Dynamite Girls

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.

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.

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.

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.