The Great Texas Dynamite Chase

Late, great 70's drive-in movie queen Claudia Jennings is at her brassy, sassy and smoking sexy best as Candy Morgan, a kittenishly irreverent prison escapee who teams up with saucy former bank teller Ellie-Jo Turner (winningly played by the very pretty and appealing Jocelyn Jones of "Tourist Trap" fame) and goes on an eventful crime spree, robbing banks and breaking hunky guys' hearts with equally joyful abandon. Directed with considerable verve by Michael Pressman, buoyed by a zippy, banjo-happy score by Craig ("Nightmares," "Warning Sign") Safan, further sparked by a cheerfully lowbrow sensibility and featuring a sidesplitting cameo by the ever-haughty Stefan ("Blue Sunshine," "Blood Beach") Gierasch as a stuffy hotel clerk who tries to refuse Claudia and Jocelyn a room, this extremely brash, funny and spirited hoot rates as a whole lot of top-rate infectiously trashy fun. The copious gratuitous nudity by the tall, slender, breathtakingly beautiful blonde Claudia and the more diminutive, but still comely and enticing Jocelyn constitutes as another substantial plus. Overall, this baby is an absolute must-see for Claudia Jennings fans in particular and aficionados of blithely amoral cheapo 70's redneck crime epics in general, which hopefully doesn't rule out too many folks.

Busting out of prison, sexy blonde Claudia Jennings (as Candy Morgan) gets out of her jumpsuit and robs a small Texas bank, with lighted sticks of dynamite. Ms. Jennings is assisted by sexy blonde bank teller Jocelyn Jones (as Ellie-Jo Turner), who has just been fired for "total lack of character." Lingering in bed with men causes Ms. Jones to be late for work. Later, Jennings picks up Jones hitchhiking. The two tightly outfitted women decide to team-up and become a modern day "Bonnie and Clyde" (or "Bonnie and Bonnie"). They meet ex-"Riflemen" cowboy Johnny Crawford (as Slim) robbing a convenience store, and take him hostage. Knowing good gigs when he sees them, Mr. Crawford makes the dynamite duo a threesome.

This is an excellent "exploitation" flick, thanks to the deft comic performances of the stars, and sneaky direction by Michael Pressman. Jennings and Jones are fantastic (both as a duo and a quartet). Jennings, who so sadly died in a car crash, was rumored to be considered for "Charlie's Angles" (replacing the departing Kate Jackson); and here, she looks like a combination of Farah Fawcett-Majors and Shelley Hack. All of these women had a refreshingly natural, sexy look. Lip and breast injections were not needed. Crawford provides a perfect male attachment for the women, with "Dark Shadows" star Chris Pennock (as Jake) and lucky bellhop Eric Boles (as Johnny) also appearing. And, all three men show off their nakedness, too.

The film is a success while it stays fun and sexy. You see a lot of explosions during the running time, but without the relative bloodiness, which helps keep the tone light. Generally speaking, everyone runs away before something blows up. All of this is tossed aside for a scene involving Crawford, Jennings and a couple of cops. Then, the film's tone changes too sharply. Also, the scene (you'll know it when you see it) looks fake. Too bad it wasn't better when it got bad, but when "The Great Texas Dynamite Chase" is good, it's very, very good. Having met Crawford and Pennock, and not mentioned this film, you guys should be proud. Hope it was as fun as it looks. (Hey CP, looking forward to "FB part 2" and your "Big Finish" debut.)

******* The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (7/76) Michael Pressman ~ Claudia Jennings, Jocelyn Jones, Johnny Crawford, Christopher Pennock

One thing for sure, a wild flick like this won't tax the brain. When the two slinky gals, Candy and Ellie Jo, aren't robbing banks in bra-less outfits, they're seducing random guys, or racing somebody's car, or blowing up whatever gets in their way. Need a cup of coffee, just get some dynamite and find a bank. Yeah, this is early women's lib where the girls give orders, not take them-- so move over John Wayne. And guys, you can expect a hormonal surge from the many bed, body, and nude scenes that for sure ain't the 1950's. Speaking of the 50's, is that little Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman (1958-63), now all grown up and playing Slim one of the girls' chosen male desperados. Good to see him picking up a payday. Anyway, things do move along as the production turns LA's San Fernando Valley into a plausible version of rural Texas, especially the back-roads. And brace yourself for a defiant ending that should have those censors of movies past turning in their graves. But I doubt the ending would have been audience accepted even in the '70's had the dynamiters been two guys instead of two nutty gals.

A movie like this is hard to rate since it only compares awkwardly with more conventional types. But for guys especially, the 90-minutes amounts to a slam-bang time passer, while the slam-bang isn't just limited to dynamite or cars.

I suppose that I'm a sucker for films of this "sexy bank robbers on the run" category, but I found, to my great surprise, that I really enjoyed this minor entry to the genre. Viewers will no doubt be reminded of earlier films such as "Gun Crazy," Bonnie and Clyde" and "Butch Cassidy...," and of course the later "Thelma and Louise," as this movie enfolds. All those others are certainly superior films, but "Texas Dynamite Chase" still has a lot going for it. Claudia Jennings and Jocelyn Jones make for one sexy team, and the twangy/jangly honkytonk music, authentic-looking locations and credible script make for a very realistic experience. The only thing I had a hard time believing, actually, is just how far these gals get in their bank-robbing spree. The picture also concludes very surprisingly; I certainly did not see that one coming! Despite Danny Peary's comments to the contrary in his book "Cult Movies 2," I found Jennings' performance to be very good, indeed. What a shame that we lost her to a car accident shortly after this picture was made. Her sad real-life fate only makes the high-speed car chases in this film all the more affecting.

The Great Texas Dynamite Chase features a pretty simple plot: two young women set-off across Texas with a plan to rob banks using sticks of dynamite. While it may be a simple plot, this is one of the better 70s-era exploitation films I've run across. So what makes this one so special? I'll be honest, I'm often turned off by these movies because they can be so mean-spirited, poorly acted, poorly paced, and often quite dull. The Great Texas Dynamite Chase is none of those things. It's really an enjoyable movie.

The biggest plus the movie has going for it is Claudia Jennings as Candy Monroe (in some of the most eye-catching hot-pants i've ever seen) and Jocelyn Jones as Elle-Jo. The pair have incredible chemistry - some of the best non-romantic chemistry I can remember ever seeing. They seem so comfortable together. Everything between the two is natural and easy-going. And while I'm familiar with Jennings (and what fan of 70s exploitation isn't), I admit that Jones is new to me. What a revelation! She has a screen presence you don't often see in someone with so little experience.

Beyond Jennings and Jones, I've got to give a lot of credit to director MIchael Pressman. He filled The Great Texas Dynamite Chase with plenty of action, comedy that works, some well placed explosions, sex scenes that are actually sexy, and a couple of enjoyable chase sequences. He also doesn't have to stoop to some of the typical exploitation fodder like rape and gratuetous violence. Good stuff all around.

8/10