Big Bad Mama

In the Depression era Wilma McClatchie (Angie Dicksinson) and her two daughters--Billy Jean (Susan Sennett) and Polly (Robbie Lee)--became robbers to make a living. They are joined by bank robber Fred Diller (Tom Skerrit) and con man William Baxter (William Shatner--yes THAT William Shatner). Wilma has sex with both Fred and William and her daughters go after Fred also! Stupid and sometimes dull. The plot is virtually nonexistent, the dialogue is terrible and (since this is a Roger Corman film) it was made on NO budget (and it shows). Still it has frequent pointless car chases and crashes; plenty of female nudity (Dickinson has * sex scenes with Skerritt AND Shatner); Corman regular Dick Miller as a policeman and plenty of bloody shootouts. Despite all this going on the movie comes to a screeching halt for dull dialogue stretches which are far too frequent. Sennett and Lee are terrible actors, Shatner and Skerritt are OK but Dickinson is great. She gives her role her all and looks very good * (especially considering she was over 40). Stupid, bloody and dull but works pretty good on a no-think level. I give it a 5.

46 years after its release this movie is fooling people into watching it. It is simply a collection of idiotic scenes following the pattern of car chase,nudity,comedic criminal actions and repeat. Every minute of Big Bad Mama is atrocious and the main attraction for the movie,William Shatner, doesn't appear till halfway through in a very brief role. Orson Welles once said something to the effect that there are many bad films that tried to be decent but then there are some that didn't even try to be good. The latter describes everything with Roger Corman's name on it. The greatest con artist in cinema history, Corman produced over 400 films in a career that spanned 7 decades. All of his movies are low budget snake oil and a disgrace to filmmaking. Granted a couple are watchable, but anything with Mr Corman's name on it is bound to be the pits of movies.

Crashing cars, splatter guns, sex and nudity—whatever else about Roger Corman, he never made a boring movie, and this one seldom lets up. Take Wilma (Dickinson) and her two hormonal daughters. When they're not sticking a .45 in some moneyman's hapless face, they're stripping down for extra-curricular action. Lucky Skerritt and Shatner, except Skerritt's strictly low-class, while Shatner's a little short in the guts department. But Wilma's got high-class aspirations. So, being a hardscrabble, rural woman, she robs folks out in the open instead of behind boardroom doors. But note the people she robs. All are pillars of what the counter-cultural 70's would call the "establishment". There's the huckstering preacher, the mortgage bankers, the boozy American Legion, and finally the wealthy snobs who think they are the "better people". In fact, their talk about not taxing the better people sounds almost contemporary. Note too that it's the high-class pretender Shatner who double-crosses the others. Yes indeed, screenwriter Norton may have been blacklisted in the 50's, but the political echoes continue There's no room here for nuance or lengthy dialog. These folks don't waste time talking when there's another bank to rob or another car to crash. It's strictly the fast life for Wilma and her brood. Note how Mom sabotages daughter Polly's wedding, saying Polly'll only wind up on a poor farm with a bunch of skinny kids. That's probably some insight into those bank-robbing desperadoes of the Dust Bowl '30's. And so, America's back-handed liking for up-front outlaws like Wilma and Co. gets another jazzy installment.

Not too bad if you come into it without unrealistic expectations. It being a Roger Corman production should be a pretty big clue. The film doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should you. In fact, it edges up toward camp, but backs away. Bill Shatner was, well, Bill Shatner. Angie Dickinson seemed to a little bit amused about the material throughout. She was gorgeous, though, and this film contains her best * scenes. (I found it interesting that she made no attempt to bleach or otherwise disguise her dark pubic hair. Apparently a bottle blonde. Eye candy, nonetheless.) Sally Kirkland contributes one, too, as do the actresses (previously unknown to me) who play the daughters. One of these, Susan Sennett, was also very lovely. It was too bad she did not continue her acting career. According to IMDb, she married Graham Nash, and hasn't been seen much since.

The 1930's where America was at its worst:The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl in the Midwest. Hard times was at its worst, especially for Wilma(Angle Dickinson) and her two daughters BilliyJean(Susan Sennett) and Polly(Robbie Lee). Tired of being poor, they head out West to make a living. They come across Wilma's bootlegging lover(Noble Willingham) at a church to attend Polly's wedding which never takes place because Mama objects the man and his family. They would later find new partners in crime after Uncle Barney gets killed by the Feds. They would me etc a bank robber(Tom Skerritt) and a gambler(William Shatner) . Think they can pull it off? Of course. "Big Bad Mama" packs a lot in this movie: Laughs, drama, romance, even gunfire. No one has been left out of the fun. Billy Jean is the tough older daughter, while Polly is the very hormonally, emotional one. They did give the bank robber some lover while Wilma did the gambler. I heard that this almost got an Oscar nomination, but the silliness gave it a nod. I say, "It's good!" Silly or not, its a great movie. Great for late night viewing. 4 out of 5 stars

Wilma McClatchie (Angie Dickinson) wants more for her two daughters than depression era Texas can provide. With no money to speak of they set off for California to find their fortunes. Along the way, they rob a bank, pick up a bank robber, mug a preacher, steal the take from a racetrack, take on a penniless drifter from Kentucky, kidnap an heiress, and kill a few people. It's just an ordinary cross-county trip. This is one of my favorite of the Roger Corman produced movies. I realize that it's basically trash, but what fun trash it is. Around every turn there's a robbery, a car chase, a gun fight, or someone having sex. These people are ruthless and will do whatever it takes to get the money they desire. Amid the violence, though, the movie is not without it's moments of comedy. The opening wedding service is simply sublime. I actually found myself laughing out loud. The cast that Corman was able to assemble rivals that of the best movies from the 70s. Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt, and Dick Miller are wonderfully cast. But my personal favorite is Susan Sennett, playing one of the daughters. As far as I'm concerned, she steals every scene in which she appears. It's a shame she didn't make more movies.

Angie Dickinson stars in the title role as tough, but sexy matriarch, Wilma McClatchie, attempting to keep her family together during the Depression. After a shoot-out with the cops, Wilma's world is turned upside down by the death of her lover Barney (Noble Willingham). She initially tries to continue with Barney's bootlegging business with the help of her uncontrollable daughters Billy Jean (Susan Sennett) and Polly (Robbie Lee of 'Switchblade Sisters' fame). Things don't work out and they have to hit the road, all the while being pursued by tenacious lawman Bonney (B-grade legend and Roger Corman favourite Dick Miller). A chance encounter with a bank robber, Diller (Tom Skerritt), causes a career rethink, and when the fugitives meet charming con man Baxter (William Shatner), the gang is complete. Will they find true love and happiness and a new life in California? Will they meet their end via the deadly force of Dick Miller and company? Will they all screw each other and say "hot damn!" a lot to the accompaniment of banjo music? Watch this Roger Corman produced campy trash and find out.

Well people I don't think it gets any better than this, Big Bad Mama had it all! I think its front cover really does it justice, I quote, "Hot Lead, Hot Cars, Hot Dames, Hot Damn!" If you can get your hands on this baby, then its definitely worth the watch.

Although it is very campy and a little silly, the plot is fairly strong and the acting, while not Academy Award material, was still very entertaining and good. But the highlight for me was the frontal * scenes with Susan Sennet. What a beautiful young woman and what a fantastic body! If the US economy were in half as good a shape, we'd all be millionaires! She is not only very attractive but a very capable actress and I'd like to see her in more serious parts and films. I've followed her career for many years, and she keeps on getting better and better. Again, BIG BAD MAMA may not be Oscar caliber but it is a very entertaining film and will keep your attention and interest throughout the entire film; get in on DVD today!

Roger Corman-produced junk which struck a chord with audiences in the early years of cable-television. Depression-era Texas widow with two sex-happy daughters plans to rob and swindle her way to California, picking up a two-bit gangster and a penniless con-man on the journey west. Some of the hillbilly dialogue, as well as an early sequence where Mama tries door-to-door moonshining, is very funny (perhaps due to the script contributions of the estimable William Norton); otherwise, there isn't much to this narrative apart from the embarrassing overtures to "Bonnie & Clyde" and Angie Dickinson's intermittent * scenes. Self-conscious, ugly-looking picture flails sloppily away at would-be action scenes with energy but no talent. The direction, the editing, and most of the acting is positively atrocious. Followed by a sequel in 1987. * from ****