Movie Review: Ma Barker’s Killer Brood (1960) directed by Bill Karn
Kate “Ma” Barker (Lurene Tuttle) was born into a hardscrabble family as the tenth child and suffered many privations growing up. She stepped up a bit by marrying the first young man to take notice of her, George Barker (Nelson Leigh) but by the time their fourth son was born, it was obvious that George was going nowhere fast and could barely keep the family fed. Ma soon encouraged her boys to steal, as the only way to get what you want is to take it, and even planned their crimes for them. One, Herman (Don Grady), was a sensitive lad more interested in music, but Ma soon beat obedience into him. George disapproved of the direction Ma was taking the family, but had a weak character and chose fleeing the marriage–afterwards, Ma made out she was widowed.
Within a year, even though the law couldn’t prove anything, the Barker boys were notorious for their thievery, and the sheriff ran the family out of the county. This unleashed what would become the Barker/Karpis gang on the rest of America.
This black and white crime film is loosely based on the true story of a notorious gang of robbers and kidnappers, most of whom were related by blood. It leans heavily into the myth of Ma Barker as a criminal mastermind, and rearranges events to make her look both smarter and more diabolical than she probably was in real life.
We rejoin the family several years after going on the road. Herman (Don Spruance), Doc (Ron Foster), Lloyd (Rex Holman) and Fred (Eric Morris) have grown into hardened criminals. They’re soon joined by kill-crazed Alvin Karpis (Paul Dubov) who was a cellmate of one of the brothers in prison. The gang is on good terms with John Dillinger (Eric Sinclair) and Baby Face Nelson (Robert Kendall). Another associate is Machine Gun Kelly (Victor Lundin), who wants to have crime plans created by Ma, but she’s deemed too expensive by Kelly’s lover Lou (Myrna Dell). Lou and Ma cordially despise each other, especially after Lou’s plan for a kidnapping goes south.
After Herman commits suicide to avoid capture, the gang relocates to Saint Paul, Minnesota. There Ma masterminds the kidnapping of a wealthy banker. This nets the family a hefty ransom, but puts the FBI on their trail, and things go sour from there, culminating in a lethal Florida shootout.
Left out of the story is why the gang had gone to St. Paul in the first place. At the time, that city’s police department under chief Thomas “Big Tom” Brown was notoriously corrupt and sheltered gangsters in exchange for a share of their loot. It’s even been suggested that Chief Brown was the real planner behind the infamous kidnapping. But not only would have including this have undercut the story of Ma Barker being the mastermind, but run afoul of the Hays Code, which was very touchy about the depiction of police corruption.
If I didn’t know the production date, I would have thought this movie was made in the 1930s. It’s very much a throwback to the gangster films of that time, with elements of the early 1950s Pre-Code comic books like Crime Does Not Pay. Lots of exciting violence and the crooks generally having a good time and sneering at law enforcement, with a last act where it all crashes down and a closing monologue emphasizing the bitter fruit of crime.
Ms. Tuttle is a hoot as Ma, berating those that screw up, trading barbs with Lou, and pulling out her “frail little old lady who has no idea her sons are criminals” act whenever necessary. Paul Dubov is chilling as Karpis, and the rest of the cast is adequate. This is a low-budget thriller more interested in telling an exciting story than realism or historical accuracy. (See if you can spot the out of period car!)
Content note: Lots of gun violence, some lethal. (No gore.) Suicide, murder, a man is burned alive. Child abuse, emotional abuse. Surgery is done without anesthesia. Ma may have committed bigamy. It’s implied that characters are having extramarital sex. Karpis kills a hamster (we don’t see the corpse) for cruel fun. Older teens should be able to handle it.
This is a trashy fun movie, the sort of thing to watch with friends who also enjoy the gangster genre. Do not watch this one with a “true crime” fan unless you are ready for non-stop nitpicking.
