Product Review

Tired of being poor, Katherine Barker encourages her kids to steal -- starting with the church collection plate! By the time they're adults, Mama's not only planning the clan's capers, but joining them on jobs: "Shoot him, Herman, shoot him!" Under her homespun tutelage, Ma Barker's Killer Brood rob an armored car, kidnap a bank president, set fire to a quack plastic surgeon, and even throw a party with Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, and "Johnny" Dillinger as guests. Though it plays havoc with the facts, Ma Barker's Killer Brood is how things should have been; after seeing this hilariously over-the-top B movie bio-pic, it's impossible to think of Ma Barker as anyone other than character actress Lurene Tuttle (Psycho) who's baking cherry pies one minute, then mowing down Feds with a machine gun the next! As a G-man puts it: "If you didn't know the old witch, you'd swear she was somebody's sweet old grandmother!" Crime films just don't come crazier than this! Plus, after twice disguising himself as a one-armed man -- and getting arrested both times! -- "Master Criminal" John Omar escapes from prison only to be buried alive in Gang Busters, an oddball "true" anti-crime epic which chooses for its subject not Public Enemy No. 1, or Public Enemy No. 2, or even Public Enemy No. 3, but Public Enemy Number Four! And remember, kids: "Some punks never learn!"