Shelley Winters, who once played the spoofish "Ma Parker" on
Batman, brings the same larger-than-life approach to her portrayal of real-life Ma Barker in Bloody Mama. Presiding over her outlaw gang, consisting mainly of her goonish sons, Ma goes on a Depression-era rampage of bank robbery, murder and kidnapping. Obviously filmed in a hurry-watch as the Barker mob drives past modern shopping centers-- Bloody Mama strives for an entertaingly sleazy aura, especially when dealing with the incestuous subtext of Ma's relationship with her boys. And look who plays the Barker brood:
Clint Kimbrough,
Robert Walden and
Robert De Niro! Bloody Mama was scripted by Robert Thom, whose previous collaboration with producer
Roger Corman was the cult classic
Wild in the Streets (former 1950s ingenue
Diane Varsi appears in both films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide