The Grissom Gang
Encyclopedia
The Grissom Gang is a 1971 American
period gangster film directed
and produced
by Robert Aldrich
. The screenplay
was by Leon Griffiths
, based on the novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish
by James Hadley Chase
. The cinematographer
was Joseph Biroc. The cast includes Kim Darby
, Scott Wilson
, Tony Musante
, Robert Lansing
, Irene Dailey
, Connie Stevens
, Wesley Addy
, Joey Faye and Ralph Waite
.
) (his mother really runs things) falls in love with her. It was previously filmed in England in 1949 under its original title, and the central conceit was that the heiress, who felt stifled by her upper-class life-style, fell in love with the abductor and his comparative freedom to live his life on the edge. In this remake, Aldrich and Griffiths reversed this angle; here, she merely strings him along in an attempt to escape. This version was also played more for laughs, in particular the outlandishly deranged behavior of the gang.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
period gangster film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was by Leon Griffiths
Leon Griffiths
Leon Griffiths was a British writer for TV and film. Griffiths is best known for being the creator of the ITV comedy-drama Minder. The inspiration for the show came from the stories he heard while frequenting North London drinking clubs.Griffiths was born in Sheffield, but grew up in Glasgow...
, based on the novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish
No Orchids for Miss Blandish (novel)
No Orchids For Miss Blandish is a 1939 crime novel by the British writer James Hadley Chase. The novel was influenced by the American crime writer James M. Cain and the stories in the pulpmagazine Black Mask....
by James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase is the best-known pseudonym of the British writer Rene Brabazon Raymond who also wrote under the names James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, and Raymond Marshall. Chase is one of the best known thriller writers of all time...
. The cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
was Joseph Biroc. The cast includes Kim Darby
Kim Darby
Kim Darby is an American actress perhaps best known for co-starring with John Wayne and country singer/actor Glen Campbell in the 1969 western True Grit.-Early life and film career:...
, Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson (actor)
Scott Wilson is an American actor.-Movies:Wilson appeared in such films as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Gypsy Moths, The Great Gatsby, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, Dead Man Walking, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, and...
, Tony Musante
Tony Musante
Anthony Peter Musante is an American actor.Musante was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Natalie Anne , a school teacher, and Anthony Peter Musante, an accountant. He attended Oberlin College and Northwestern University.Musante has acted in numerous feature films, in the United States...
, Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
, Irene Dailey
Irene Dailey
Irene Dailey was an American actress, perhaps best known for her work on Broadway and on daytime television.Dailey was born in New York City, the daughter of Helen Theresa and Daniel James Dailey...
, Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
, Wesley Addy
Wesley Addy
Wesley Addy was an American actor.He played many roles on the Broadway stage, including several Shakespearean ones, usually opposite actor Maurice Evans...
, Joey Faye and Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed...
.
Plot
The story centers on a 1931 heiress kidnapped for ransom by a brutal gang, whose mentally-impaired "leader" (Scott WilsonScott Wilson
Scott Wilson was a judge on United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1929 to 1942.-Early life:Scott Wilson was born on January 11, 1870, in Falmouth, Maine. He graduated from Bates College in Maine in 1892 and then studied at the University of Pennsylvania...
) (his mother really runs things) falls in love with her. It was previously filmed in England in 1949 under its original title, and the central conceit was that the heiress, who felt stifled by her upper-class life-style, fell in love with the abductor and his comparative freedom to live his life on the edge. In this remake, Aldrich and Griffiths reversed this angle; here, she merely strings him along in an attempt to escape. This version was also played more for laughs, in particular the outlandishly deranged behavior of the gang.
Cast
- Kim DarbyKim DarbyKim Darby is an American actress perhaps best known for co-starring with John Wayne and country singer/actor Glen Campbell in the 1969 western True Grit.-Early life and film career:...
as Barbara Blandish - Scott WilsonScott WilsonScott Wilson was a judge on United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1929 to 1942.-Early life:Scott Wilson was born on January 11, 1870, in Falmouth, Maine. He graduated from Bates College in Maine in 1892 and then studied at the University of Pennsylvania...
as Slim Grissom - Tony MusanteTony MusanteAnthony Peter Musante is an American actor.Musante was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Natalie Anne , a school teacher, and Anthony Peter Musante, an accountant. He attended Oberlin College and Northwestern University.Musante has acted in numerous feature films, in the United States...
as Eddie Hagan - Robert LansingRobert LansingRobert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
as Dave Fenner - Irene DaileyIrene DaileyIrene Dailey was an American actress, perhaps best known for her work on Broadway and on daytime television.Dailey was born in New York City, the daughter of Helen Theresa and Daniel James Dailey...
as Gladys "Ma" Grissom - Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
as Anna Borg - Wesley AddyWesley AddyWesley Addy was an American actor.He played many roles on the Broadway stage, including several Shakespearean ones, usually opposite actor Maurice Evans...
as John P. Blandish - Joey Faye as Woppy
- Ralph WaiteRalph WaiteRalph Waite is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed...
as Mace