Gangster flick Machine-Gun Kelly provided a young Charles Bronson with his first lead role. Bronson's path to stardom on the big screen was a long one, with the actor starting out with roles on shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and movies such as House Of Wax. He rose to prominence during the 1960s with supporting roles in ensemble epics like The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen. Towards the end of the decade he started working in Europe, with his iconic status cemented by his role as Harmonica in Sergio Leone's Western Once Upon A Time In The West.
During the early 1970s he started regular collaborations with director Michael Winner, including films like The Mechanic alongside Jan-Michael Vincent. Charles Bronson eventually became a movie star in the U.S. at the age of 54 thanks to Winner's controversial thriller Death Wish, playing an ordinary man who becomes a vigilante on the streets of New York when his family is viciously attacked. The film is a landmark of the genre, though it also typecast the actor in the action genre, including four Death Wish sequels, 10 To Midnight and Murphy's Law.
During the 1950s Charles Bronson was still finding his feet, with legendary b-movie producer and director Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) casting him in the title role of Machine-Gun Kelly. This was Corman's first foray into the gangster genre and was loosely based on the life of the real George "Machine Gun" Kelly, who had a fondness for Thompson machine guns. Corman regular Dick Miller was first in line for the role, but Corman opted for the relatively unknown Bronson.
Machine-Gun Kelly follows the tough-talking gangster and his gang, which includes girlfriend Flo (Susan Cabot), as they pull off splashy robberies while being chased by the law. Like all of Corman's other productions the shoot was fast and cheap, with the movie being filmed in around ten days. Bronson is very well-suited to the lead character, with Kelly being full of bluster but unlike most of the star's later roles, he's secretly riddled with insecurity and deathly afraid of being captured.
Machine-Gun Kelly received surprisingly good reviews upon release, with Roger Corman feeling the movie's success is what launched Bronson's career overseas; the two men never worked together again, however. The movie was a clear sign of the young Charles Bronson's charisma onscreen, though it would take a few more years for him to appear in higher-profile projects.