Gloria (1980)

An accountant (Buck Henry), who works for the Mafia, and his family are marked for assassination when the mob realizes the accountant has been cooperating with the FBI. The accountant's wife (Julie Carmen) asks her neighbor, a middle aged ex-gangster moll named Gloria (Gena Rowlands), to take her children, only one (John Adames), a seven year old agrees to go. Once the mob discovers Gloria has the child, she is targeted too and from then on, she and the boy are on the run. Directed by John Cassavetes (A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE), this is a rare foray into mainstream cinema by the cinema verite film maker. He displays an aptitude for thrillers that one wouldn't ordinarily suspect. Cassavetes' muse, his wife Rowlands, gives a powerhouse performance and in her stylish Emanuel Ungaro wardrobe, she holds the screen with the magnitude of a Davis or Stanwyck. The child actor, John Adames, is problematic. he has a terrific face for the movies but he's a very weak actor and his line readings are often amateurish. Bill Conti provides one of his very best scores. With Lawrence Tierney and Tom Noonan. Remade (poorly) in 1999 by Sidney Lumet with Sharon Stone as Gloria.