The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976)

Now that was fun!, 8 April 2020

The Great Texas Dynamite Chase features a pretty simple plot:  two young women set-off across Texas with a plan to rob banks using sticks of dynamite.  While it may be a simple plot, this is one of the better 70s-era exploitation films I’ve run across.  So what makes this one so special? I’ll be honest, I’m often turned off by these movies because they can be so mean-spirited, poorly acted, poorly paced, and often quite dull.  The Great Texas Dynamite Chase is none of those things. It’s really an enjoyable movie.  

The biggest plus the movie has going for it is Claudia Jennings as Candy Monroe (in some of the most eye-catching hot-pants i’ve ever seen) and Jocelyn Jones as Elle-Jo.  The pair have incredible chemistry - some of the best non-romantic chemistry I can remember ever seeing. They seem so comfortable together. Everything between the two is natural and easy-going.  And while I’m familiar with Jennings (and what fan of 70s exploitation isn’t), I admit that Jones is new to me. What a revelation! She has a screen presence you don’t often see in someone with so little experience.   

Beyond Jennings and Jones, I’ve got to give a lot of credit to director MIchael Pressman.  He filled The Great Texas Dynamite Chase with plenty of action, comedy that works, some well placed explosions, sex scenes that are actually sexy, and a couple of enjoyable chase sequences.  He also doesn’t have to stoop to some of the typical exploitation fodder like rape and gratuetous violence. Good stuff all around.  

8/10