'Gator Bait (1973) User Reviews

Entertaining Exercise In Poor Taste

[Steve_Nyland · 6/10 · 26 December 2006]

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.

A Bit Too Simple and Crude

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 4 June 2013]

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.

How many Cajun hillbillies does it take to change a light bulb?

[Coventry · 5/10 · 5 October 2007]

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!

Swamped!

[GrandpaBunche · 2 January 2008]

'GATOR BAIT is a post-DELIVERANCE backwoods revenge pic that takes place deep in an unnamed bayou, a forbidding environment best avoided by those who don't know its ways, and utterly at home in this seemingly limitless swamp is Desiree Thibodeau (the unbelievably hot Jennings), a barefoot Cajun trapper — in the skimpiest of outfits, including a pair of Daisy Dukes that pretty much doesn't have a butt, and a potato sack blouse that allows occasional glimpses of her mouth-watering assets —who poaches the local wildlife to provide for herself and her younger brother and sister. Desiree's activities are illegal but overlooked by the local sheriff who doesn't care because her family has hunted the swamp for generations, so he figures she's got the right by virtue of ancestral territory. Unfortunately his moron of a son, apparently the town's only other cop, has other ideas, and along with a slow-witted hillbilly pal he lays in wait to catch Desiree in the act and offer her a choice of going to jail or having sex with him and his buddy. The would-be sexual extortion goes terribly wrong, however, as Desiree eludes her pursuers after lobbing a bag full of poisonous snakes onto their swamp boat; as the stupid cop shoots at the snakes, he blows holes into the boat's hull, and accidentally shoots his homeboy in the head. Panicking, he returns to town and claims Desiree killed his friend, so the sheriff rounds up the dead guy's outrageously inbred redneck relatives and sets off into the deep swamp to apprehend Desiree. Operating under the false impression that the poacher is a murderess, the rednecks can't wait to get their hands on her, both to hand out their own brand of justice and get a piece of her swamp-living self.

That's the setup, and from there viewers are taken deep into a swamp virtually untouched by man and made witness to a game of cat and mouse so over-matched that it's like what would happen if a bunch of great white hunters had the incalculable stupidity to mess with Tarzan on his own turf. Desiree may not have the jungle lord's near-superhuman capabilities, but she's plenty smart and knows her way through the bayou like it was the back of her own bootyless shorty-shorts, so it's just a matter of time until she's done killing those gurk- gurks one by one.

During the course of all of this we learn a lot about Desiree's antagonists and swiftly realize just how vile and sleazy they are. The patriarch of the redneck family has a love/hate relationship with his sons, all of whom are at least mildly retarded or just plain mentally ill, and even disciplines the perpetually-horniest of his brood with a bullwhip when he catches the lad attempting to nail his own very willing sister in the mud near where she was hanging the laundry. (Dad wasn't all that irritated about the boy wanting a piece of sis, but was seriously irked at the possibility of the voluptuous girl getting knocked up and squeezing out another dimwit.) The other redneck son holds a personal grudge against Desiree for having had the gall to cut off his manly equipment years earlier when he tried and failed to rape her, and now wanders about with his sawed-off double-barreled shotgun serving as an ever-rigid and potent surrogate penis.

With all of this mess going on there's plenty of bad taste to go around, and once the hunt for Desiree gets underway things go from very bad to that much worse when, after searching for her home for days, the inbred posse locates the place just after our heroine has left on a three day hunting trip. The bad guys stage a home invasion that begins with them abusing Desiree's tongueless little brother, and her nubile jailbait sister ends up in the lusty hands of the sheriff's son and the two inbred brothers. What happens then doesn't go where you'd expect, and is in fact far worse; no joke, when that bit of business happened I actually exclaimed "Oh my God!!!" and I'm pretty hard to shock. It's not graphically depicted, but the idea alone really gets to you, so keep this in mind before sitting down to watch 'GATOR BAIT with your girlfriend.

Which brings me to the oft-cited sentiment that 'GATOR BAIT is one of many exploitation flicks held to be a feminist statement. Lemme tell ya, buddy, the makers of this film simply set out make a movie about a scantily clad hottie who kicks ass on the people who messed with her and her family, but I strongly doubt that capital F feminism was intentionally involved in the creative process. Think about it: you have fine-as-hell Claudia Jennings, a woman for whom the wearing of clothing should have been a punishable by law, traipsing about the fen in gear that shows off her priapism-inducing assets for all they're worth, despite the fact that such gear is in no way conducive to the rigors of marshland hunting and trapping. Desiree is not so much a feminist role model as she is a fantasy wild woman/jungle girl updated and transplanted to a sweltering southern bayou, and as a lifelong fan of such characters I have no problem with that. But don't hand me that feminist over-analysis horse-hockey; Desiree's a forest spirit fantasy made flesh — hell, she even looks like an anthropomorphic fox — and to say otherwise is a more than a tad disingenuous.

Not quite as pathetic as it looks.

[Anonymous_Maxine · 5/10 · 2 April 2001]

The cover of ‘Gator Bait makes it look like a ridiculous, mindless film with few redeeming qualities other than an abundance of inexplicable nudity. While there is nudity in the film (and unnecessary nudity, at that), it is a relatively low quantity of it, and there are even a few elements of the film that were well done – even if extremely few.

The acting on all parts was just awful, but some performances were less idiotic than others. While it's true that the line `Boys will be boys' was uttered in response to an attempted rape, and one of the men attempting to capture Desiree actually SHOOK HIS FIST at her in one scene, it's not entirely the actors' faults that this movie was impossible to take seriously. Nope, even if ineffectively, all of the actors delivered honest performances – it's the SCREENWRITER that should be drug out into the street and shot. And the cinematographer was no genius either. The day-for-night photography was some of the worst I've ever seen – even worse than that seen in Dr. No, which was filmed 14 years earlier than ‘Gator Bait. Also, there is so much ridiculous dialogue in this movie that it becomes a form of comic relief in itself (`Leroy, you pick that boy up or I'm gonna blow yer head off!'). And I better not even get started on Desiree's laughable lines.

It's no secret that ‘Gator Bait is cheese. Everything about the film is ugly – especially those damn actors. Some of these guys are so ugly that sometimes it's hard to believe that they're real people. But despite this, they make for an effective team of angry (and excessively horny) rednecks, and the way that they get picked off one by one by this country girl not only provides an ironic bit of an interesting story, but also illustrates the extent of their collective stupidity. In the final shot of the film, with Pa standing in the swamp, the camera tilts slowly down to his reflection on the water, providing an unexpected hint toward meaningful direction.

But for the most part, this is garbage. You just can't take something like this seriously at all. Let me put it in the immortal words of the great Sam Gerard, `Who's the ugliest, dumbest, most inbred country son of a bitch out here?' Well, whoever that person is, he or she is sure to get a kick out of ‘Gator Bait.

SWAMP RATS

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 8 May 2018]

Desiree (Claudia Jennings) lives in the swamp with her younger brother, sister, and a bad French accent applied to broken English. The law messes with her and she goes Rambette on them. Indeed, this appears to be a forerunner to "First Blood."

I obtained the director's special cut. I will say the transfer was superb considering the quality of film transfers from this era. However my memory seems to recall nude scenes that were deleted from this director's edition, especially those involving co-star Janit Baldwin. If I had to do again, I would go with the VHS.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs. rape, nudity (Janit Baldwin, Claudia Jennings)

A Grade B Movie That's So Bad It's Funny

[globalnomaddad · 3/10 · 17 November 2001]

Gator Bait has outdoor action, WWF wrestling type wrestling scenes, naked women, a sophomoric script, speeding boat races, not much dialogue to confuse the viewer; in short a fine film for the high school freshman male who can get it checked out past the R rating. It is so grade "B" that it is funny. Every once and a while you must see one of this movies just for a few laughs.

Claudia Jennings is the main reason to watch this one

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 12 October 2021]

In this revenge movie, a bunch of pea-brained rednecks try to track down a female huntress in the bayou after she is (falsely) accused of murdering one of their fellow half-wits; this leads to them murdering her sister, resulting in our heroine luring them to their doom one by one in the swamp. This one stars former Playmate of the Year Claudia Jennings in the lead role and she is very good as the no messing, tough-as-nails angel of vengeance. If anything, there's not enough of her and too much of the drooling numbskulls but less can sometimes be more, right? It doesn't truly add up to as much as it promises in fairness - I wanted Claudia to make the backwoods cretins suffer EVEN MORE - but with its good sense of location and appealing lead it does make for a decent watch.

Cajun crapfest.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 18 June 2007]

With its violent revenge theme, backwater setting, and Playboy playmate Claudia Jennings in the lead role, one might expect Gator Bait to be an unmissable 70s exploitation classic. However, with dreadful direction from Beverly and Ferd Sebastian, awful acting from just about everyone, and not nearly enough graphic violence, the movie stinks like a rotting armadillo in a stagnant pool.

Jennings plays Desiree Thibodeau, a 'purty' Cajun wildcat who hunts down the dumb hicks responsible for the violent murder of her sister Julie (Janit Baldwin). Dressed in the shortest of shorts and a loosely buttoned top, the feisty beauty first traps the men in the swamp (by destroying their boats), and then proceeds to exact bloody revenge. Whilst this sounds like perfect trash entertainment, in reality Gator Bait is a tedious, drawn-out series of dull fights, (mostly) bloodless deaths, and unexciting chases.

Admittedly, there are a couple of scenes which occasionally show promise (an early moment of incestuous fun between a brother and sister, the shotgun blast to Julie's cooch, and an occasional bit of welcome nudity from Jennings and Baldwin), but Gator Bait needed a far grittier approach from its makers and a willingness to get real nasty when necessary in order for it to succeed.

Gator Bait is a fun addition to the grindhouse genre that's worth a watch

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 1 February 2024]

I recently watched Gator Bait (1973) on Prime. The storyline involves a young lady living in the swamp with her family. When locals attempt to rape her, things escalate, leading to one attacker's death by another. Blamed for the murder, she becomes the target of the sheriff. She quickly becomes more than the sheriff anticipated.

Directed by Beverly Sebastian (The Hitchhikers) and starring Claudia Jennings (The Unholy Rollers), Janit Baldwin (Where the Buffalo Roam), Sam Gilman (Every Which Way but Loose), and Douglas Dirkson (Footloose).

This is a classic grindhouse picture with enjoyable settings, characters, and attire. It's like a toned-down I Spit on Your Grave, but in the swamp. Classic genre nudity and smoking ladies add to the atmosphere, although the hairy armpits may be a "surprise." Authentic acting and an engaging storyline make it fun to follow. The film features entertaining trap and kill scenes. The ending fistfight is average, but the final scene is great. Overall, I always enjoy this.

In conclusion, Gator Bait is a fun addition to the grindhouse genre that's worth a watch. I would score this a 6/10 and strongly recommend it.

Fine exploitation!

[dcramer-1 · 10/10 · 27 February 2005]

OK, here's the deal, I got sick to death of reading lame reviews of exploitation and Eurotrash films from people who simply don't get it. These films are NOT meant to be compared to the sanitized crap Hollywood sells us.

'Gator Bait is a cult classic for a number of reasons, first of all, Claudia Jenning is hot, secondly, the Sebastians make quality low-budget dark sleaze. Most importantly, though there is little sex and violence in the film (as compared to many exploitation films) this film does not hold back. It rolls along at a good pace and is full of unlikable characters with secrets that are slowly revealed as the film plays out.

The plot is fairly simple, Desiree (Claudia Jennings) is out to avenge the death of her sister... who was killed at the hands of an angry family who were led to believe that she killed a member of their family while all along it was the son of the Sheriff who had committed the crime. It's pretty much a cat and mouse story, with gorgeous and barefoot Claudia Jennings (the cat) hunting down and systematically killing the men (the mice) responsible. In many ways (as was the case with many exploitation films) the film has a strangely feminist theme to it. It turns out that Desiree is the most clever, likable, and capable character in the film. That is the frequently missed point of many exploitation films... the women (the victims of some pretty dumb and unpleasant men) are the most sympathetic and frequently brightest and strongest characters. The whole film has a deep and dark sexual undertone to it, and like most exploitation, it is not for the squeamish or the Hollywood-fed public. This is a film for people who are willing to look into darker corners.

It is well acted, beautifully-shot, with a really cool Cajun theme song ("Jole Blon" rewritten), and plenty of action and outright weirdness.

Better than it has any right to be

[jfgibson73 · 6/10 · 27 July 2023]

Gator Bait is about a woman being pursued for a crime she didn't commit. A gang of men track her through the swamp, but she has the home turf advantage. I really liked the setting--something about the conflict taking place in such a remote area heightened the action. I also liked the simple story and how most of the events unfolded. The performances were very good for a cheap exploitation film--not the usual stilted, amateurish acting, but slightly more naturalistic. I did get frustrated at some of the decisions that the characters made. It felt like they sometimes waited to act just to lengthen the runtime. I thought the movie had a very satisfying conclusion, and I would like to find more like it.

Trashy, ham-fisted 70s redneck drama.

[sonya90028 · 5/10 · 15 March 2009]

Of all the films that the late Claudia Jennings made in the 70s, Gator Bait is the trashiest. It's about a gorgeous Cajun alligator poacher named Desire(Jennings), and her quest for vengeance on the redneck scum, who killed her younger sister.

Desire lives in a backwoods swamp area, presumably in Louisiana or thereabouts. She poaches alligators as a living, and takes care of her two younger siblings. The three are orphans, with no other family to depend on for sustenance.

One day when Desire is out poaching 'gators, she's ambushed by the local Sheriff's son, and his accomplice. The two attempt to rape Desire, and so she leads them on a merry boat chase through the swamp. They corner Desire, and she throws snakes that she caught into their boat. This allows Desire to escape their clutches. But the Sheriff's son accidentally kills his companion with a shotgun, when trying to shoot at the snakes in their boat.

The Sheriff's son blames Desire for the killing of his companion. So then his father, along with the father of the dead guy, launch an all-out hunt for Desire in the swamp. Along the way, another of the rednecks hunting for Desire, goes to her cabin to look for her. Desire's little sister is there, and she's brutally murdered by the redneck. From then on, Desire becomes the hunter rather than the hunted, as she's determined to make the rednecks pay for killing her sister.

Claudia Jennings is her usual voluptuous self in this film. Her hair and and make-up though, are too perfect for her role as a swamp-dwelling alligator poacher. Claudia did have the grace and athleticism, to handle the physically demanding role of Desire. The other actors, except for Janit Baldwin as Desire's sister, are dull and lifeless in their roles. The scenery in this film is decent, and realistically conveys the oppressive atmosphere, of a backwoods swamp.

Gator Bait is a cult drive-in classic, no doubt due mainly to Claudia Jennings being in the starring role. Overall, this movie comes off as being ham-fisted and brutal, in its portrayal of the vicious redneck characters. For Claudia Jennings fans, the film is worth watching. But otherwise, Gator Bait has no other redeeming qualities about it at all.

Down home southern fun

[john-852 · 14 August 2005]

Seems a lot of viewers really don't get movies like GATOR BAIT. It ain't great but it does deliver some back woods fun, with a low budget charm and terrific swamp locations. I'd say the acting is pretty good, especially the redneck family. The film's biggest failing is having Claudia Jennings the star and then mess her all up and never get her clothes off! The nudity comes courtesy of Janit Baldwin and she never looked better than she does here, although her outfits and hair style are completely out of place in the swamps. Also some comments mention rape, well, there is an attempted rape that never gets started before it is halted. This does result in a very unpleasant sequence, but no one gets shot in the stomach ( it's nastier than that ). While the movie has it's flaws ( the screenplay, Jenning's Cajun accent ) it is solid drive in style fun with an authentic, mud strewn setting and crazy, inbred southern rednecks fighting for their lives against an enraged, revenge seeking woman.

Amateur night in the swamp

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 26 September 2017]

Strange, sexy girl down south (Claudia Jennings)--the subject of tall tales among the horny redneck locals--lives with her sister and tongue-less brother in a small cabin on swampland; after a sloppy deputy shoots his buddy while trying to capture the elusive female, he blames the killing on her, causing the sheriff and the dead kid's dirty brood to go after the girl and her family in vengeance. Paltry low-budgeter for the drive-in market seems to take its cue from the hillbillies in "Deliverance". The mechanics of the plot may be old-hat--but they still work (we want to see these 'good ol' boys' get their comeuppance). But if the swamp atmospherics are captured at all, it was probably by accident. The motorboat action scenes are familiar and unexciting, while the movie's primary emphasis is on rape or the threat of rape. *1/2 from ****

Swamp Bait

[a_baron · 2/10 · 11 February 2015]

"Swamp Bait" is a rather pointless exercise in wanton brutality and sexual sadism, the latter being more intended than actual.

Set in the Lousiana Bayou, it begins with a stunningly attractive, scantily dressed redhead caught poaching gators. She causes the death of one of her potential captors, albeit accidentally, and this leads to a manhunt - or perhaps that should be a girlhunt - the attempted gang-rape of her sister, which is halted only by one of the posse shooting her dead, and a trek through the forest.

Naturally, the heroine outsmarts the posse, but what was it all for?

Are these really exploitation films, or are they made simply to portray Southern folk, in particular white Southern males as moronic psychopaths?

The film's only saving grace - of sorts - is a half-decent soundtrack.

worth watching even as it is low on red stuff

[trashgang · 5/10 · 9 April 2012]

It's strange that this flick never got a proper release because it's been hunted down by so many collectors. For me the flick itself still works, it survived time but still it isn't for everybody, it's a pure revenge flick but made in exploitation style. Of course the reason why it is collected by geeks is due Claudia Jennings.

Claudia Jennings her flicks are really searched by collectors but most of her flicks are rare or OOP. The most notorious ones were The Unholy Rollers (1972), Gator Bait (1974) and Truck Stop Woman (1974). She was famous because she started as a receptionist at Playboy magazine. She was discovered by a photographer of Playboy while at work and the rest is history. She became Playmate in November 1969, and later as 1970 Playmate of the year. Jennings became the most perennially popular Playmate of the 1970s. Sadly she fell asleep while driving and died at the age of 29 in 1979.

But of course there are other reasons to watch it, there are a few actors that made it further in Hollywood. Douglas Dirkson (Leroy Bracken) went further to Footloose (1984) as Burlington Cranston. Also worth mentioning is Janit Baldwin (Julie) who is the only one that went full frontal here went further in a few other horrors like Humongous (1982), her last flick and Ruby (1977). The acting was all rather good and the movie never really slows down. Naturally taking place in the south and in swamp area the language is rather dump.

If you think that you will see a lot of red stuff then I must disappoint you. It isn't as sleazy as Deliverance (1972) and it is clearly based on it. But here it's a girl taking revenge on some rednecks for killing her sister.

Beautifully filmed and with a typical southern sound it is still worth hunting down, only available on ex-rental NTSC VHS.

Artless junk.

[gridoon · 2/10 · 7 January 2000]

This film was ineptly directed, badly acted and poorly written. It was artless junk, populated exclusively by moronic and unpleasant characters. But the most depressing thought that crossed my mind while I was watching this film is that, unfortunately, grade-Z exploitationers like this often develop a cult reputation, just because they are so bad and sleazy and amateurish. Any smart viewer will know better, of course.

Cajun style justice!

[GOWBTW · 8/10 · 19 September 2016]

This is the Deep South y'all. No, this isn't "Deliverance", this before "The Dukes of Hazzard", if you're in gator country, you're "'Gator Bait" if you are not prepared. Desiree (Claudia Jennings,1949- 79)is a barefoot poacher who knows the swamps since birth. She and her family have trapped alligators for years. Then a sheriff deputy and friend catches her in the act. They would chase her, and she outsmarted them. She sets a trap. They get it. The deputy gets freaked out. He shoots the snakes, but he accidentally shoots the friend. His father happen to be the sheriff. He lies to his father about the situation, and send the father of the deceased to look for her. The search party looks for Desiree. They found out the place where she lives, and attacked her brother and sister. After they killed the sister, it's a all out war on the search party. But secrets are exposed when the truth is out. And Desiree shows no mercy! Revenge is sweet. When you mess with Desiree, you're 'GATOR BAIT! This is a exploitation that is nice to see. Only the mature should watch it. If you like "Deliverance", you'll this movie as well. 3 out of 5 stars

"Cleatus! Stop Pissin' on yer sister!" "Ye-hawwwwwwwwww!"

[WolfishEyez · 10/10 · 29 September 2006]

Okay, where do I begin? I was walking through my local Hollywood video, when I noticed this movie in the 10 for $10 VHS bin. It looked so raunchy that my fiancé and I simply had to buy it (it was either that or The King's Whore). We interpreted it as "soft-core porn" before our viewing of the movie, but now, we've done a complete 180.

It wasn't classifiable as "soft-core porn," because porn has better dialogue, better acting,and superior special effects. Not to mention better music. Such artistic geniuses in this film's screenplay include Desiree's frequent use of the phrase, "Ye-hawwwwwwww!!!!!", and my favorite line, "I be back in two, three, day." Let's not forget the incredible death of Billy, when he got shot and made that sound like a twenty-year old bloodhound crapping out peach pits. Then, of course, Leroy's death was even better. He got shot in the chest and made a sound like a ninety-year old gargling beer.

How about the spectacular stunt coordinator, who was so proud of his work, that he left his name out of the credits, and the husband/wife director/writer/producer team. You know that they did it all because no one else would touch it with a ten-foot pole.

Let's elaborate more on the Oscar-winning performance of Claudia Jennings, may she rest in peace after the acting sin she committed in this film. This former playboy playmate said less than twenty words in the entire film, and disappointed men everywhere when she failed to get naked in the first five minutes. If it weren't for the potato sack blowing in the wind, most of them would have given up. We did, of course, get to see plenty of Janit Baldwin's thirteen-lookin' year old self as she bathed in the "clean" swamp waters. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI came knocking on my door and arrested me for viewing child pornography.

Then, if the Louisiana Cajun playmate ain't enough for you, let's add in who we called "The perv." In the first ten minutes of the film he was trying to rape some girl in a white dress while she was hanging up the laundry in the middle of the lawn, when his daddy came out and told him to get his hands off his sister. Wow, I wish my family was that f***ed up.

Let's summarize. Blowing sacks, incest and crapping peach pits in Cajun country make this one hell of a family film. I hear Disney is even making an animated version

Great locations in this B-movie

[udar55 · 10 August 2011]

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 rousing redneck revenge saga.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 10 December 2012]

The late Claudia Jennings is in fine form here, displaying all that sexuality and screen presence that made her one of the queens of drive-in pictures in the 1970s. Totally rocking a loose top and a pair of Daisy Duke shorts, she proves to be extremely easy to watch playing Desiree, a 'gator poacher in the Louisiana swamps with a loving sister, Julie (Janit Baldwin, very cute as always) and brother, Big T (Tracy Sebastian). Desiree ends up accused of something she didn't do and is pursued by local cops and an enraged local hick family led by burly and bearded T.J. (Sam Gilman). Naturally, they underestimate her cunning and she soon enough turns the tables on them. The brainchild of filmmaking duo Ferd and Beverly Sebastian, "'Gator Bait" is simply exquisite trash. Shameless, sordid, super trash. The characters are comfortably stereotypical, with Desirees' pursuers a mindless, horny bunch so damn ugly they probably break every mirror they look into. The acting may not have been destined to merit any Oscar contention, but it's still perfectly fine for the kind of movie this is. Gilman, and Douglas Dirkson and Don Baldwin as his creepy sons, make for fun antagonists, with the always welcome Bill Thurman in the role of the morally compromised but not purely evil lawman. His is the most interesting role in the film, other than that of Desiree. Jennings is extremely striking as this primal sort of gal, and the Sebastians make sure to film her from every leering angle imaginable. The setting is very effective, with wilderness as far as the eye can see; the predictable but entertaining story works as a mixture of the later films "First Blood" and "Southern Comfort". The music has lots of flavour to it, with Desirees' theme song rating as a standout. The pacing is impressive as things race right along, and there are some well done chases through the swamp. All things considered, this is a good bet for exploitation lovers, although the film does get very nasty in terms of violence perpetrated against a particular character. You can hardly blame Desiree for getting as mad as she gets, and enjoy every bit of her revenge. Well worth watching. Followed by a sequel 14 years later. Eight out of 10.

So bad, it's funny

[W.P. · 30 July 1999]

My friend and I rented this film one evening, along with its sequel (which was released 12 years later) in order to have a "bad movie night" of sorts. Well, we were not disappointed. "Gator Bait" is a very bad film, although most of the time it is literally quite harmless. Although Claudia Jennings was included in the cast as the swamp girl presumably because she had been a nude model, there is very little skin to speak of in this film. At times, of course, the filmmakers cross the lines of bad taste and include scenes of strong implied violence that can make you squirm. The only reason it seems out of place here, however, is because most of the film does not follow this violent tone. It is basically the story of a bunch of rednecks who attempt to destroy the swamp girl and her family, who are freeloading in the swamps. It's that basic white-trash dilemma: get offa my property. Luckily, swamp girl (a.k.a. Desiree) and her brother Big T. rise to the challenge. The film was laughable in most parts, and usually quite boring, but it did have one thing going for it: where some "bad" movies are just too horrible to even make fun of, this one lended itself perfectly to the "bad but fun" movie mentality, and my friend and I even named his truck Big T. after one of the characters. The soundtrack consists of warbling banjo music and a hilarious song about Desiree, and just adds to the fun. A good example of a movie that deserves commentary by you and your friends.

My mom knew some people named Thibodeau

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 15 May 2008]

My 10/10 rating presupposes that you're geared up for typical 1970s exploitation, because that's just what "'Gator Bait" is. When a witless sheriff and his friend see backwoods Cajun babe Desiree Thibodeau (former Playmate-of-the-year Claudia Jennings) trapping alligators, they try to catch her, but the sheriff accidentally shoots his friend. So, he tells his father that Desiree did it, and the father tells the guy's family, and so we have a whole team of rednecks chasing this half-dressed gal through the Louisiana boondocks. It raises the stakes when they mess with her family.

Yes, the whole thing is totally predictable. But you gotta love how Desiree outwits these thugs at every turn. Actually, she doesn't really have to outwit them; as we have learned from such movies, hicks are always the world's stupidest people (why do they always dress so heavy in Louisiana?).

Overall, it looks like the sort of movie that a bunch of friends got together and filmed for fun. It sure comes out fun. As long as you accept any ridiculous movie as entertainment, you're sure to love it. Too bad that we lost Claudia Jennings so soon (she was killed in 1979 when she fell asleep at the wheel of a car).

And yes, my mom - who grew up in Galena Park, Texas - knew some people named Thibodeau (although it may have been spelled Thibodeaux).