BONNIE'S KIDS: Noir Bleakness For The Drive-Ins
Arthur Marks passed away in 2019. This news made minimalripples in Hollywood circles but it was acknowledged with sadness by fans of'70s exploitation cinema. Those in the know remembered that Marks had aprolific period between 1970 and 1976 as a director, producer and distributorof films made specifically for the drive-in circuit. A look at his work willreveal someone who knew how to deliver the exploitable goods to his targetaudience while doing so with intelligence, solid production values and a bit ofwit.
Bonnie'sKidsis one of his best efforts as a director, a film that cleverly takes elementsof the crime film and the noir and repurposes them to fit the demands of theearly '70s drive-in programmer. The titular duo consists of Ellie (TiffanyBolling) and Myra (Robin Mattson). Ellie is a 20-something waitress who dreamsof better things and Myra is her mid-teens sister who is just learning how touse her sexuality. When their sleazeball stepdad (a menacing Leo Gordon) triesto rape Myra, Ellie stops him with a shotgun. Ellie and Myra stash stepdad'sbody in the cellar and head for Los Angeles, where their deceased mom's brotherBen (Scott Brady) lives and operates a modeling agency.
Ben's also got a sideline in crime, which Ellie is alltoo eager to get mixed up in. She takes an "errand" for Ben, hookingup with kind but dim private eye Larry (Steve Sandor) and trying to enmesh himin a plot to rip off Ben. This puts them in the crosshairs of Eddy (Alex Rocco)and Digger (Timothy Brown), a pair of enforcers who do Ben's dirty work.Meanwhile, Myra spins her own sinister web by seducing Ben's closeted lesbianwife, Diana (Lenore Stevens). Before these plot threads resolve themselves,there will be plenty of double-crosses and dead bodies.
Bonnie'sKidsdelivers the staples of early '70s drive-in fare - casual nudity, a bit of sex,a little kink, a little gunplay, some killings - but it's unique in other ways.At 105 minutes, it dares to go for a slower burn than its 90-minutes-or-lesscontemporaries would. This measured approach works thanks to Marks' sense ofcraft.
Marks wrote in addition to directing here and his scriptis a tidy affair, carefully laying out a variety of subplots and intercuttingthem judiciously to maintain viewer interest. It uses the extra time it spendsto develop characterizations, often through conversations that have adelightfully hard-boiled touch to them. The plotting avoids trends of the dayto utilize the kind of plotting associated with crime novels of the '50s and'60s. It also evokes film noir with the Detour-styleair of hopelessness it affects in its final 30 minutes.
Bonnie'sKidsis also quite tidy in its direction. Marks got his training producing anddirecting Perry Mason and he putsthat training to good use here: his style is crisp and stylish in a utilitarianway. His choice of camera setups doesn't call attention to itself buteverything looks good and there's a focus on using attractive or strikingsettings as a backdrop for the plot's machinations. When it's time for suspenseor action, he can weave a setpiece together to get the desired effect: a hitthat goes down in a hotel room late in the film is a great example.
Most importantly, Marks casts his film well and getsgood performances from a mix of up-and-comers and industry vets. Bolling showsher chops as a b-movie starlet here, easily displaying sex appeal but alsodigging into the dramatic demands with conviction, and Mattson gives an eerilyconvincing interpretation of a baby-faced sociopath. Old pros like Brady andGordon hold down the hard-boiled end of things nicely and Rocco and Brown are afun baddie team (rumor has it their characters were an influence on the hitmanduo in Pulp Fiction). That said,it's Sandor who does the most impressive work here as perhaps the only puresoul in the film: his slow realization that he's being played and the quietanguish it brings him is unexpectedly affecting.
In short, Bonnie's Kids is a gem from the drive-in era and a compelling display of Marks' skills as a filmmaker. You get all the sordid thrills you'd expect but they're delivered with a substance and a dramatic punch that takes you by surprise. As such, it's a little treasure that deserves to be rediscovered by fans of crime films.