Crazy Mama

Crazy Mama (1975)

In 1957 Cheryl Drove Her Mom's Chevy on a Heavy Date: Got Knocked Up, Knocked Over a Bank, Smashed Four Police Cars, and Kidnapped Her Stepfather. It Was a Crazy Year!

Melba Stokes, her mother Sheba and daughter Cheryl embark on a crime spree after their California beauty parlor is repossessed. Their destination is Arkansas, where the three generations of women want to reclaim the family farm.

Date of release
1975-06-01
TMDB
5.6 / 10 (25)
Runtime
1h 23m
Genres
Crime, Action, Comedy
Director
Jonathan Demme

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: California and Los Angeles

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.

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.

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. 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.

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."

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.

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