Rating: 
Summary: A must for Angie fans
Review: Apart from perhaps Dressed to Kill, this is Angie Dickinson's finest moment on film. A satisfying mix of humor, suspense, drama, and touching at moments. Of course, there is also plenty of flesh, including from Angie herself. A classic.
Rating: 
Summary: What the #%*@? Only for low IQ individuals!
Review: Friends! How can anyone give this more than one star?? This movie is a piece of crap!!! Wake up, get a life, and see about finishing high school!
Rating: 
Summary: Cheap exploitative campy trash, BUT....
Review: Hullabaloo was about Angie Dickinson in one of her best nude scenes. This movie has few redemming social values, other than it's shot pretty good, and it has a weak plot and some beautiful women, including a former supporting actress from "Eight is Enough," Ms. Dickinson, and even "Captain Kirk." But, I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good period campy movie...
Rating: 
Summary: It's Good Trashy Fun and We get to see What all the....
Review: Hullabaloo was about Angie Dickinson in one of her best nude scenes. This movie has few redemming social values, other than it's shot pretty good, and it has a weak plot and some beautiful women, including a former supporting actress from "Eight is Enough," Ms. Dickinson, and even "Captain Kirk." But, I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a good period campy movie...
Rating:
Summary: Better than it ought to be
Review: I consider myself well schooled in low budget schlock from various film genres. Watching cheesy films is an acquired taste, one not easily cultivated overnight. Even with some knowledge about who makes these types of films under my belt, I still stumble over major contributors to the clunker movie catalogue and wonder why I haven't spent time with these delicacies before now. Roger Corman is my latest discovery. I admit I have heard of Corman before in reference to the spate of Vincent Price horror classics that emerged in the 1960s, along with a few other films he made over the course of his career, but until now I never saw many of them. This guy is a giant of the low budget film, producing or directing some 500 plus movies in the last forty years. He's still going strong as far as I know, and never limits his output to one particular genre; he's made westerns, horror, action, drama, and science fiction films with seeming ease. Moreover, according to the bio on this DVD, Corman helped launch the careers of numerous Hollywood bigwigs. If "Big Bad Mama" is any indication, I will continue to spend a lot of time with this filmmaker's projects in the near future.
"Big Bad Mama" is a sort of feminist reinterpretation of those movies about Depression era highway outlaws; it's "Bonny and Clyde" with lipstick and long tresses. Angie Dickinson plays Wilma McClatchie, a mule headed, dirt poor Texas woman with a temper and a desire to better her conditions. Life hasn't been easy for Wilma, not with two young daughters to raise in a ramshackle cabin out in the sticks. What's a woman to do during these tough times? Why, strike up a relationship with local bootlegger Barney (Noble Willingham), of course! But when the wedding ceremony of one of Wilma's daughters goes horribly awry, and Barney perishes in a shootout, Wilma is left holding several unpleasant bags. The Feds involved in bringing down Barney, led by Bonney (Richard Smith), now set their sights on Wilma and her kids. Unfortunately, McClatchie plays right into their hands by taking over Barney's illicit liquor operation. At some point, Wilma decides she's had enough of being poor and decides to hit the road in search of ill-gotten gains. She takes her two lascivious daughters, Polly (Robbie Lee) and Billy Jean (Susan Sennett), along for the ride. And why not? If you're going to embark on a crime spree, you may as well make it a family affair.
Problem is, Wilma cannot escape the lure of sleazy, good for nothing men. She first hooks up with wanted criminal Fred Diller (Tom Skerritt), and quickly consummates their partnership the old fashioned way. Then conman extraordinaire William Baxter (William Shatner) enters the picture, and Wilma brings him into the fold as well. The resulting jealousy between Diller and Baxter, along with a most unusual relationship struck up between Diller and Wilma's daughters, will certainly lead to dangerous tensions within the gang. Despite these internal stresses, Wilma continues to plot the next big score. The gang finally stumbles upon the perfect scheme; they will infiltrate a soiree thrown by a bunch of rich folks and kidnap one of them. McClatchie and her compatriots succeed in abducting Jane Kingston (Joan Prather), but the plan fouls up when Diller decides to get up close and personal with the hapless heiress. Then Baxter pulls a fast one. Then the cops and the G-men close in. Cue gunfire and crashing cars. Roll credits. Who will live and who will perish? Surprisingly, you'll actually care about the answer to that question while watching "Big Bad Mama."
I've seen several Corman classics now, and "Big Bad Mama" ranks as one of the better ones. First, you've got a solid cast filling all the main roles. Dickinson not only looks fantastic, but she believably portrays a poor woman looking out for her own with nothing to lose. Tom Skerritt, an actor I've never liked in anything, actually manages to avoid annoying me as the murderous and jealous Fred Diller. As for Shatner, well, he's probably at his most restrained here in a role requiring him to talk softly in oily tones. I got a kick out of the daughters. Both of them are so far over the top that you can't help but laugh at their antics. Be sure and keep an eye open for their dancing routine at the local veteran's get together. Is anyone as dense as these two airheads? Guess so. Thankfully, the performances unfold against the second important element that makes "Big Bad Mama" a lot of fun, namely the film's great atmosphere. While I imagine plenty of anachronisms plague the movie, I thought the 1930s props looked way better than I expected to see in a low budget picture. Finally, you really do get an opportunity to see Angie Dickinson take a few risks, so to speak, but you'll miss it if you blink. Considering what the actress had to do in the role, I'm surprised she took the part when she was still a player in Hollywood.
The DVD is standard a standard Roger Corman release. You get the obligatory short interview with Leonard Maltin, and a bunch of trailers. A sequel to "Big Bad Mama," unoriginally entitled "Big Bad Mama II," came out roughly ten years later. While I haven't seen the sequel, which apparently once again stars Angie Dickinson, I can say that the first film is a lot of fun. Great performances, bountiful skin, a sleazy attitude, and wonderfully realistic atmosphere makes this Corman classic a must see for B movie fans.
Rating:
Summary: Times change
Review: I watched this movie in the seventies when it came out and it seemed very, very racy. Now its pretty calm stuff with no more nudity than any contemorary flick. Still good, especially if you are an Angie Dickinson fan. The young girls add some heat but the nudity is brief.
Rating:
Summary: Times change
Review: I watched this movie in the seventies when it came out and it seemed very, very racy. Now its pretty calm stuff with no more nudity than any contemorary flick. Still good, especially if you are an Angie Dickinson fan. The young girls add some heat but the nudity is brief.
Rating:
Summary: Cute and cuddly girls in a silly story
Review: The big three in this movie are Angie Dickinson and her daughters, played by a couple of forgotten nudie teen starlets of the sort that are inevitably linked with '70s sexploitation movies. The girls played their cute innocent sex kitten roles perfectly. All sorts of silly plot twists appear so they can make out with guys, do a strip show, chase each other around in their lingerie, and writhe in bed with more guys. Oh, and incidentally, do the robberies and kidnappings necessary to maintain the primary plot line. The DVD's quality suffers from the fact that it's a faded '70s print, but the DVD special effects seem to work OK.
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment Focus - An Enjoyable 1 hour 20 minutes!
Review: The movie was digitally remasterd which makes the DVD format the greatest ever created. "Big Bad Mama" is not attempting to send you a message just entertain you which it does quite well. Humorous in some areas, serious in others this movie displays a wide variety of emotions as it flows along. Each emothion falling well within the story line which can be said to be a Bonnie & Clyde type. Angie Dickenson does a nice job of acting but William Shatner seems a little ackward especially in the sex scenes. This may be my vision of Captain Kirk interferring with the entirely different character he plays here. The movie is well worth owning and is one that you can enjoying watching a few times.
Rating:
Summary: Classic action and camp
Review: Whoever said Dickinson can't act was WAY wrong. Check out this tongue-in-cheek performance, which manages to be ultimately moving.
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