The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Michael Pressman

Writers:

Mark Rosin (story)
Peter Macgregor-Scott (screenplay)

Release Date:

July 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They'll steal your heart... and rob your bank!

Plot:

Explosive drama and action when two sexy girls go on a bank robbing binge. |

Plot Keywords:

Spoof | Exploitation | Parody | Chase | On The Run

Cast

Claudia Jennings	...	Candy Morgan
Tara Strohmeier	...	Pam Morgan
Jocelyn Jones	...	Ellie-Jo Turner
Miles Watkins	...	Boyfriend
Nancy Bleier	...	Carol
Buddy Kling	...	Mr. Sherman
Oliver Clark	...	Officer Andy
Tom Rosqui	...	Jason Morgan
Ed Steef	...	Todd
Danny Sullivan	...	Young Texan
Bart Braverman	...	Freddie
Peggy Brenner	...	Bank Teller
Jim Boles	...	Mr. Ralston
Christopher Pennock	...	Jake
Priscilla Pointer	...	Miss Harris

Also Known As:

Dynamite Women (USA)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Moorpark, California, USA

Company:

Yasny Talking Pictures (II)

Okay for its type of film.

Candy (1970's B-movie goddess Claudia Jennings) and Ellie-Jo (Jocelyn Jones, daughter of character actor Henry Jones) are two lively, sexy young women who make their way through Texas, robbing banks but using sticks of dynamite instead of the more traditional method of guns. They take the affable young Slim (veteran singing star Johnny Crawford, who looks a little like Noah Wyle if you squint) hostage and he warms up to them quickly, so for a while they actually become a threesome.

"The Great Texas Dynamite Chase" marked the directorial debut of journeyman-type director Michael Pressman, who as the biography on the DVD says has directed in several different genres (but who hit rock bottom with the second Ninja Turtles movie). Here he has fashioned a fairly typical 1970's drive-in type of picture with two dynamic and sexy stars who manage to make it something worth watching. Jennings, who was sadly lost in a car accident in 1979, and Jones share some chemistry and come off as basically decent folk. It isn't until late in the film that they start killing people - and that's out of necessity.

The similarities to this film and Ridley Scott's 1991 feminist / road-movie "Thelma and Louise" are noticeable. I can believe that this picture might have served as a bit of inspiration for the later picture.

Crawford is a pretty likable "aw-shucks" kind of guy, and there's a few - just a few - familiar faces in the supporting cast: Priscilla Pointer, mother of Amy Irving and this film's producer David Irving, Stefan Gierasch (interestingly, both he and Pointer were also in "Carrie", released the same year as this) and Marvin J. McIntyre, a future portrayer of eccentric character parts in the 1980's.

Jones ended up marrying a guy named Miles Watkins, who has a pretty small part in this.

Like I said, it's fair entertainment of its type - but it's definitely the main players who play a big part in its appeal.

5/10