The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (film)


The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight is a 1971 American Mafia comedy film directed by James Goldstone and written by Waldo Salt, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Jimmy Breslin, which in turn was based on the life of gangster Joe Gallo. The film stars Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander, Robert De Niro and Irving Selbst. The film was released on December 22, 1971, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Plot

Kid Sally Palumbo grows jealous of his older, mobster boss Baccala, who has little respect for the crew Palumbo commands. Baccala allows Kid Sally to supervise a six-day bicycle race, and among the 12 Italian cyclists brought into the city is Mario Trantino, a budding thief. When the bicycle race does not take place due to outside interference, Sally is demoted to serving Baccala as a chauffeur, and Trantino stays in New York City to run his own cons, including masquerading as a priest. Kid Sally's mother Big Momma urges him to take down the old, entrenched mobsters in power, but it appears the only fatalities are in his own camp, and the increase in violence draws the attention of the city police.

Cast

According to Irwin Winkler, Francis Ford Coppola asked to write and direct the movie but Winker turned him down, feeling Coppola did not have the skills to make a mafia film. Al Pacino was originally cast in the lead but during rehearsal pulled out to play a role in The Godfather; he was replaced by Robert de Niro.
Shot on location in South Brooklyn, the film was the subject of a Robin Green-written November 25, 1971 Rolling Stone article "Shooting the Gang That Couldn’t" which was described in its subtitle as "a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of a Robert DeNiro movie."
Hervé Villechaize made his feature film debut, but his lines were dubbed to conceal his French accent as he was playing an Italian-American character.
Winkler wrote in his memoirs that he felt the director was more interested in sticking to the schedule than working with the actors. He felt the final film was neither funny nor dramatic.

Reception

The movie received negative reviews. Roger Ebert gave it 2/4 stars, writing: "Maybe part of the trouble is James Goldstone's direction, which tends toward the heavy-handed." and "The performances are too broad, the characters are too many, the plot is too indifferent to the structure of the movie, and - surprisingly - the movie is too sweet." Howard Thompson didn't mince words as he called the film "a tasteless mess" and Jo Van Fleet's performance "terrible." His only praise was for the interaction between Leigh Taylor-Young and Robert De Niro.

Home media

The movie has been released on VHS and DVD.