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Crazy Mama
Crazy Mama
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jonathan Demme
Screenplay by	Robert Thom
Story by	Frances Doel
Produced by	Julie Corman
Starring	Cloris Leachman; Stuart Whitman; Ann Sothern; Linda Purl; Jim Backus; Donny Most
Cinematography	Bruce Logan
Edited by	Allan Holzman; Lewis Teague
Music by	Snotty Scotty and The Hankies
Distributed by	New World Pictures
Release date	June 1975;
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.3 million
Box office	$2.3 million (United States and Canada rental)

Crazy Mama is a 1975 American action comedy film, directed by Jonathan Demme, produced by Julie Corman and starring Cloris Leachman. It marked the film debuts of Bill Paxton and Dennis Quaid.

The film focuses on a beauty parlor owner and her family, who lose their belongings to repossession. The trio of women soon start a crime spree. Their confrontation with law enforcement officers ends in a shootout.

Plot

In 1958 Long Beach, California, Melba Stokes is a beauty salon owner, living with her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl. They flee when landlord Mr. Albertson comes to demand the back rent and repossess their belongings.

On the road, heading back to Arkansas to reclaim the family farm, the Stokes women begin a crime spree. They rob a gas station first, then head for Las Vegas. In pursuit of pregnant Cheryl is her boyfriend, Shawn, while Melba meets up with a runaway Texas sheriff, Jim Bob Trotter. Further battles with the law along the way eventually lead to a shootout in which Jim Bob and others are killed. Melba is left alone, on the lam, but begins life again in a new town with a new look.

Cast

Cloris Leachman as Melba Stokes
Stuart Whitman as Jim Bob
Ann Sothern as Sheba Stokes
Linda Purl as Cheryl Stokes
Jim Backus as Albertson
Donny Most as Shawn
Tisha Sterling as Young Sheba Stokes
Sally Kirkland as Ella Mae
Dick Miller as Wilbur Janeway
John Milius as Cop
Harry Northup as FBI Man
Beach Dickerson as Desk Clerk
Bryan Englund as Snake

Production

Roger Corman had enjoyed success making films about female gangsters with Bloody Mama and Big Bad Mama and wanted another one. The film was announced as Big Bad Mama II, then The American Dream before ultimately being known as Crazy Mama.^[1]

The original director was Shirley Clarke but she was fired ten days prior to filming. Roger Corman had presold the film to exhibitors and the cast and start date was set. He called in Jonathan Demme, who had made Caged Heat for Corman and was also preparing Fighting Mad for him, and offered Demme the job of directing.^[4] Demme refused but Corman told him he had to if he wanted to make Fighting Mad. Demme agreed if his wife could direct second unit.

Demme said he told Corman, "I want to help you out, but I know this is going to end poorly... you can't jump in this fast on a movie, make it in three weeks, and then have two weeks for the editing, mix it in one day and hope for a good picture. It's going to be a mess, you're going to perceive it as a mess, you're going to get mad at me." But Corman insisted they proceed.^[5]

Demme said "all the actors hated the script - with good reason: it was lousy. It had a couple of good scenes in it, but it left a lot to be desired. It was one of those awful situations where you're trying to write it while you're shooting it. It also got shot too fast."^[5]

Demme did make some changes to the script. In the original draft the movie ended with all the leads being killed. Demme did not like that so he changed it so that everyone escaped, except for the character played by Ann Sothern as Demme disliked Sothern. Corman disliked this change, feeling that there was no ending. Demme then shot an alternative ending with the family running a burger stand in Miami in 1959.^[1]

Producer Julie Corman gave birth to her first child during production. Demme recalled " We were shooting a big gunfight/car crash scene and we had an ambulance standing by, and Julie went into labor. And our ambulance left with the producer being rushed to hospital to give birth.”^[4]

Bill Paxton was a set dresser on the film and had his first speaking role in the movie.^[4]

Reception

Demme later said "Roger was furious at me" for changing the ending. "He thought I had totally ruined the movie, that this would be the first Mama film to lose money because it hadn't delivered all the elements. He was right, incidentally, it was the first to not make money, and he cancelled Fighting Mad."^[6] Demme protested this saying it was unfair since he had warned Corman that. Crazy Mama "might end in tears." Corman agreed and made Fighting Mad."^[4]

Soundtrack

"All I Have to Do Is Dream" - Performed by The Everly Brothers
"Black Slacks" - Performed by Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones
"Devoted to You" - Performed by The Everly Brothers
"I've Had It" - Performed by The Bell Notes
"Lollipop" - Performed by The Chordettes
"Money (That's What I Want)" - Performed by Barrett Strong
"Running Bear" - Performed by Johnny Preston
"Sleep Walk" - Performed by Santo & Johnny
"Transfusion" - Performed by Nervous Norvus
"Western Movies" - Performed by The Olympics
"Endless Sleep" - Performed by Jody Reynolds (heard in the film's trailer but not in the film)

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 reviews are positive, and the average rating is 6.5/10.^[7]

Home media

On December 17, 2010, Shout! Factory released the title on DVD, packaged as a double feature with The Lady In Red, as part of the Roger Corman Cult Classics collection.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 86-87
^ "Big Rental Films of 1976". Variety. January 5, 1977. p. 14.
^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 295. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chris Nashawaty, Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses - Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Abrams, 2013 p 147
^ ^a ^b Demme p 168
^ Demme p 169
^ "Crazy Mama". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
^ "Roger Corman's Cult Classics". shoutfactory.com. Retrieved December 31, 2012.