mark.waltz "Eat, drink, be merry, and play the slot machines, everybody, because tomorrow, they could set off another bomb at Frenchman's Flats and blow Las Vegas off into a state where they don't allow gambling!" So quips that brilliant songstress, Miss Van Doren, after singing a fairly decent (if tacky) "Anything Your Heart Desires" as a Vegas showgirl that Elizabeth Hurley would envy. After getting a message from her jailbird husband's ex-cell-mate (Gerald Mohr), Van Doren emotes in a way that was absolutely no threat to Monroe, Mansfield, Dors (Diana) or half the other blonde bombshells who invaded the cinema in the 1950's. Mohr's message is a simple slap which is so phony looking on film that it looks like it had the impact of a kiss. The script has such fabulously bad "B" movie lines such as "Take it easy baby, No fuss, no muss" and "I hope they feed you to the fish!", spoken so dramatically that you'd think that the actors believed that they were quoting Shakespeare.While this really isn't a full musical (2 Vegas numbers) and only has minor elements of film noir, it is definitely one of those deliciously bad "B" movies that sometimes gets classified as noir but is one of the type that true noir aficionados argue over. With the already campy name of "Vi Victor", Mansfield seems to grin every time she has to spout one of those deliciously bad lines. Perhaps she was thinking of the oh, so dramatic narration over the action, the narrator sounding like the newscaster from "Gilligan's Island". If you took a sip of a drink every time that "Vi Victor" was mentioned by the narrator, you'd be drunk after 2 or 3 reels! The film also adds in a holiday spirit with such lines as "Drunk all year, and Santa Claus on Christmas!" as it plays Christmas carols in the background.This is a plot line that's been utilized over and over again, the robbery of an armored car truck, and this one surrounds casino money, a plot device also used, and certainly much better. "Vi Victor" is used as a lookout, and it all seems to be going well until "Vi Victor's" jailbird husband (Lee Van Cleef no less!) escapes from prison (on New Year's Eve no less!) and threatens to louse up the whole scheme! I have to categorize this as one of those films that so bad that it's good, the films that drive-ins clamored for and probably never had a sit-down theater showing outside the second run or theaters desperate for a booking. "Make plenty of room. I take deep breaths!", Mansfield shouts to her drunken audience as she breaks into her second number, "Meet Me Half Way". It's just too bad that she lacks the sensuality of Monroe and Mansfield (and certainly their natural ability to be funny), and in her efforts to be sexy just comes up an empty bottle of peroxide.And remember, "There can't be a tomorrow for those who only live for today!" Truer words were never more badly acted.

LeonLouisRicci With this great title we get Guns (45's, rifles with scope and silencer, 38's), Girls (Mamie and a Nuclear White Bread Wife), and Gangsters (cons, gamblers, techno-nerds, thugs). Mamie Van Doren was the third-rate platinum blonde (after Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield) of the 1950's.She had a hard look and demeanor contrasting Marilyn's doey-eyed sweetness and Jayne's playful pin-up, so she played Molls and Dames and wore her skin-tight, reflective attire with seductive charm. Here she is also allowed two "singing and dancing" numbers that are pedestrian but passable.Lee Van Cleef's sneering and devilish face provide the violence and nastiness. It is a somewhat boring pace but kick's in after a very slow start with a gabby set-up and less than interesting compositions. Not a bad B-Movie and is welcome enough but just isn't too remarkable. Some blame could be put on the over-age, unattractive, baggy-eyed Mohr who was one of the most unappealing self-conscious "leads" around the Drive-In Movie circuit.

Michael_Elliott Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)** 1/2 (out of 4)Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) gets released from prison and decides to hold up an armor truck outside of Las Vegas. He gets involved with his cell mates former squeeze (Mamie Van Doren) but everything gets messed up when that guy (Lee Van Cleef) breaks out of prison and wants in on the action. The best thing about GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS is the rather catchy title and while nothing new is done for the crime genre, overall this here is a pretty fun "B" movie as long as you don't take it too serious or expect any sort of masterpiece. A lot of the film's entertainment value must be given to the cast who manage to fit their roles nicely and they help keep the film moving. I thought Mohr did a nice job in the role as the baddie as he had no problem being tough but you could also like him. It was fun seeing Van Cleef in a film long before he hit that image of the Sergio Leone films. He too manages to do a nice job in the role of the real villain without any redeeming factors. Mrs. Mamie Van Doren certainly is a looker and she manages to fit the role nicely but I will freely admit that her singing numbers were rather painful and should have been cut out all together. Director Edward L. Cahn manages to build up some nice drama at the end during the finale, which also includes some excellent gun fights and a rather violent conclusion. The narration that runs throughout the picture is certainly something very weak and just wait until you hear that closing line! I'm sure it was meant to be tough or raw yet it comes off hilariously bad. GUNS, GIRLS AND GANGSTERS should appeal to those who enjoy "B" pictures.

udar55 Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) gets out of prison and heads to Las Vegas to enact an elaborate heist where he plans to steal an armored car carrying over $2 million in post-New Year's gambling money. He enlists the aide of local gangster Joe Darren (Grant Richards) and his lounge singer fiancé Vi (Mamie Van Doren), who just happens to be the wife of Wheeler's old cell mate. They plan everything out and it looks like it will go smoothly until Vi's ex-husband, Mike (Lee Van Cleef), breaks out of jail. This is a quick moving B-picture and director Edward L. Cahn never lets it lag through its 70 minutes. Van Doren isn't as much of a bad girl as in the previous feature I saw, VICE RAID. Here she is more of a good girl caught in a bad situation. To show how good she is, Van Doren gets two musical numbers in this one. Surprisingly, they don't play up her curves as much as VICE, but the swelling horn section is still abused plenty on the soundtrack. The supporting cast is all good and it is funny to know that even when he was young, Van Cleef still looked old.