Big Bad Mama (1974)

71% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(4,176 ratings)

Angie Dickinson essays the title role in Big Bad Mama. This Depression-era crime caper casts the future star of Police Woman as sexy Ma Barker type Wilma McClatchie, who forces her nubile daughters (Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee) into participating in a robbery/kidnapping/murder spree. Wilma seems to be… More Angie Dickinson essays the title role in Big Bad Mama. This Depression-era crime caper casts the future star of Police Woman as sexy Ma Barker type Wilma McClatchie, who forces her nubile daughters (Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee) into participating in a robbery/kidnapping/murder spree. Wilma seems to be as motivated by the erotic thrill of lawbreaking as she is by the financial gains. She evens hops in the sack with her daughters, as does her common-law husband, played by William Shatner. A sequel appeared in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Steve Carver
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1974 Wide
On DVD: Feb 23, 1999

Critic Reviews

John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Corman's 'lady gangster' movies exposed more than skin: They essentially pantsed Uncle Sam, organized religion, law enforcement, big business and patriarchal society in general. These were exploitation movies about exploitation...
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
This is a classic Corman drive-in picture combining crime-movie spectacle, period color and sexploitation diversions between the capers...
R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD
Big Bad Mama strikes the perfect balance between exploitative raunchiness, and great low-key action and excitement.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Not bad enough to be either bad or good.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
B-grade shoot'em up featuring Angie Dickinson as sexy gang leader.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
Buena Vista Home Entertainment has released a batch of early Roger Corman films.... They're all trash, but Big Bad Mama is the chicken bone you can choke on.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a somewhat tedious piece of work...
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Dickinson helps a great deal; she looks amazing and is in top form.
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
There's still a rustic style, off-kilter humor, and fluid pacing to Big Bad Mama that keeps the flick entirely watchable more than 20 years after it sauntered into the drive-ins.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
you haven't lived until you've witnessed William Shatner sweating over Dickinson's naked body
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...everybody involved in the production seems to have understood that it was all in good fun.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
High art it ain't, but it sure is fun.
Gil Jawetz, DVDTalk.com
The film manages to explore family dynamics and emotions and still have plenty of time for gratuitous nudity and banjo-scored shootouts. What could be better?

Read all 13 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A knock off of Bonnie and Clyde? Not exactly. This movie has the same machine gun bank robbing action, but the relationships are messier and more scandalous, and there's a good amount of nudity. This movie has something to say about femininity,family, and survival in America… More
A knock off of Bonnie and Clyde? Not exactly. This movie has the same machine gun bank robbing action, but the relationships are messier and more scandalous, and there's a good amount of nudity. This movie has something to say about femininity,family, and survival in America during the depression. I liked it.
Michael G

The trick to enjoying Big Bad Mama lies in paying strict attention during the opening credits and looking for a specific name during the credits -- namely Roger Corman. Once you realize that you're in for more of an entertaining movie than a good one and absolving Big Bad Mama of… More
The trick to enjoying Big Bad Mama lies in paying strict attention during the opening credits and looking for a specific name during the credits -- namely Roger Corman. Once you realize that you're in for more of an entertaining movie than a good one and absolving Big Bad Mama of any great expectations, only then are you in for a good time. All the movie really consists of is a series of random and uncased robberies and excuses to see Angie Dickinson and her daughters naked and taking turns with Tom Skerritt against a backdrop of Depression-era backwoods silliness with a pretty abrupt ending. This isn't to say Big Bad Mama is all bad, said silliness is the movie's most endearing quality (Dickinson being a close second) and William Shatner in a hysterically horrible acting job is also worth the time. And yes, Big Bad Mama is pretty much a Bonnie and Clyde knockoff, but realizing that is the trick to enjoying it.
jay n

low budget, high camp value
Eric B

Obviously aimed to capitalize on the success of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde," this film is hardly on that level but is more fun to watch. Angie Dickinson and her two sexed-up daughters go on a Depression-era crime spree, taking Tom Skerritt and William Shatner along… More
Obviously aimed to capitalize on the success of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde," this film is hardly on that level but is more fun to watch. Angie Dickinson and her two sexed-up daughters go on a Depression-era crime spree, taking Tom Skerritt and William Shatner along for the ride. Their capers are not just the typical bank heists, and are actually quite clever. And the film does such a nice job with recreating period details that you may take this for granted, amidst all the flashy sex and violence. Dickinson has a few nude scenes, and shows an amazing body for a 42-year-old (heck, even 22-year-olds would envy it). Her less curvy daughters also peel, as does Joan Prather (which may be kind of a shock to modern viewers, considering that she's probably best known as David Bradford's clean-cut wife on the TV series "Eight Is Enough").