Crazy Mama (film)
Encyclopedia
Crazy Mama is a 1975 film directed by Jonathan Demme
and produced by Julie Corman
.
Cloris Leachman
stars, with Dennis Quaid
and Bill Paxton
seen briefly in two of their earliest roles.
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.
, California
beauty parlor run by Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl, is repossessed. They flee when landlord Mr. Albertson comes to demand the back rent.
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
next. In pursuit of pregnant Cheryl is her boyfriend, Shawn, while Melba gets reacquainted with an old lover, Jim Bob.
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.
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
and produced by Julie Corman
Julie Corman
Julie Corman is an American film producer. Corman is married to film producer and director Roger Corman.-Career:Julie Corman began her career in the film industry by she marrying legendary film director/ producer, Roger Corman. Her first feature producing credits consisted of a series of "Night...
.
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
stars, with Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
and Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
seen briefly in two of their earliest roles.
On December 17, 2010 Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
released the title on DVD, packaged as a double feature with The Lady In Red
The Lady in Red (1979 film)
The Lady in Red is a 1979 film directed by Lewis Teague, and starring Pamela Sue Martin and Robert Conrad. It is an early writing effort of John Sayles who became better known as a director in the 1980s and 90s...
as part of the Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
Cult Classics collection.
Plot
In 1958, a Long BeachLong Beach
-United States:*Long Beach, California, most populous city with this name**Long Beach Airport**Long Beach Naval Shipyard**Long Beach Search & Rescue**Long Beach Unified School District**Port of Long Beach*Long Beach, Indiana*Long Beach, Minnesota...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
beauty parlor run by Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl, is repossessed. They flee when landlord Mr. Albertson comes to demand the back rent.
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
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
next. In pursuit of pregnant Cheryl is her boyfriend, Shawn, while Melba gets reacquainted with an old lover, Jim Bob.
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 LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
as Melba - Stuart WhitmanStuart WhitmanStuart Maxwell Whitman is an American actor.Stuart Whitman is arguably best-known for playing Marshal Jim Crown in the western television series Cimarron Strip in 1967...
as Jim Bob - Ann SothernAnn SothernAnn Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
as Sheba - Linda PurlLinda PurlLinda Purl is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock in season one of Matlock.-Early life and education abroad:...
as Cheryl - Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
as Albertson - Donny Most as Shawn
- Tisha SterlingTisha SterlingTisha Sterling is an American television and film actress. She is the daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress/singer Ann Sothern.-Life and career:...
as Young Sheba - Sally KirklandSally KirklandSally Kirkland is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Kirkland was named after her mother, fashion editor Sally Kirkland, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines, and was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Frederic McMichael Kirkland, worked in the scrap...
as Ella Mae