'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.

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.

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.

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.