''Big Bad Mama II'' is a 1987 American action–crime–

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, Low-budget film, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition o ...

comedy film produced by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

, directed by

Jim Wynorski Jim Wynorski is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is known for making B movies, softcore pornography, and exploitation films, such as '' The Witches of Breastwick''. In 2009, the documentary '' Popatopolis'', directed by C ...

, starring

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor and screenwriter widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy (1965 TV series), I Spy'' ( ...

Danielle Brisebois Danielle Brisebois (born June 28, 1969) is an American producer, singer, songwriter and former child actress. She is best known for her role as Stephanie Mills on the Norman Lear-produced sitcoms ''All in the Family'' and its spin-off '' Arch ...

and Julie McCullough. While it has been identified as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''

Big Bad Mama ''Big Bad Mama'' is a 1974 American action-crime-sexploitation comedy film produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. The film is about a mother, Wilma (played by ...

'' (1974), it is more accurately described as a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

, as the film exists on a parallel plane with its predecessor.

Plot

In 1934, Wilma McClatchie's husband is shot down by police attempting to evict the McClatchies from their farm. Wilma's entry into a bank-robbing career occurs from a need for righteous revenge against Morgan Crawford, the banker who foreclosed on her home and is now running for governor of Texas. She tells her two daughters, Polly and Billie Jean: "The best way to kill a man is to destroy his dreams." So, among other things, she abducts Crawford's son, Jordan, and turns him into a willing gang member with her daughters' help. Also aiding and abetting the McClatchies in the plan is an Eastern journalist, who sees the thieving clan as his front-page ticket.

Cast

as Wilma McClatchie *

as Daryl Pearson *

as Billie Jean McClatchie * Julie McCullough as Polly McClatchie *

Bruce Glover Bruce Herbert Glover (May 2, 1932 – March 12, 2025) was an American character actor, who is best known for portraying the assassin Mr. Wint in the James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971). Other notable film appearances include roles ...

as Morgan Crawford *

Jeff Yagher Jeffrey Brian Yagher (born January 18, 1961) is an American actor. Personal life Born in Lawrence, Kansas, he graduated from Ohio State University and then attended the Yale School of Drama, where he appeared in productions of ''The Vultures'', ' ...

as Jordan Crawford *Jacque Lynn Colton as Alma *Ebbe Roe Smith as Lucas Stroud *

Charles Cyphers Charles George Cyphers (July 28, 1939 – August 4, 2024) was an American actor who is known in the horror movie community for his work in the films of John Carpenter, especially his role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett in Carpenter's 1978 movie ''Ha ...

as Stark *

Kelli Maroney Kelli Maroney is an American film and television actress. She appeared in the films ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Night of the Comet'' (1984), '' Chopping Mall'' (1986), '' The Zero Boys'' (1986) and '' Scream Queen Hot Tub Party ...

as Willie McClatchie *

Linda Shayne Linda Shayne is an American-Canadian dual citizen, film and television writer and director, and former film and television actress. Early life Linda Shayne was born in the United States. Shayne graduated from the University of California at Be ...

as Bank Teller

Production

Filming started in June 1987 and took four weeks.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called it "one of the strangest sequels ever to crash through a roadblock...the first genuine moral fairy tale of the genre."

References

External links

* *
''Big Bad Mama II''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

Review of film
at Temple of Schlock 1987 films 1980s American films 1980s crime action films 1980s English-language films American crime action films American sequel films English-language crime action films Films set in 1934 Films directed by Jim Wynorski Films produced by Roger Corman {{Crime-film-stub