The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

What makes it different from others?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

I found Claudia Jennings and Joselyn Jones to be real, human and very sexy as outlaws in this one. Despite their difficulties with people, ( and men in general) they smile, are happy, and get good advice how to rob banks with dynamite. This one is in the mold of Thelma and Louise, but does not contain the male bashing, the female copy-catting, and overall depressing theme that Thelma and Louise did.This one did not say, that men are all evil, (except a super sensitive police chief), and women copy men's evil so we get evil all around. This one say's when people are put in bad situations they find a way to cope. It is more of a tribute to the human spirit than Thelma and Louise.I can not say enough about, the affection I had for the Claudia Jenning character. Back when I saw this, I wished I could meet her. However, I was always into the bad girl, back then.

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.

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.

While watching this, I couldn't help but be remind of Thelma & Louise. Granted, this is a B-Movie version of two women on a bank robbing spree with a lot more violence and sex. I think this movie would have been better if they stuck to the somewhat lighter tones the had earlier in the film and away stayed from the heavy violence that came later. It went a little too over the top at the end and it kind of fell apart even on it's own low level. Not even any real good chase scenes that I had hoped for after recently watching other Roger Corman classics, Eat My Dust! & Grand Theft Auto.** (out of 4)