What 1950 film noir was originally released under the title Deadly Is the Female? The answer is Gun Crazy.
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis, Gun Crazy stars Peggy Cummins and John Dall as Laurie Starr and Bart Tare, a couple whose shared fascination with firearms leads them into a crime spree. Bart is an exceptionally skilled shooter but initially resists killing; Laurie is more ruthless and repeatedly pushes their robberies toward violence.
The original title, Deadly Is the Female, was used from the film’s January 1950 premiere until March, when producers changed it to Gun Crazy. The new title was considered a better reflection of the film’s gun-centered characters and sensational crime story. The film was based on a 1940 Saturday Evening Post story by MacKinlay Kantor.
Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Millard Kaufman because Trumbo was blacklisted in Hollywood. The film later became celebrated for its mobile camera work, especially an extended robbery shot from inside a moving car. In 1998, the Library of Congress selected Gun Crazy for the National Film Registry.