Filmmaking, Film Criticism, Film Noir 

In 1950, Gun Crazy (originally titled Deadly Is the Female) caused barely a ripple ... when it hit movie screens ... Yet over time [it] would prove to be the most innovative and provocative motion picture of its era - a simple genre film but packed with so much cinematic bravura and timeless symbolism, its power has spanned decades ... and influenced countless filmmakers. Without Gun Crazy, there is no Breathless. Without Breathless, no Bonnie and Clyde, Without Bonnie and Clyde, modern American cinema would be entirely different ... the fascinating story of its ... creation, a six-year struggle that involved ... the ambitious, embittered novelist, the clan of notorious 'gangster' producers, the brilliant, blacklisted screenwriter, the closeted gay leading man, the scorned ingénue, the talented, hyper-sensitive 'B' director - as well as the prudish censors who unwittingly helped fashion the first truly amoral movie in modern American cinema. 

Contents:
Gunshots in the heartland -- Kings of Hollywood -- Missing the target -- This gun for hire -- Locked and loaded -- One shot -- Rapid fire -- Gunsmoke -- Spent shells and one live round.