Sam Adler
This flick is cool, daddio. I agree with another reviewer that the Shelley Manne bebop score alone makes it worth watching, but there's a lot more. The acting ranges from fascinatingly bad to surprisingly good (well maybe good is an exaggeration; maybe "convincing"?). Good-looking cast. The screenplay isn't half bad. It moves along at a nice pace. Has a noirish quality. The moll's makeup job! The gang leader's "understated alpha male" shtick: he's a total control freak--renames one gang member "boy", god forbid you should make a peep while he's listening to classical music. Also affects a James Cagney-like style of speaking. So much more to savor.
stevenfallonnyc
T-Bird gang is a fun quick one from the 50's, complete with hip talk and beat music. Despite the title and some descriptions, this is definitely not a car movie at all, and especially not a hot-rod movie. The title of the film really just relates to the white T-Bird that Alex, the brains of the criminal gang, drives and that car is hardly even in the movie at all! But it's an OK flick about a young man who infiltrates a local gang to get to the killer of his dad, a cop. There are some dull sequences where nothing much happens and there are some pretty girls too. It all comes down to not exactly the ending you thought would happen, but something similar.The leader of the gang does a few funny things, such as spill milk on the dress of his "moll" because she was laughing too much, and boss his workers around by giving sudden orders and snapping his fingers. The rest of the cast isn't bad and they probably had a good time making this movie. Definitely a fun way to spend 65 minutes.
Michael O'Keefe
John Brinkley co-writes and stars in this very low-budget crime drama. Brinkley plays Frank Simmons/Frank Minor a teenager, who is still reeling from his policeman father's death. He vows to find who murdered him. Frank goes undercover and joins a gang led by Ed Nelson, who drives a T-Bird to each of the robberies he plans. His number two man is Raymond(Tony Miller), who is suspicious of Frank from the get-go. Frank's cover is blown just as the gang is busted up. Raymond changes his mind about Frank and "takes care" of Nelson for him. Acting is pretty horrible. But this flick is bad enough to get a laugh or two. Also in the cast: Pat George, Coleman Francis and Nola Thorp. Miller is the co-writer and Roger Corman serves as uncredited producer.
wallyglb
The T-Bird Gang, a Fifties masterpiece, is one of my all-time guilty pleasure classics. I watch it at least once a month and have never stopped discovering new aspects of its scope and grandeur. Vic Tayback is outstanding in a minor role.
AD
