role than her "adorable" teen role in True Grit (Special Collector's Edition) opposite the iconic actor John Wayne. When the new version of "True Grit" was released it brought back memories of Darby and aroused my curiosity about how she looked and acted at an older age.

A friend told me about The Grissom Gang, raving over Kim's acting abilities and I had to see for myself.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Darby is excellent in the role of a snooty society girl who is kidnapped by a gang of petty hoodlums with Ma Grissom as the very cruel mother and leader of the gang of three brothers. She treats the "spoiled little rich girl" brutally and would have killed her if it weren't that her youngest (and favorite) son Slim develops a big crush on Darby's character, Barbara Blandish. Slim is simple-minded and easily manipulated by Barbara--who doesn't fool old Ma for a second--which adds to the plot's complexity.

The Grissom Gang are amateurs compared to a more professional crew who thwart their plans. In addition to Darby's excellent acting, Scot Wilson is great in the role of Slim Grisson, Connie Stevens is realistic as the dumb gangster "moll," and Tony Musante is vicious as the leader of the pro gang. But Irene Dailey plays the cold-blooded Ma Grissom to perfection; she made me cringe with fear and disgust.

This is not your typical gangster film, but is important to the genre because Director Robert Aldrich had a flair for directing hard-edged films that were violent, accurately portraying the underbelly side of human nature. This film, set in the poor Mid-Western region during the Depression, captures the realism of those times: poverty, greed, lust are displayed in black-and-white realism.

Definitely not a classic, but well worth the cost of the "used" DVD that I purchased...if only to see Darby as a woman and glimpse Aldrich at his best.

I would say NOT recommended for teens except that nowadays with an abundance of horror and vampire flicks, this would not frighten them at all.

Endnote: Kim Darby is my Facebook friend and she always answers comments. A real down-to-earth woman who grew into a great beauty.

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, September 30, 2011
Author of "Dream Reachers" series of books (with Chase Von)

About a gang that kidnaps a rich guy's daughter for ransom. Initially she's picked up by a motley group of local thugs going for their once-in-a-lifetime big score. However, they're intercepted by a gang of real pros who eliminate them and take the gal. The gang is determined to kill their captive after picking up the ransom, but a small problem arises when one of the boys falls for the young woman.

The vastly underappreciated and always-excellent character actor Scott Wilson [IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT and IN COLD BLOOD, both 1967] delivers a tour de force, playing the mentally limited, inexperienced but psychopathic member hit with the love bug. Another terrific performance by Kim Darby [TRUE GRIT, 1969] as the snooty socialite, Barbara Blandish, who stays alive only because Wilson, as Slim Grissom, has his first crush. The gang's leader and brains, however, is Slim's mom, a Ma Barker-type played superbly and with gusto by Irene Dailey [daytime soap ANOTHER WORLD, 1964]---she wants the girl dead. Tony Musante [THE DETECTIVE, 1968, and who can forget his riveting performance in the cult classic, THE INCIDENT, 1967], Ralph Waite [yep, Papa Walton in the classic TV series, THE WALTONS, 1972-1981 BUT a fabulous bad guy: TROUBLE MAN and CHATOS LAND, both 1972] and comic Joey Faye round up the rest of the group. Director Robert Aldrich throws some curves our way perfectly casting Connie Stevens as the annoying, bigmouth, empty-headed showgirl who spills the beans and, thus, gets hers. Nice seeing vet Robert Lansing [who can forget the great TWILIGHT ZONE episode, The Long Morrow, 1964] as a private detective hired to find the gang and the gal. Wesley Addy [also in Aldrich's noir cult classic KISS ME DEADLY, 1955] plays the kidnapped girls dad.

The film's most paralyzing moment occurs when Slim confronts Ma Grissom after finding out the gang's plans to get rid of the dame. He holds a knife within inches of the old lady's face insisting that the girl is not to be harmed, the teak-tough Ma having to back down or become history. The young woman is now imprisoned in the hideaway's upstairs bedroom with only Slim having cart blanch access. Her survival depends upon her ability to assuage her lovelorn captor. Darby is marvelous, having to adapt and concede quickly, feigning affection, drinking her pain away, becoming confused---and she looks better with each scene. Can't believe this was the same tomboyish kid we saw in TRUE GRIT, exuding a sensuality few probably thought she had---an outstanding performance. Her diatribe calling Slim a "half-wit..cretin", with the latter running to his mom, is a riot.

Eventually the cops close in and the gang wiped out in a wild gunfight. Slim and Ms Blandish avert the massacre but become holed up in a barn only to be surrounded by cops who are tipped off by locals looking for reward money. It is here that Slim decides to leave his captive and face the cops alone---realizing that she has to go back home and certainly ensuring that she wouldn't be harmed by the restless and reckless cops. No hostage negotiation team here as Slim steps out and, sure enough, is blasted into oblivion. Daddy dearest shows up but is embarrassed by his daughter's public display of emotion for her fallen captor, walking away without even a hug, showing no affection for his little girl.

Funny how the only person in this film who came close to doing his job right was the presumably dysfunctional Slim, taking care of and protecting Ms Blandish with certitude and forethought. This in contrast to the ineptitude of everybody else consumed by self interest, especially the film's two symbols of rectitude: the law, guilty of wanton recklessness with cops posing for the papers and killing everybody in sight, including Slim's murder-by-cop; the father, guilty of abandonment and narcissism. Interesting, how the self-interested often wind up with nothing. Nice black comedy by Aldrich dealing with the delusion of appearances and roles, the pervasiveness of human corruption, the often nebulous and unreliable distinction between the good and the bad.

Without resorting to violence in his encounters with Ms Blandish, with attempts at self-improvement, at gratification and demonstrating self-sacrifice at the end, Slim was hardly a born psychopath but rather a slow and misguided man-child who succeeded where the users, egomaniacs and robots in Ms Blandish's world could not---in loving her naturally, without condition or prejudgement.

I put off watching The Grissom Gang because I'd read it was just a shoot-em-up gangster movie without a lot of nuance; and that whenever the character-driven dramatic element started to get interesting Aldrich would crank up the gratuitous violence, etc.

Having watched it I can say it's a thoroughly engaging film full of high-drama and big characters. The performance of Scott Wilson, here in the full bloom of youth, is riveting: disturbing and ultimately heart-breaking. Kim Darby (as Barbara Blandish), despite one of the worst hair-cuts in film history, is comparably excellent. The two of them together generate real fireworks. O'Donnell and Granger come to mind, but their chemistry pales compared to the sparks that fly between Darby and Wilson.

Wilson never had the career he deserved. My first exposure to him was in Clayton's The Great Gatsby, in which he played the man who avenges his wife's (Karen Black) manslaugher. Few ever did anguished desperation as compellingly as Scott Wilson. Brad Douriff and John Savage come to mind.

As for the look of the film--it does sport one of the ugliest and period-inappropriate interiors ever. It's gaudiness is previewed by earlier typically mod color miscoordinations (hues of green abutting improbable shades of purple-pink). It's so outrageously ugly I actually turned off the color for a while. Hard to understand why Aldrich, not known for subtlety, chose such jarring tones. Perhaps it was his way of setting his film apart from the tastefully worn-out, vintage palette of Penn's trend-setting Bonnie and Clyde.

Thankfully, the performances absorb most of our attention. Ultimately the test of a great film is its capacity to engage us and to make us care about the characters. In this Aldrich completely succeeds. He has crafted a piece of entertainment that in its often feverish intensity feels bigger than life without feeling overly theatrical. So there may very well be an element of genius in the mix.

That is not to say the film does not have problems. The scene between the father and the detective just before the finale could have been jettisoned. At that point we're totally invested in the fate of Slim and Barbara and the dramatic flow should have been allowed to take its course as the peripheral characters faded into the background. It sort of ruins the ending.

With the exception of an outdoor scene about 18 minutes in the transfer is pleasingly crisp.

Very grave and closely observed film. And finish of it also very real - not happy-end like in stupid American movies. I don't recommend it for people with shallow mind or actioner fans.
I like this film very much. I was watching it in my childhood and bought to have it in my collection.
Anyhow here is just my opinion.
By the way - it's very strange to see "the Waltons" family father in mobster's role.

Excellent action packed film. A must have for action film or history buffs.