Gator (1976)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Burt Reynolds

Writer:

William W. Norton (writer)

Release Date:

20 August 1976 (Finland)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime

Tagline:

Gator. Come and get him.

Plot:

Agents force an ex con to help them nab a corrupt politician. |

Plot Keywords:

Motorboat | Violence | Sawed Off Shotgun | Sequel | Directed By Star

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	Gator McKlusky
Jack Weston	...	Irving Greenfield
Lauren Hutton	...	Aggie Maybank
Jerry Reed	...	Bama McCall
Alice Ghostley	...	Emmeline Cavanaugh
Dub Taylor	...	Mayor Caffrey
Mike Douglas	...	The Governor
Burton Gilliam	...	Smiley
William Engesser	...	Bones
John Steadman	...	Ned McKlusky
Lori Futch	...	Suzie McKlusky
Stephanie Burchfield	...	Young Girl
Dudley Remus	...	Deputy Pogie, Dunston PD
Alex Hawkins	...	Police Chief
Don Ferguson	...	Bartender

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1978) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Lakeland, Georgia, USA

Company:

Levy-Gardner-Laven

Trivia:

Richard Kiel said in his autobiography that he was supposed to be in this movie. Burt Reynolds had, as a favor, made sure that there was a part written specially for him. In the end Kiel was not available for the part as Bones when they where shooting this movie. Kiel did however recommend his friend William Engesser for the part instead.

Quotes:

Bama McCall: [Bama is introducing Gator to his seven-foot-tall bodyguard] Ask him why I call him "Bones."
Gator McKlusky: Why's he call you "Bones?"
Bones: Because I TELL him to!

Movie Connections:

Follows White Lightning (1973)

Soundtrack:

Gator

Enjoyable, if not essential

Three years after staring in the hixploitation moonshining classic "White Lightning", Burt Reynolds's again portrayed Gator McKlusky in "Gator", but this time he was behind the camera as well in his directorial debut. Anyway, this time around Gator has just been released from federal prison for moonshining when he is asked to help the police nab a crooked politician.

Although not as good as "White Lightning", "Gator" is still a fun little film none the less. First off, Reynolds's is excellent in his role, he give a cool and calm performance that makes Gator a pretty easy hero to root for while watching this film. In addition the car chases are pretty sweet and exiting. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack as well, its mostly filled with a bunch of great country songs that fit well with "Gator". I also thought Jerry Reed gave a most excellent and slimy performance as the crooked Bama McCall. Now, as I said before "Gator" is not as good as "White Lightning" and certainly has its flaws. For one thing, the run time of just under two hours was a bit much and therefore the movie drags here and there, especially towards the end. Secondly, the DVD is in full ("fool") screen until for some odd reason it switches to wide screen format for the closing credits. That's a real shame because this movie was made to be shown in widescreen as the closing credits demonstrate. Despite those flaws though, "Gator" is still none the less an enjoyable film if not essential viewing.