Dynamite Girls

This is an interesting example of a subgenre of seventies sexploitation movies, something one might call feminist jiggle. Claudia Jennings, queen of the B-Movies plays a woman fed up with the system who in a female bonding moment goes on a crime spree with an equally disatisfied bank teller. The movie has plenty of Claudia taking her clothes off and some action too. This is hardly a message movie and has all the flaws of the quickies churned out at the time, but it's entertaining nevertheless in a charming way that the virtual remake, Thelma and Louise, didn't have. The latter was far too self conscious in its gender pieties.

This 1976 female bank robbers exploitation flick is extremely upbeat, with catchy tunes and wide open Texas vistas. Claudia Jennings is sex on wheels as the leader of a trio of bank robbers. Her partner in crime is Jocelyn Jones, and Johnny Crawford plays a "professional hostage". He also gets to share the "bridal suite" with Jennings and Jones. Not bad work for a marginal singer/television actor. It's also good to be the bellhop who delivers champagne to Jennings in the soaking tub. A trip to a fancy restaurant with a nude dancer (Alice Friedland) is memorable, and the isolated cabin shootout offers plenty of REALLY RED blood. The movie delivers, with ample bank robberies, ample explosions, and ample nudity. One final thought. You rarely see a Rolls Royce used as a getaway car. - MERK

Women have always had it bad in low-budget exploitation films. In the olden days they were relegated to merely looking pretty and screaming a lot as the monster or villain pawed them and the male hero rushed to the rescue. In more modern, "post-feminist" times they get to wield guns and use karate to beat up musclebound guys (who strangely never seem to know karate themselves), but the actresses in these things don't look like they could even fight off the sleazy Hollywood producers that cast them (and they probably didn't try too hard) and it's a wonder they can even wield their over-sized, silicone breasts let alone a submachine gun.

70's drive-in queen Claudia Jennings was unique among exploitation actresses. She was a Playboy Playmate who could actually act (and not just in the Pamela Anderson sense of the word). Physically she could have passed for one of Charlie's Angels, but she had a tomboy-ish, trailer-trashy quality that made her completely believable packing a gun (or, in this movie, a stick of dynamite) while still managing to look sexy as hell in her typical outfit of short-shorts and a skimpy halter top. Regrettably, she made only a few films before her tragic death in the late 70's (and many of these performances were marred by her off-screen substance abuse). Along with "Gator Bait" and "Roller Derby" this was one of Jenning's most famous roles.

The plot's pretty simple--it's a typical post-"Bonnie and Clyde", Roger Corman school "criminals-on-the-lam" knock-off with The two Great-looking girls (Jennings and Jocelyn Jones) from Texas pulling off a string of bank robberies using Dynamite while the cops Chase them. In between jobs they take time out to roll in the hay with some random guys (strip miners, hotel porters, etc.) or have a naked three-way with their amiable male accomplice (who you just know is going to come to a bad end, but you just can't feel too sorry for him). It ends on a pretty tragic and cynical note like these kind of flicks tended to do. It would pretty much be a total waste of time if not for Claudia Jennings. See it so, if nothing else, you can see what the fuss was about.

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

This is a classic 1970's sexploitation flick.

Two chicks (sorry ladies, but it IS exploitation) rob banks with dynamite.

That premise alone sustained the film. Putting the late great Claudia Jennings (Deathsport, Gator Bait) in the lead was a stroke (hehheh) of genius. She and her cohort basically drive around in shorts and seduce the local men. Basically, they act like male stereotypes.

Anyone renting or watching this probably did so because the title was a grabber. And because of said title, you HAD to know you weren't getting a multiple Oscar nominee.

Another pizza and beer flick for men's movie night.