T-Bird Gang (1959)

Apple Blossom is in the air. The wafting of funnel cakes and deep fried whatevers loom within the background. It is spring. Rain is falling - the non-residents of Winchester have just told their children that they cannot buy books, but they can buy a $45 stuffed Scooby-Doo, so, yea, I'm a bit cynical. So, why not put in a film that centers is short, ill-staffed plot around a boy getting revenge on the death of his father. T-Bird Gang ushers in an era pre-Donnie Brasco or any other mob related film and slows it down, giving us a mere 65 minutes to introduce ourselves to the characters, watch the elaborately crawl-paced robbery, and end ... well ... rather visionary. What should have taken me the same amount of time it would have for a small television series episode, took me in truth, three days to finish. This was the slowest revenge film ever made, and to add more kindle to the flame, even had a "Changing Reel" moment that lasted two of those sixty-five minutes. Was it needed? Was the film T-Bird gang one that will remain forever? How has this film been released on DVD when I cannot even get other stronger films like LA Without A Map or Quadrophenia on that format? Will all of these questions be answered in this review?



Probably not.



When this film began, I had quite a bit of excitement - this villain named Alex, a corrupt chess player with overly-elaborate heists, uses a white T-Bird to use as his calling card - yet the police can never quite catch him in the act. Thus, this group is aptly named the "T-Bird Gang". Frank's father is killed accidentally one night during a heist gone bad, and Frank will do anything to put this group behind bars ... or the equivalent of that. So, he infiltrates this caper and does some good heists that eventually lead to a very anticlimactic ending. So, with all of these exciting elements - how did this film fail? (read: sarcasm) While there were some solid performances, mainly from the dynamic between Frank and Alex, the tone for the overall film bored me. The elaborate twists and tricks could have been strong, but the lack of dynamic between man vs. man was pathetic. There wasn't any excitement, there never was that moment where the violins shrill and you begin to wonder who really does have the upper hand. It wasn't tense - there was no sense of urgency - these characters moved from one screen to the next without giving us, the audience, a chance to understand.

It was a disappointment. Then, suddenly, to add to the already elongated 65 minutes, there was about three minutes where the reel had to change. How is it that I have watched other films from the 1950 - or even the 1940s - and there hasn't been the need for a reel change. This was like adding gasoline to the fire, it just continued to bore me. This film needed to end. There needed to be a conclusion quickly because I cared nothing for the primary or secondary characters. Then, when the ending did finally happen, it was nothing to write home about. It was dull - again - leaning onto the realm of anticlimactic and just plain sad. I end this review by saying that T-Bird Gang was a concept that should have been well executed, and I don't argue that 65 minutes is too short - we just needed more. We wanted to see the relationship between Frank and his father - the idea of codes with his girlfriend, and perhaps a less dull heist with Alex. I wanted to see his music loving, chess engaged mind at work - and I just didn't get that luxury. This movie was boring - and I don't say that often, but it just didn't work on plenty of levels.

Found in my "Videohound 2005" book - this film - alas - will get the black mark with yellow highlight. Never to be seen again. I am excited about my new book and look forward to what the "T" category will bring.