''Big Bad Mama'' is a 1974 American action-crime-
sexploitation comedy movie produced by
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
, starring
Angie Dickinson
Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
,
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
, and
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', '' Top Gun'', '' A ...
, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. This movie is about a mother, Wilma (played by Dickinson), and her two daughters, Polly (Robbie Lee) and Billie Jean (Susan Sennett), who go on a crime spree. After the mother unexpectedly falls in love with a bank robber it all ends, with tragic consequences. ''Big Bad Mama'' became a
cult hit
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...
and was followed by a sequel, ''
Big Bad Mama II
''Big Bad Mama II'' is a 1987 American action–crime– sexploitation comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jim Wynorski, starring Angie Dickinson, Robert Culp, Danielle Brisebois and Julie McCullough. While it has been identified as a ...
'', in 1987.
Plot
In Texas in 1932, after stopping her youngest daughter's wedding, Wilma McClatchie (Dickinson) takes over her late lover's
bootlegging business, but gets caught while doing the delivery route with her two daughters. After handing over all her money and her 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 her daughters, Polly (Robbie Lee) and Billie 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.
During a subsequent con, Wilma meets the refined yet dishonest gambler William J. Baxter (Shatner) and falls for him. He joins the group and becomes Wilma's 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 hopes of getting rich off the ransom. When the ransom is paid, federal agents who had been tracking them arrive with the police.
Baxter is captured, but Wilma, Polly, and Billie Jean escape with the suitcase full of money, and Diller stays behind, providing cover with his
Tommy gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...
, which he uses to kill the handcuffed Baxter, who had been working as an informant with the agents. As the three women drive off, the mortally wounded Wilma's bloodied left arm is seen hanging down on the left side of the car.
Cast
*
Angie Dickinson
Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
as Wilma McClatchie
*
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', '' Top Gun'', '' A ...
as Fred Diller
*
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
as William J. Baxter
* Robbie Lee as Polly McClatchie
* Susan Sennett as Billie Jean McClatchie
*
Noble Willingham
Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. (August 31, 1931 – January 17, 2004) was an American television and film actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in ''Walker, Texas Ranger ...
as Uncle Barney
*
Sally Kirkland
Sally Kirkland (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...
as Barney's woman
*
Dick Miller as Bonney
*
Joan Prather
Joan Prather is an American actress, best known for her role as Janet McArthur Bradford (wife of David) in ''Eight Is Enough''.
Early life
Prather was born in Dallas, Texas. Prather first began acting in grade-school stage productions, and wa ...
as Jane Kingston
*
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano Sr. (November 16, 1922 - May 15, 1994) was an American actor. In a career spanning 46 years, he was perhaps best known for playing cowboys, villains, and Abraham Lincoln. Dano also provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronic L ...
as Rev. Johnson
Production
The movie is a loose follow-up to 1970's ''
Bloody Mama
''Bloody Mama'' is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman and starring Shelley Winters in the title role, with Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert Walden, Alex Nicol, and Robert De Niro in supporting roles. It was very lo ...
'', which starred
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...
in the title role. That film was produced and directed by
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
, who produced Big Bad Mama. Big Bad Mama is not a sequel (as Mama died in the original) or a remake. However, the core themes of a criminally active mother who shoots a tommy gun, has a strong sexual appetite, and is questioningly close to her grown children - two young ladies in this movie, four adult men in the previous one - are repeated.
The movie 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 nonessential crew to be removed during his sex scene with Dickinson.
[Chris Nashawaty, ''Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses - Roger Corman: King of the B Movie'', Abrams 2013, p. 141]
Much of the bluegrass music for this movie was written by
David Grisman. It was played by the Great American Music Band, and recorded and mixed by Bill Wolf.
Home media
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's Cult Classics'' collection.
On March 30, 2016, Shout! Factory released ''Big Bad Mama'' on Blu-ray as a solo release. This Blu-ray is a BD/MOD (Blu-ray disc, manufactured on demand) release. It was announced on the Home Theater Forum, UHD Blu-ray/Blu-ray Forum.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Bad Mama
1974 films
1970s crime action films
1970s action adventure films
1970s action comedy films
1970s crime comedy films
1974 comedy films
New World Pictures films
Films set in 1932
Films set in Texas
American crime action films
Films directed by Steve Carver
American action adventure films
American sexploitation films
American action comedy films
American crime comedy films
Girls with guns films
Films produced by Roger Corman
1970s English-language films
1970s American films