Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw movie storyline. A young country-star wannabe named Bobbie Jo Baker takes off from her carhop career to join with a young, modern Billy the Kid wannabe for an adventure in theft, homicide and mayhem.

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw is a 1976 crime drama film directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Marjoe Gortner and Lynda Carter. It is the film debut of Lynda Carter. The film stars are Marjoe Gortner, Lynda Carter, Jesse Vint, Merrie Lynn Ross, Belinda Balaski, Gene Drew, Peggy Stewart, Gerrit Graham, John Durren, Virgil Frye and James Gammon.

There’s nothing I like better than getting hold of a movie that I’ve been searching over three decades for and adding it to my collection. At my age, there aren’t many vintage films left that I don’t own in one format or another, so when I heard that the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw was getting a Blu-ray release, I was quite enthused. This movie has somehow always managed to elude me. It never seemed to play on any of my cable stations in the early 80s, we never had a copy of it at the video store I worked at in the mid-80s and I was still never able to find a copy of it anywhere throughout the 90s.

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

To be honest, by the time the 21st century hit, I completely forgotten about this movie, so I was pretty surprised and even more excited to find out that it was not only being released on Blu-ray, but also with quite a few special features. Why? To begin with, I’m a tremendous fan of the director; not to mention the entire cast and, last, but not least, I just love fun, action/crime/drama exploitation films from the 1970s.

So, was the movie worth the wait? I certainly think so. It may not be in the same league as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), but it’s still an extremely enjoyable, well-directed, written and acted low-budget feature that definitely deserves to be seen. To begin with, Mark Lester’s direction is not only solid, but he is just at home directing the quiet, more character-driven and dramatic/romantic scenes as he is directing a sequence involving heavy action and stunts.

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw Movie Poster (1976)

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)

Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Starring: Marjoe Gortner, Lynda Carter, Jesse Vint, Merrie Lynn Ross, Belinda Balaski, Gene Drew, Peggy Stewart, Gerrit Graham, John Durren, Virgil Frye, James Gammon
Screenplay by: Vernon Zimmerman
Cinematography by: Stanley Wright
Film Editing by: Michael Luciano
Costume Design by: Cornelia McNamara
Art Direction by: Michel Levesque
Makeup Department: Cheri Ruff
Music by: Barry De Vorzon
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: American International Pictures
Release Date: March 26, 1976

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