Synopsis
After his release from prison, notorious ex-con and moonshine distiller Gator McKlusky moves in with his father in a cabin in the Okefenokee Swamp. His bootlegging plans are cut short, however, when a federal agent tells McKlusky that he will lose custody of his 9-year-old daughter unless he helps bring down local crime lord Bama McCall. McKlusky enlists the help of reporter Aggie Maybank and a few local eccentrics to bring down McCall's empire.
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Cast
- Burt ReynoldsGator McKlusky
- Lauren HuttonAgatha Weedow "Aggie" Maybank
- Jerry ReedBama McCall
- Dub TaylorMayor T.L. Caffery
- Burton GilliamSmiley
- Jack WestonIrving Greenfield
- Alice GhostleyEmmeline Cavanaugh
- Mike DouglasThe Governor
- William EngesserBones
- John SteadmanNed McKlusky
Recommendations
- 60
Time Out
Too much of this is tedious, rather like off-cuts from his recent movies, but the reasonable photography and good action material help. Country singer Jerry Reed makes a good heavy, and when Reynolds keeps it simple, his direction suggests the makings of a modest craftsman. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
An entertaining piece of good ol' boy fluff with plenty of car and boat chases. - 50
Variety
This follow-up to White Lightning never takes itself seriously, veering as it does through many incompatible dramatic and violent moods for nearly two hours. - 50
Village Voice
Structurally, Gator is a bit of a mess, largely because of the civilizing and romantic influence Reynolds has brought to the randy domain of the redneck action film. - 50
The New York Times
Messy little melodrama of Southern corruption. [25 Aug 1976, p.46] - 40
Newsweek
Gator is sloppily directed by Reynolds himself and filled with anti-ethnic humor that Reynolds has picked up from all those guest shots on the talk shows with Don Rickles et al. [13 Sep 1976, p.89] - 38
Chicago Sun-Times
Gator is yet another Good Ol' Movie, and not, I fear, the summer's last. If only it had a Good Ol' Plot worth a damn, it might have even been a halfway tolerable ol' movie.
