It's hard to craft a proper introduction for Gangster Story. In fact, I'm not sure if a proper summary or description could do it justice. But I'll try as best I can to show a little of why you should see it for yourselves.
Walter Matthau as Jack (not Jake) Martin
Carol Grace as Carol Logan
Bruce MacFarlane as Earl Dawson
Garry Walberg as Adolph
Gangster Story is the first and only film Walter Matthau ever directed himself, as he and newlywed wife Carol Grace were virtually broke at the time. Accepting the jobs of star and director for just $2500, Matthau later said that "It was a poor script by a hack writer and a famous cardiovascular surgeon who produced the film with his brother who was a textile manufacturer from Philadelphia." He also said that the film "premiered at Loew's in Newark, and was so bad it never crossed the Hudson."
Keep those descriptions in mind when watching this film.
Remember that curtain pattern. You'll see it again later.
Gangster Story is the "true story" (yeah, no) of notorious bank robber Jack Martin. Already wanted for the murder of two cops, he first plans a bank job upon his arrival in late-50s Orange County.
Matthau's legendary acting teacher Raikin Ben-Ari as a plumber.
Despite having only one scene, he's easily
the most memorable character in the movie.
From virtually the first scene in Gangster Story, you will feel the serious need to leave your brain at the door. Do not be worried. This is a normal reaction, I assure you.
In a sequence that really must be seen to be believed, Jack calls the local police department pretending to be a film studio exec, asking for several cops to play themselves in a fake robbery scene (really) outside of a bank building, all while he's actually robbing the safe inside. Never mind how absolutely no one at any point asks for any permits (you know, being in Orange County and all), but none of the cops question why only Jack is present at the building front with them (with no crew to speak of), even if it's just a rehearsal.
No, you're not looking at two different scenes.
This is really how this sequence is framed.
Local crime boss Earl Dawson soon gets wind of the robbery, and angry that an outsider pulled a job in his territory, he sends two henchmen after Jack.
We're supposed to believe Jack is able to at least be briefly unnoticeable in the racetrack crowd. However, when it's six-foot-something, dark-haired Walter Matthau in the middle of a sparse area, that's a stretch to say the least.
After evading the henchmen at the track, Jack walks into a library, looking for work. The librarian doesn't seem to be all that fazed when Jack tells her flat out that he's a bank robber.
Having met on the Broadway production of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?,
Matthau and Grace married in 1959.
A shot from the obligatory "falling in love" montage,
though adorable in its own way.
Matthau and Grace have some chemistry,
but the script gives them little to work with.
Eventually, Jack kills one henchman and knocks out the other, and after Jack flees, Dawson just has Adolph shoot the surviving henchman for his failure, complete with the henchman's voice veering towards Mel Blanc-as-Edward G. Robinson territory.
Which brings me to the dubbing. While all the actors dubbed their own voices in post, the result (among other things) makes me wonder how MST3K never got their hands on this film.
Rather than hunt Jack down, Dawson instead comes to Carol's house and proposes Jack join his gang. Given how Jack had just killed his other henchman, this would seem like a terrible idea.
But Jack agrees to join for the money and protection, and after a newspaper montage, Jack and Dawson plan to rob the safe at a country club.
Yes, that is Vic "Mel" Tayback as the guard in the middle.
After they pull off the job (and several other men are killed), Carol tells Jack that she is leaving him due to her not being able to deal with him being a murderer. This, despite knowing he had killed before the last robbery, not to mention her having been fine with his other crimes. I point this out because the script doesn't say much regarding a "sense of danger" or anything else to keep her with him. And while a part of me hesitates from criticizing the script too much (mainly due to Matthau re-writing it every day of filming), the truth is, little in the film can be taken seriously (to put it mildly).
There's the curtain pattern again. Keep in mind,
this is supposed to be a completely different apartment.
Again, my synopsis can't do it justice. You'll have to see the rest of the story for yourself.
Make no mistake, Gangster Story is bad. It's best enjoyed as a "so bad, it's good" indie movie, along with being a snapshot of an Orange County that's all but gone now. Not only do I recommend it for bad movie buffs, but it's also a short sit, with a total runtime of (I'm not kidding) 68 minutes. And it's arguably the easiest Matthau film to find, being on YouTube for your viewing amusement.
Car enthusiasts should get a kick out of the rods seen in Gangster Story.
Thankfully, the Gangster Story story has a happy ending. Not only did it outgross its competitor, The Wreck of the Mary Deere (so many questions), but Matthau and Grace stayed married until Matthau's death in 2000.
TIDBITS AND SUCH
Matthau and Grace's son Charlie Matthau (above) went on to be a successful director himself, directing his father in The Grass Harp (based on the novel by his mother's friend Truman Capote) and The Marriage Fool (a.k.a. Love After Death) co-starring Carol Burnett.
Garry Walberg (Adolph) would go on to play Lt. Frank Monahan on the series Quincy, M.E. from 1976 to 1983.
Copyright © Chynna Moore
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