John Cassavetes may be known for his raw, improvisational indie dramas, but with Gloria (1980), he delivered something entirely different—a gritty urban thriller with a heart, starring the incomparable Gena Rowlands who plays the titular Gloria, a tough, no-nonsense woman with mob ties who suddenly finds herself the reluctant guardian of a young boy targeted by gangsters after his family’s brutal murder. Armed with nothing but attitude and a pistol, Gloria hauls the kid through the hostile streets of New York City, dodging bullets, hitmen, and her own complicated past.

Mike is joined by returning guests Judith Mayne and Andrew Rausch to explore the film’s unconventional blend of gangster tropes, maternal instinct, and Cassavetes’s offbeat sensibilities. We dig into Rowlands’s powerhouse performance, the film’s strange place in Cassavetes’s career, and its legacy as a cult favorite that paved the way for countless “reluctant protector” thrillers.

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