Crazy Mama

Crazy Mama
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJonathan Demme
Screenplay byRobert Thom
Story byFrances Doel
Produced byJulie Corman
StarringCloris Leachman
Stuart Whitman
Ann Sothern
Linda Purl
Jim Backus
Donny Most
CinematographyBruce Logan
Edited byAllan Holzman
Lewis Teague
Music bySnotty Scotty and The Hankies
Production
company
Distributed byNew World Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • July 9, 1975 (1975-07-09) (Texas)
  • November 5, 1975 (1975-11-05) (Los Angeles)[1]
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.3 million[2]
Box office$2.3 million (United States and Canada rental)[3][4]

Crazy Mama is a 1975 American action comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and produced by Julie Corman for New World Pictures. It stars Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, Ann Sothern, Linda Purl, Jim Backus, Tisha Sterling and Donny Most. It also features Bill Paxton, Dennis Quaid, and Will Sampson in their (uncredited) film debuts. The story centers on a beauty parlor owner and her family, who lose their belongings to repossession, and soon start a crime spree.

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

Uncredited

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.[2]

The original director was Shirley Clarke but she was fired 10 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.[6] 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.[7]

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."[7]

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.[2]

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.”[6]

Bill Paxton was a set dresser on the film and had his first speaking role in the movie.[6]

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."[8] 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."[6]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 reviews are positive, and the average rating is 6.5/10.[9]

Soundtrack

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, and both on a limited edition Blu-ray in 2021 with only 1500 units made.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "CRAZY MAMA (1975)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 86-87
  3. ↑ "Big Rental Films of 1976". Variety. January 5, 1977. p. 14.
  4. ↑ 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
  5. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (February 6, 2026). "Not Quite Movie Stars: Stuart Whitman". Variety. Archived from the original on February 7, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Chris Nashawaty, Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses - Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Abrams, 2013 p 147
  7. 1 2 Demme p 168
  8. ↑ Demme p 169
  9. ↑ "Crazy Mama". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Roger Corman's Cult Classics". shoutfactory.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2012.

Notes

  • Demme, Jonathan (1994). "Demme on Demme". Projections: a forum for film-makers. pp. 158–197.
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