cult film freak: THE GREAT TEXAS DYNAMITE CHASE AKA DYNAMITE WOMEN

year: 1976 cast: Claudia Jennings, Jocelyn Jones, Johnny Crawford, Alice Friedland rating: ***1/2

Move over Bonnie and Clyde… The Dynamite Girls are here to stay! Claudia Jennings stars as Candy Morgan, a backwoods girl whose farming family goes broke. She takes to the road with a box of dynamite to stick up banks. She meets ex bank teller (from her first job) Elle-Jo, played by the wide-eyed Jocelyn Jones, and the duo go from bank to bank with gusto.

What makes this Roger Corman produced exploitation stand out is the clever robbery schemes. Not only do the girls use dynamite sticks and a lighter instead of the typical gun in the face, they think up ways to trick their heist victims: by acting like hostages or customers.

When they eventually meet up with Johnny Crawford’s boy toy Slim, becoming their getaway driver and a sexual outlet for Elle, the film’s duel-charm fades a bit...

A previous scene as Candy screws a handsome farmer for dynamite provides the kind of gratuitous simplicity liken to a porno flick (which this isn’t… but the template remains). And the music's goofy and cartoonish, sounding like a bad last minute addition.

But it’s the action scenes that really matter: car chases that, like in the classic bank robbery films, never let up. And two actresses with terrific chemistry: Jennings the tough leader and Jones her loyal partner in so many crimes. It’s no wonder the best scenes have them hanging out without anyone else around.