Cry Baby Killer Reviews

The importance of executive producer Roger Corman is once again displayed in this picture which casts a 21-year-old Jack Nicholson in his first movie role. While his character of Jimmy is thinly conceived, it is brought to life by the skillful Nicholson. Confronted by two brass-knuckled toughs, a gun-wielding Jimmy lays the pair out and then flees to a nearby drive-in. He barricades himself in a storeroom, taking three hostages--a janitor, a woman, and her child. Police and friends try to talk Jimmy into surrendering while the crowded drive-in becomes a profitable carnival. As the number of spectators increases, a television news team arrives, providing a morbid look at American voyeurism, as well as its consumerism. To the popcorn-eating crowd Jimmy's ordeal has become an entertainment more satisfying than the drive-in screen--a lift from the basic theme of THE BIG CARNIVAL. The bloodless end may be a letdown but it is in keeping with the film's style. Corman can be spotted as a news cameraman on top of a van, and Mitzi McCall also plays a bit. "Cry Baby Cry" is dutifully crooned by Dick Kallman. Overall, this is a fine example of Corman's no-cost production, and a must-see for Nicholson devotees.