Bonnie's Kids (1973)

Director: Arthur Marks

Starring: Tiffany Bolling, Steve Sandor, Robin Mattson, Scott Brady, Alex Rocco, Leo Gordon, Max Showalter, Lenore Stevens, Timothy Brown

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Half A Million In Cash Was Missing. THEY WANTED IT ... And They'd Spill Blood To Get It! THEY HAD IT ... And They'd Do Anything To Keep It!

Plot: Sisters Myra and Ellie have finally had enough of their miserable, dead-end lives. When their step-father Charley (the Bonnie from the title being long dead) tried to rape Myra, Ellie ventilates him with a shotgun, and the pair run off to their wealthy uncle's mansion in El Paso. From that point on, the two undergo a transformation in their personalities, and start to enjoy living their lives on the wild side.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

#133 on Drive-In Delirium Volume 1 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

Here's a flick that was ideal for the drive-in crowd of the early 70s.  It's got action, boobs and killin'.  It's an OK flick with enough to keep you somewhat entertained for an hour and forty five minutes, which is long for a picture like this. Hey, it's got Max Showalter in it!

You might recognize him as Molly Ringwald's grandfather in SIXTEEN CANDLES (1984), his last role.  He's hilarious.

Something else that's interesting is the black and white hitman team of Eddy (Rocco) and Charley (Gordon) who look like they could have easily been the inspiration for Tarantino's hitman duo in PULP FICTION (1994).  They were fun.

I also dug the cynical 70s ending. You can tell that the film makers behind this picture were striving for something more than just your average exploitation action picture but despite that, it still feels like it's got one foot in exploitation and the other trying to fit into the Hollywood crime actioner.  It's a lower budget, lower profile copy of THE GETAWAY (1972).  All things considering, they did a pretty good job.