Big Bad Mama
6.4 /10 1 Votes
71% Rotten Tomatoes Genre Action, Comedy, Crime Initial DVD release February 23, 1999 Language English | 5.7/10 IMDb Director Steve Carver Sequel Big Bad Mama 2 Duration Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Writer William Norton , Frances Doel Release date September 19, 1974 (1974-09-19) Cast Angie Dickinson (Wilma McClatchie), Tom Skerritt (Fred), William Shatner (William J. Baxter), Susan Sennett (Billy Jean), Robbie Lee (Polly), Noble Willingham (Uncle Barney)Similar movies Thank You for Smoking , Scarface , Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA , Chak de Phatte , Shankar Dada Zindabad , Gamer Tagline Hot Lead - Hot Cars - Hot Damn! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When Wilma McClatchies (Angie Dickinson) lover is killed by FBI agents, she takes over his moonshine business, but its not enough to support her and her daughters, Polly (Robbie Lee) and Billy Jean (Susan Sennett). With few options, the family leaves Texas for California, indulging in a reckless life of crime along the way. Between holdups and kidnappings, they run afoul of a con artist (William Shatner) and an unctuous bank robber (Tom Skerritt), who effectively seduces all three women.
Contents
Big Bad Mama is a 1974 American film produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. It was followed by a sequel, Big Bad Mama II, in 1987.
Mama and daughters get forced by circumstances into bootlegging and bank robbing, and travel across the country trailed by the law.
Plot
In Texas in 1932, after stopping her youngest daughters wedding, Wilma McClatchie (Dickinson) takes over her late lovers bootlegging business, but gets caught while doing the delivery route with her two daughters. After handing over all her money and ring to the sheriff, they are let go and she begins her crime spree.
While Wilma is at a bank trying to cash a fake check, the bank is held up by Fred Diller (Skerritt) and his gang. In the melee, Wilma and and her daughters Polly (Robbie Lee) and Billy Jean (Susan Sennett) grab some money bags from behind the counter and escape, but not before Diller gets in their automobile and leaves with them. Afterwards, they decide to pair up, and Diller and Wilma also become lovers.
At a subsequent con, Wilma meets the refined-yet-dishonest gambler William J. Baxter (Shatner). Wilma falls for him, he joins the group and becomes Wilmas lover, much to the chagrin of Diller. The gang proceeds with several more heists, each time getting more money. Eventually, they kidnap the daughter of a millionaire in the hopes of getting rich off the ransom. With the ransom paid, the federal agents who had been tracking them arrive with the police.
Baxter is captured, Wilma, Polly, and Billy Jean escape with the suitcase full of money, and Diller stays behind, providing cover with his Tommy gun. As the three women drive off, the mortally wounded Wilmas bloodied left arm is seen hanging down on the left side of the car.
Cast
Production
The film features a number of nude scenes by the three principal actresses, several of which are with the two principal actors.
According to director Steve Carver, Angie Dickinson allowed the crew to remain on set during the filming of her sex scene with Tom Skerritt but William Shatner asked for all non essential crew to be removed during his sex scene with Dickinson.
Much of the bluegrass music for this film was written by David Grisman. It was played by the Great American Music Band, and they were recorded and mixed by Bill Wolf.
Similar Movies
Roger Corman produced Big Bad Mama and Capone. Roger Corman produced Big Bad Mama and directed Bloody Mama. Tom Skerritt appears in Big Bad Mama and Wisdom. Angie Dickinson appears in Big Bad Mama and Once Upon a Texas Train. Big Bad Mama and Big Bad Mama 2 are part of the same movie series.
DVD release
On December 7, 2010 Shout! Factory released the title on DVD, packaged as a double feature with Big Bad Mama II as part of the Roger Corman Cult Classics collection.
References
Big Bad Mama WikipediaBig Bad Mama IMDbBig Bad Mama Rotten TomatoesBig Bad Mama themoviedb.org