A lot of liberties have been taken with the biography of bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Looking past facts in contention, Pretty boy recording artist Fabian from Philly plays the criminal from Oklahoma, "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Floyd breaks out of prison where he was serving time for killing a hometown rival. Outrunning the hounds, Floyd makes it to Kansas City and teams up with a gang of bank robbers. The front pages of newspapers in the 30's heralded the exploits of the bank robber with the baby face. In spite of thinking about his pregnant wife Ruby(Astrid Warner), Floyd is seduced successfully by a beautiful 'working girl' named Betty(Jocelyn Lane). Government agent Hossler(Robert Glenn)getting closer and closer to capturing Floyd, manages to ambush and gun down the gangster, who was already in the mood to end the chase. The musical score is one of the most horrible you could suffer through. And Fabian is not even singing. Grab a few snacks and a lot of 'cold ones', and this flick isn't really that bad. It may even provoke you into seeking out one of the good "Pretty Boy" Floyd bios at the library. I have to give props to Fabian for actually doing a decent job. Miss Lane is absolutely fetching; but not the stone cold fox she played in the Elvis Presley flick TICKLE ME. Others in the cast: Adam Roarke, Jeff Alexander, Desmond Dhooge and Camilla Carr.
8 Reviews
The saga of the Pretty Boy
bkoganbing23 March 2015
In an effort to recharge his career as his popularity as teenage idol was now well behind him Fabian took the title role of that notorious public enemy of the Thirties Pretty Boy Floyd. It never worked and Fabian was now making his living in nostalgia concerts and an occasional film role in support. He even used his full name of Fabian Forte in the billing for this American-International Release.
Charles Arthur Floyd was a child of the 20s in dust bowl Oklahoma where they didn't share in the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and it got worse than ever in the Depression. The film is hardly an accurate portrayal of his life still Fabian does give a good account of himself as the good looking and heartbreaking bandit who got to the position of Public Enemy Number 1 for a brief spell.
With the exception of Adam Roarke who went on to become an acting teacher of some repute as gang member Preacher you'll not have heard of any of the rest of the cast members. In a way that's good because they blend quite nicely into the story and no one takes any attention from the star.
Fabian's performance was all right, nothing special, no Oscar material here. A Bullet For Pretty Boy did fail to ignite any great enthusiasm for him as thespian.
Charles Arthur Floyd was a child of the 20s in dust bowl Oklahoma where they didn't share in the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and it got worse than ever in the Depression. The film is hardly an accurate portrayal of his life still Fabian does give a good account of himself as the good looking and heartbreaking bandit who got to the position of Public Enemy Number 1 for a brief spell.
With the exception of Adam Roarke who went on to become an acting teacher of some repute as gang member Preacher you'll not have heard of any of the rest of the cast members. In a way that's good because they blend quite nicely into the story and no one takes any attention from the star.
Fabian's performance was all right, nothing special, no Oscar material here. A Bullet For Pretty Boy did fail to ignite any great enthusiasm for him as thespian.
Barmy and Clod, AIP style
ptb-820 February 2005
Sorry, I mean Bonnie and Clyde get a re run at American International Pictures. I saw this in first release at our wonderful Sydney Capitol Theatre, home of the changed-weekly drive in double feature except this was a glorious 2500 seat plaster picture palace. A BULLET FOR PRETTY BOY + ERIK THE CONQUEROR was the 70c double feature in 1971 and I was there, with lollies and still had change from $2. Handsome pop dude Fabian made a passable Floyd mainly because he was pretty in his Matt Lattanzi way. The only reason this film was made was because of BONNIE AND CLYDE and AIP was always keen to cash in on a fad. Also they probably had access to the props and cars from BOXCAR BERTHA and BLOODY MAMA made the previous year. I miss the days of AIP, they always made trash and treasure and always entertaining. BULLET FOR PRETTY BOY was exactly like a B grade version of BONNIE AND CLYDE, banjo music and all.
Larry Buchanan Fired From This Film?
henryonhillside28 February 2016
Larry Buchanan, the Ed Wood of his day, made many bad movies in the '60s for American International. Apparently with this film he tried to elevate his game, took too long, got behind schedule, and got fired. Perhaps he also had artistic differences with Fabian. ;-) Anyway, yeah, the movie is wonderfully bad with many lovely bad touches - the bank robbery scenes occur in derelict buildings on the outskirts of downtown that apparently haven't been used in 35 years, Fabian's hairstyle is pure 1970, Fabian shows no apparent familiarity with the act of reading a newspaper, all the shades on the train are pulled down even though it's daytime, you can see the shadow of the camera against the train (because, um, it's broad daylight), the soulful song, not bad at first, gets used to death, etc. etc. etc. A useful text for stuff to avoid when you're making your first picture.
Just another entry in the anti-establishment crime films.
mark.waltz8 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
You can't turn career criminals into heroes no matter what you write on the page, and this obvious drive-in movie tries too hard to sanitize a story already told onscreen, mainly to cash in on the success of "Bonnie and Clyde". At least that film didn't make them heroes purposely, but no matter how many rounds of machine gunfire that they show Charles Arthur Floyd (Fabian) shooting, it is just presented like it's another day in the office, not violent crime.
There's also similar fashions to what Faye Dunaway wore as Bonnie Parker, but the woman wearing it is far from the glamour girl Dunaway was. An obvious madame (Anne McAdams) is a stereotypical mother figure to Floyd, and I pictured someone like Joan Blondell, Ann Sothern or Shelley Winters cast in that part to make it more interesting. Floyd's mother is seen too, nearly a carbon copy of Bonnie's.
The robberies are mostly shown in montages, although one where only an elderly lady clerk is present did give me a chuckle. Anybody else would have been plugged instantly, but Floyd and his gang simply grab and go. I don't feel like I learned anything valuable or truthful about him, so I can easily pass this one off as your typical 70's exploitation without any real cinematic value.
There's also similar fashions to what Faye Dunaway wore as Bonnie Parker, but the woman wearing it is far from the glamour girl Dunaway was. An obvious madame (Anne McAdams) is a stereotypical mother figure to Floyd, and I pictured someone like Joan Blondell, Ann Sothern or Shelley Winters cast in that part to make it more interesting. Floyd's mother is seen too, nearly a carbon copy of Bonnie's.
The robberies are mostly shown in montages, although one where only an elderly lady clerk is present did give me a chuckle. Anybody else would have been plugged instantly, but Floyd and his gang simply grab and go. I don't feel like I learned anything valuable or truthful about him, so I can easily pass this one off as your typical 70's exploitation without any real cinematic value.
Not very close to the facts, but entertaining nonetheless
udar5522 June 2008
This one follows the exploits of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Fabian) and his gang as they rob banks through out Midwestern states (although it was entirely shot in Texas). It is pretty obvious that director Larry Buchanan is cashing in on the success of BONNIE & CLYDE (1967); for the second time actually as he made a B&C ripoff in 1968. For a low budget picture, they capture the small town feel pretty well. But reading any quick online bio for Floyd will show you the filmmakers are playing fast and loose with the truth. Floyd here - perhaps thanks to Woody Guthrie's song - is a romanticized, modern day Robin Hood-type with plenty of love for the ladies. Fabian acquits himself well in the lead role and the gorgeous Jocelyn Lane plays his love interest Betty. Adam Roarke has a small role as the character Preacher. An amazing amount of the supporting cast (Annabelle Weenick, Camilla Carr, Hugh Feagin, Gene Ross) later showed up in the horror works of S.F. Brownrigg.
Fabian Forte w/Jocelyn Lane in High Spirits!
shepardjessica9 July 2004
Warning: Spoilers
This COMPLETELY, low budget, exploitation flick of the early 70's manages to capture nothing except the loss of innocence in those creepy gangster 30's movies (although some of the cars are from the 40's; nobody noticed). Fabian, a pop singer from the late 50's, early 60's stars as Pretty Boy Floyd, an actual rural "good" bank robber in the mid-west during the depression, acting a misunderstood youth who conveniently finds the pretty "good" girl and the pretty "bad girl" in a TOTALLY FICTIONAL rendtion of this "folk hero" in an exploitation film (WHAT A GREAT POSTER, THOUGH)! SPOILERS** (COMING UP)
Jocelyn Lane (from one or two Elvis films; before this) was intriguely gorgeous, while wearing the sheerest of black slips, giving Fabian BAD ADVICE about how to deal with the COPPERS (farm boys) while the innocent blonde girlfriend (sweet, honest, church-going, dullard) tries to sway him to stay a poor dirt farmer and live on love and go frog-gigging. I can't remember this actress' name, and she was fine (Astrid something; I could look it up, but what's the point?). Pretty Boy Floyd's destiny was already mapped out (even in the Oklahoma Hills where he was Robin Hood) because this flick isn't interested in the subtleties of Art in this time period. Not as good as Killers Three (starring Robert Walker, Jr., Diane Varsi, and Dick Clark OR The Grissom Gang starring Scott Wilson, Kim Darby, and Tony Musante - similary exploitive rural gangster flicks trying to make some change post-Bonne and Clyde), but worth checking out if you want to see consistnet bad acting, no directing or script, music from other films, but at least Fabian used his last name. There is hope! I like this movie, even though it's drive-in junk.
I think I forgot to mention the Jocelyn Lane factor (babe-ism) in a very negligee way (with the wrong hairstyle for the time, but...). It's there; probably not on DVD EVER or possibly video, but you can find it.
Jocelyn Lane (from one or two Elvis films; before this) was intriguely gorgeous, while wearing the sheerest of black slips, giving Fabian BAD ADVICE about how to deal with the COPPERS (farm boys) while the innocent blonde girlfriend (sweet, honest, church-going, dullard) tries to sway him to stay a poor dirt farmer and live on love and go frog-gigging. I can't remember this actress' name, and she was fine (Astrid something; I could look it up, but what's the point?). Pretty Boy Floyd's destiny was already mapped out (even in the Oklahoma Hills where he was Robin Hood) because this flick isn't interested in the subtleties of Art in this time period. Not as good as Killers Three (starring Robert Walker, Jr., Diane Varsi, and Dick Clark OR The Grissom Gang starring Scott Wilson, Kim Darby, and Tony Musante - similary exploitive rural gangster flicks trying to make some change post-Bonne and Clyde), but worth checking out if you want to see consistnet bad acting, no directing or script, music from other films, but at least Fabian used his last name. There is hope! I like this movie, even though it's drive-in junk.
I think I forgot to mention the Jocelyn Lane factor (babe-ism) in a very negligee way (with the wrong hairstyle for the time, but...). It's there; probably not on DVD EVER or possibly video, but you can find it.
Needs a New Soundtrack -- Otherwise Fine
gavin69429 July 2012
The movie tells the biography of the gangster Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Fabian) who started his career young aged when he saw his father die and sought out revenge by killing his murderer during a fight.
This film is so historical inaccurate, it almost does not deserve to use the name of Charles Floyd. But then, it is so entertaining, that I think it earned this privilege. And, heck, it is more factual than many uses of Al Capone in movies and books, so in comparison this is a documentary!
Seriously, though, it is a pretty good film. Bank robberies, fights, a pretty food food fight scene (my favorite part of the film). What was holding it back? The music. The music was just too 1970s to really be appreciated today, and there was absolutely no need to use the same song four or five times in the movie. If this ever gets a decent DVD release, I hope someone tweaks the soundtrack.
That being said, a fine addition to the Larry Buchanan filmography. And you thought he only made cheesy horror and science fiction!
This film is so historical inaccurate, it almost does not deserve to use the name of Charles Floyd. But then, it is so entertaining, that I think it earned this privilege. And, heck, it is more factual than many uses of Al Capone in movies and books, so in comparison this is a documentary!
Seriously, though, it is a pretty good film. Bank robberies, fights, a pretty food food fight scene (my favorite part of the film). What was holding it back? The music. The music was just too 1970s to really be appreciated today, and there was absolutely no need to use the same song four or five times in the movie. If this ever gets a decent DVD release, I hope someone tweaks the soundtrack.
That being said, a fine addition to the Larry Buchanan filmography. And you thought he only made cheesy horror and science fiction!
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