''The Lady in Red'' (also known as ''Guns, Sin and Bathtub Gin'') is a 1979 American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

film directed by

Lewis Teague Lewis Teague (born March 8, 1938) is an American film director, whose work includes ''Alligator'', '' Cat's Eye'', ''Cujo'', '' The Jewel of the Nile'', '' The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!'', ''Navy SEALs'' and '' Wedlock''. Biography Teague was ...

and starring

Pamela Sue Martin Pamela Sue Martin (born January 5, 1953) is an American actress, who is best known for starring as Nancy Drew on the television series ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' and as socialite Fallon Carrington Colby on the ABC soap opera ''Dyna ...

and Robert Conrad. It is an early writing effort of

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...

who became better known as a director in the 1980s and 1990s.

Premise

The film tells a 1930s' crime story of a poor farmer's daughter who leaves for Chicago, where she is sent to prison, works as a prostitute, falls in love with notorious criminal

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...

, witnesses his death, and finally tries bank robbery.

Cast

as Polly Franklin * Robert Conrad as

Louise Fletcher Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress who portrayed the antagonist Nurse Ratched in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, a ...

as Anna Sage * Robert Hogan as Jake Lingle *

Laurie Heineman Laurie Heineman (born August 4, 1948 in Chicago) is an American actress and teacher, probably best known for the role of Myra in the John G. Avildsen film '' Save the Tiger'' and for originating the role of Sharlene Frame on '' Another World''. L ...

as Rose Shimkus *

Glenn Withrow Glenn Withrow (born November 24, 1953) is an American actor. Early life Withrow was born in Highland Heights, Kentucky. He has one older brother, Jeff, and one younger brother, Roger. Withrow attended Campbell County High School in Alexand ...

as Eddie * Rod Gist as Pinetop * Peter Hobbs as Pops Geissler *

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

as Frognose * Dick Miller as Patek * Nancy Parsons as Tiny Alice *

Alan Vint Alan Richard Vint (November 11, 1944 – August 16, 2006) was an American character actor. Vint was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He appeared in a number of supporting roles during the 1970s in films such as ''The McMasters'' (1970), ''Two-Lane Bla ...

Melvin Purvis Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. Given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short, frame, Purvis became noted for leadi ...

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

as Turk (uncredited)

Production

The soundtrack of this film is notable as the first film score composed by

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...

, who went on to a multiple

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning career. Teague recalls, "I was given that script and told to go with it. I didn't really have a chance to mold or change it. It was very socially conscious for an action picture about the Great Depression. I had 20 days to shoot it, and three to edit and a budget of less than a million." John Sayles later said the film "didn't turn out the way I wanted because they just didn't have the budget to make the movie right. I wanted that to be a real breathless, '30s,

Jimmy Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

everybody-talking-fast type movie. It turned out a little more like

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...

. Different movies have different speeds."

Release

The film was not a big success at the box office.

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

re-released it in 1980 under the title ''Guns, Sin and Bathtub Gin'', but it did not fare much better. On December 17, 2010, Shout! Factory released the title on DVD, packaged as a double feature with ''

Crazy Mama ''Crazy Mama'' is a 1975 American action comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, produced by Julie Corman and starring Cloris Leachman. It marked the film debut of Bill Paxton and Dennis Quaid. Plot In 1958 Long Beach, California, Melba Stoke ...

'' as part of the

Cult Classics collection.

Reception

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

called it "my candidate for most ambitious film ever made at Roger Corman’s New World Pictures... Not only do I think this thirties era epic... is Sayles best screenplay, I also think it’s the best script ever written for an exploitation movie." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an aggregated score of 83% based on 5 positive and 1 negative reviews.

In popular culture

In Quentin Tarantino's novel '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'', in an alternate history, he himself had released a remake of the film in 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady in Red, The 1979 films 1979 crime drama films Biographical films about John Dillinger Films directed by Lewis Teague Films scored by James Horner American crime drama films Films produced by Julie Corman Films with screenplays by John Sayles 1979 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films