'Gator Bait

The answer to that riddle would be at least more than five, as the male lead characters are clearly too retarded to accomplish anything... Ah, 70's exploitation of the trashiest kind; you hate to love it and 'Gator Bait is unquestionably one of the most rancid, gratuitous and shameless examples available on film. The basic concept of this movie shows a lot of potential and ingenuity, yet the makers didn't seem to care the least bit about that and exclusively contemplated about ways to make the movie even more sleazy and exploitative. Obviously inspired by the success of "Deliverance", judging by the outback setting, the character drawings and the massive overload of banjo-music, 'Gator Bait is a simplistic story about murder & retribution starring the luscious former Playmate-of-the-year Claudia Jennings as a poaching wildcat versus a sleazy bunch of Cajun rednecks. When the cowardly son of Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas frames Desiree for a murder he accidentally committed, a quintet of sniveling weirdies goes into the swamp to arrest her. But when the sexually frustrated hicks then also barbarically kill her younger sister, Desiree prepares from some old-fashioned Cajun justice. The directors' duo Beverly and Ferd Sebastian clearly enjoyed filming Claudia Jennings whilst she bend over in her boat during her poaching activities, but they totally neglected the swamp's potential as a moody setting full of death traps and dangerous animal threats. Despite the exhilarating title, I only saw two alligators and, moreover, not even in action! Desiree's killing spree is monotonous, uninspired and even quite boring and – naturally – every move of her opponents is incredibly predictable. They're typical hillbillies, with names like Billy Boy and Leroy, with incestuous tendencies and trigger-happy gunshot fingers. 'Gator Bait is irredeemably bad, but at the same time charming and a must for feminists. Yeeeeeeeeee Haaaw!

Alligator poacher Desiree Thibodeau (Claudia Jennings) finds herself on the run after a deputy falsely accuses her of killing a man he accidentally shot. Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas puts together a posse to bring her in and relies on T.J. Bracken (Sam Gilen), the dead kid's pa, to guide them through the swamp. After the group rapes and kills Desiree's sister, she uses her bayou brains to get revenge on this group. Directed by Ferd (yes, Ferd) and Beverly Sebastian, 'GATOR BAIT is a pretty enjoyable hicksploitation entry. Of course, most of the enjoyment probably comes from Jennings. Not only does she appear to do all of her own stunts and boat driving, she wears one of the skimpiest outfits in the sub-genre's history. Now I know why my friend Marty recommended it! There is actually one scene about halfway through the flick that is really shocking as well. I won't spoil it for anyone, but it certainly comes out of left field and pushes the sleaze factor completely over the edge. There is also an amusing finale revelation. The Sebastians made GATOR BAIT II: CAJUN JUSTICE fourteen years after this one. I guess that is next on my schedule.

A young deputy by the name of "Billy" (Clyde Ventura) and a friend "Ben Bracken" (Ben Sebastian) are in the swamps lying in wait for a young vixen named "Desiree Thibodeau" (Claudia Jennings) to come along and examine her illegal alligator traps. They figure that if they can catch her red-handed she will agree to have sex with them rather than go to jail. But what they don't figure upon is her ability to evade arrest even though they have a more powerful boat than she does. Not only that but she is also quite resourceful when cornered as she throws some venomous snakes into their boat to aid in her escape. Unfortunately, while Deputy Billy is busy shooting the snakes he accidentally shoots and kills Ben. Not wanting to risk retaliation by the Bracken clan he tells his father, "Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas" (Bill Thurman) that Desiree killed Ben. This results in the sheriff, the deputy and three members from the Bracken clan to venture deep into the swamp to get Desiree. In the process they kill Desiree's sister, "Julie" (Janit Baldwin) which turns Desiree from being the hunted into the hunter. Anyway, so much for the plot. What I liked most about the film was the presence of Claudia Jennings (1970 Playmate of the Year) and the bayou scenery. What I didn't care for were some of the scenes involving the Bracken clan which were too stereotypical and over-the-top. It's one thing to depict a family as uncouth or undisciplined. But the scene where one of the young men tries to rape his sister was simply not necessary. At any rate, while the film managed to keep my attention for the most part, I found it to be a bit too simple and crude for my tastes.

'Gator Bait (1974)

** (out of 4)

Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings stars as Desiree, a Cajun woman who finds herself seeking revenge when she's blamed for a crime she didn't commit, which leads to a sheriff and a redneck family killing her youngest sister. Soon there's a showdown in the Louisiana swamps as the redneck woman shows some true vengeance. 'GATOR BAIT was released in a time when redneck action pictures had a place to be screen on drive-in screens on the weekends. This type of movie could never be made today and perhaps that's a good thing because stuff like this belongs in the 1970s and when viewed today you can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia. The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but fans of this sort of thing should find enough entertainment to make it worth watching. I'd argue that the film's first half is actually a lot better than what follows but those who enjoy exploitation should be entertained either way. I really thought the first ten-minutes or so were pretty funny as the two redneck men go around trying to catch this wild woman. Their little chase made for a couple nice laughs and we also have some rather funny dialogue. From this point on it's basically just the men walking around the swamp trying to capture the girl. I think the film slows down a bit too much here and a little more action or at least less dialogue would have helped keep things moving at a better pace. The performances really aren't all that memorable and this includes Jennings. I'm not sure if the directors asked her to talk the way she does in the film but it was rather hard to understand her. Considering this is an exploitation picture, the lack of any real nudity was somewhat surprising with the Playmate only giving a couple quick shots. The Louisiana settings are certainly a major plus as you really do feel as if you're down in this dirty swamp. 'GATOR BAIT isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly a decent way to kill ninety-minutes.

You know in reality this movie is *NOT* as patently offensive or disturbing as the naysayers may have you believe. It is tasteless, lunk-headed, vacuous and exploitational as they come, but THAT IS THE POINT OF THE FILM. To expect a movie called 'GATOR BAIT in a decorated box featuring a swamp slut bedecked in tattered flimsy Daisy Dukes to be anything other is like, stupid.

So if you give 'GATOR BAIT a try and are dumb enough to be offended by it don't come crying to us -- What did you expect, SCHINDLER'S LIST or THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WIFE? This is "Hickspoitation", a sadly missed sub-genre of 1970s/1980s exploitation cinema aimed squarely at the Drive-In sect where backwoods cracker trash and their inbred, uncivilized behavior is the main draw. The ultimate Hicksploitation film is still DELIVERANCE which escapes the label because it actually is in good taste, plausible, populated by credible character actors and made by professionals. 'GATOR BAIT is from the other polar end of the spectrum of Hicksploitation with more in common with films like BACKWOODS (aka GEEK) or the King of Hicksploitation Horror, Troma Films' MOTHER'S DAY. They are celebrations of poor taste and should only be viewed by audiences who are either immune to being offended, or are looking to be offended by something. Anything.

I did not find 'GATOR BAIT to be offensive but I see how people could fall into the trap of being repulsed by it. There is a theme of misogynistic brutality running from beginning to end, hintings of incest, a couple of near rapes that end in over the top violence, and cracker trash humor that pokes fun at backwoods redneck Cajun misfits with a kind of gleeful abandon. My favorite moment of sleaze in the film is when three cracker brothers eye their buxom sister lustfully as she hangs up the washin' wearing nothing but an old slip, and one of them drawls out "Jolene, I likes the way you're slidin' around inside a' that." One of the other brothers snickers distastefully as he chomps on an apple & watches as his brother tackles Jolene in the slippery barnyard mud and tries to have his way with her. Hooo-wee!!

That is until Pa comes over to give the boy a whuppin' with his bull whip, snarling "How many times do I have to tell you to leave your sister alone?" Pa is played by veteran cult actor Sam Gillman, still wearing the same dungarees and jeans jacket he wore in 1972's BLOOD SABBATH and would later also wear in EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE. He was a marvelous character actor who only required a role for him to inhabit with what he had, and he easily dominates the film as a resourceful, educated cracker who is evil for sure (he kills the county sheriff after a scuffle over some male dominance hierarchy issue) but still has a code of right & wrong that he insists everybody else live by as well. He is the best actor in the cast and brings a kind of authority to the film that is most welcomed.

The other standout character in the film is easily Claudia Jennings' "Desiree", the bread winner of a family of Cajun crackers who make their living by poaching, live outside of the law, yet are "good" hicks compared to the dirt bag rednecks who come after them due to the lying cowardice of the sheriff's son, who frames Desiree for murder after accidentally shooting one of his foul minded buddies dead. After some setup distastefulness and minimal background story the film devolves into an extended hunt of Desiree through the Louisiana Bayous where she kills off the posse of crackers one by one -- or inspires them to murder each other. The acting is atrocious, the violence and sexual misogyny appropriately stomach churning, but that is exactly what the film called for and you can't blame it for delivering.

One curious thing about this community of swamp rats: The guys all look like the toothless Mountain Man from DELIVERANCE but the women all look like Penthouse magazine models, slinking around in tattered, tight cutoff jeans or one-piece dresses designed to show off their pert breasts, to die for figures and doe-like "Say Yes" eyes. Why the rednecks would want to kill someone who looks like a Centerfold of the Year is perhaps best left unquestioned lest the answer point in the direction of the hog pen. In spite of it's outward stupidity and complete lack of good taste (including the musical score, which is like bad Ry Cooder on the cheap) the film is actually pretty well-made, with competent if uninspired cinematography that always seems to find room in the camera angles for a stunning view of Ms. Jennings' derrière as she stretches and strains against what's left of those tattered cutoff jeans. That the film inspired a sequel ('GATOR BAIT 2: CAJUN JUSTICE) is not surprising, and with any hope it will be at least as objectionable, thick-skulled and shamefully entertaining as this. One can only hope ...

6/10: To be watched in the company of loud friends with plenty of beer.