Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot of fun.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I suppose that I'm a sucker for films of this "sexy bank robbers on the run" category, but I found, to my great surprise, that I really enjoyed this minor entry to the genre. Viewers will no doubt be reminded of earlier films such as "Gun Crazy," Bonnie and Clyde" and "Butch Cassidy...," and of course the later "Thelma and Louise," as this movie enfolds. All those others are certainly superior films, but "Texas Dynamite Chase" still has a lot going for it. Claudia Jennings and Jocelyn Jones make for one sexy team, and the twangy/jangly honkytonk music, authentic-looking locations and credible script make for a very realistic experience. The only thing I had a hard time believing, actually, is just how far these gals get in their bank-robbing spree. The picture also concludes very surprisingly; I certainly did not see that one coming! Despite Danny Peary's comments to the contrary in his book "Cult Movies 2," I found Jennings' performance to be very good, indeed. What a shame that we lost her to a car accident shortly after this picture was made. Her sad real-life fate only makes the high-speed car chases in this film all the more affecting.

Women have always had it bad in low-budget exploitation films. In the olden days they were relegated to merely looking pretty and screaming a lot as the monster or villain pawed them and the male hero rushed to the rescue. In more modern, "post-feminist" times they get to wield guns and use karate to beat up musclebound guys (who strangely never seem to know karate themselves), but the actresses in these things don't look like they could even fight off the sleazy Hollywood producers that cast them (and they probably didn't try too hard) and it's a wonder they can even wield their over-sized, silicone breasts let alone a submachine gun.70's drive-in queen Claudia Jennings was unique among exploitation actresses. She was a Playboy Playmate who could actually act (and not just in the Pamela Anderson sense of the word). Physically she could have passed for one of Charlie's Angels, but she had a tomboy-ish, trailer-trashy quality that made her completely believable packing a gun (or, in this movie, a stick of dynamite) while still managing to look sexy as hell in her typical outfit of short-shorts and a skimpy halter top. Regrettably, she made only a few films before her tragic death in the late 70's (and many of these performances were marred by her off-screen substance abuse). Along with "Gator Bait" and "Roller Derby" this was one of Jenning's most famous roles.The plot's pretty simple--it's a typical post-"Bonnie and Clyde", Roger Corman school "criminals-on-the-lam" knock-off with The two Great-looking girls (Jennings and Jocelyn Jones) from Texas pulling off a string of bank robberies using Dynamite while the cops Chase them. In between jobs they take time out to roll in the hay with some random guys (strip miners, hotel porters, etc.) or have a naked three-way with their amiable male accomplice (who you just know is going to come to a bad end, but you just can't feel too sorry for him). It ends on a pretty tragic and cynical note like these kind of flicks tended to do. It would pretty much be a total waste of time if not for Claudia Jennings. See it so, if nothing else, you can see what the fuss was about.

Occasionally sexy but unexceptional, routine programmer about two female bank robbers (who also pick up an amiable guy along the way and make him their partner). The movie looks flat (it's no surprise that the director later worked almost exclusively on TV flicks) and is full of implausible situations staged to move the story along, but the cast at least makes it tolerable. (**)

Whatever legend this film has that is positive definitely is not deserved. Thing is, this movie just blows. It fails to even be an entertaining bad movie. It's just a boring, horribly acted bad flick.Sure, it's got Claudia Jennings, and she's probably the only reason this film hasn't been completely forgotten about. But if you haven't seen this film in a while, you may have forgotten that even she doesn't look too hot in it - even when she's wearing her Daisy Dukes, she just looks like basic unattractive white trash from the backwoods, not sexy at all. Same with her partner. The film has no sex appeal.There's no big 'chase' either. You never see the effort to track down the girls (and their male friend who joins up). There's not even a decent car chase - the one chase in the film doesn't stand up at all to other 70's schlock film chases. Even "Bobby Jo and The Outlaw" had a much better car chase (and it was a far more entertaining film).Poor acting, poor action, almost no story, virtual complete boredom here. The only reason I can suggest for someone to seek this film out, is if they have a Claudia fetish, and don't mind looking at her even though she dosn't look too good here.