Gun moll#In fiction

{{short description|Female companion of a male criminal}}

{{About|2=the 1938 film|3=Gang Smashers{{!}}Gang Smashers}}A gun moll is early 1900s slang for the female companion, girlfriend or mistress of a male professional criminal or mob leader. Some gun molls were themselves gangsters and they were accomplices in criminal activities.File:BonnieParkerCigar1933.jpg's pose with a cigar and a revolver cultivated her portrayal in the press as a 'cigar-smoking gun moll'.]]

Terminology

They may also be called a gangster moll, gangster's moll or mob moll.

"Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ganef (גנבֿ).{{citation|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=gun+moll|title=gun moll|work=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company|year=2019}} "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for a woman prostitute{{citation|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=moll|title=moll|work=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company|year=2019}} or it may be the "second element from nickname of Mary, used of disreputable females since early 1600s."

{{cite web |author= |date= |title= Gin moll|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gun%20moll |website=www.etymonline.com |location= |publisher=EtymOnline |access-date=8 March 2025}}

Historical examples

{{example farm|section|date=July 2019}}

File:Helen Julia (Buda) Godman -1919.jpg

Notable gun molls (and the men they were associated with) include:

In fiction

File:Gang Smashers Poster 1938.jpg, also known as Gun Moll, is about racketeering in Harlem.]]

In film noir movies about crime, the gangster's moll is usually an attractive, blonde — often a variant of the bimbo stereotype — who may be a former showgirl. The gangster often uses the moll as a "trophy" to boost his status.

Examples include:

See also

References

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