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Gator

1976

Action / Crime / Drama

13
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 25% · 8 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 42% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 5333 5.3K

espionage sequel ex-con sawed off shotgun motorboat

Plot summary

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.

Director

Burt Reynolds Photo
Burt Reynolds

Top cast

Burt Reynolds Photo
Burt Reynolds as Gator McKlusky
Lauren Hutton Photo
Lauren Hutton as Aggie Maybank
Ned Beatty Photo
Ned Beatty as Sheriff J.C. Connors
Dub Taylor Photo
Dub Taylor as Mayor Caffrey
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
816.43 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 55 min
Seeds 3
1.84 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 55 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ma-cortes 6 / 10

A moving and vigorous thriller that marked the directorial debut of its star, Burt Reynolds.

A Sequel to ¨Joseph Sargent's White Lightning¨ follows the adventures of Gator (Burt Reynolds), he's a good ol' southern boy who has served four years of his five year prison sentence for moonshining. Then Gator McKlusky is recruited to gather evidence to convict a corrupt political boss (Jerry Reed) who also happens to be his friend. As agents force a former con man to help them nab a nasty mobster and his hoodlums. Meanwhile, Gator falls for a cool, gapteethed heroine, news reporter Aggie Maybank (Lauren Hutton). Only one man delivers 100-proof excitement!. Come and get him. Gator never strikes twice - 'cause once is enough!. Meet the Bayou's baddest good ol' boy. Take a bite and feel all right!.If You Haven't Seen "Gator" You Haven't Seen Burt Reynolds It's my kind of film. Booze, broads, car chases, corruption and revenge -- all the things that make life worthwhile!Here Reynolds in his good tough boy role with lots of chases and fighting scenes. This movie was "the earliest in the cycle of hick flicks that Burt Reynolds rode to superstardom" on. The story starts with a tongue-in-cheek he-man opening with a number of motorboats jumping and causing destruction through the swamps and following further bouts of action, but things dawdle to standstill while Burt projects his sensitivity, lazy singalong good nature, and old-fashioned romanticism, he even expresses doubts about his style and inability to cope with independent women. The plot is formula pulp -Burt is blackmailed into exposing a former buddy, now a big-shot Southern crook- but it takes far too long to tell. All through the movie it is evident that Burt Reynolds is attempting to do a little something different with each scene. Sometimes he can't prevent the story becoming bogged down in his own routineness and the violence of the final highlight only just survives its juxtaposition with the previous humor, as roles we have come to like get brutally killed off; in spite of it, the action scenes are first class. It is acceptable and passable film with its ups and downs, but the reasonable cinematography by cameraman William A. Fraker and good action material help. There's also enjoyable musical score from Charles Bernstein, as well as catching songs, such as: ¨Gator¨ written & performed by Jerry Reed; ¨For a Little While¨ written &performed by Bobby Goldsboro and ¨Hey, Country Boy¨ written by Rusty Richards, performed by Dinah Shore . Some of composer Charles Bernstein's music score from this movie was re-used in two Quentin Tarantino movies: Kill Bill: part 1 (2003) and Inglorious Bastardos (2009). The main and support cast are pretty good . Beginning with Reynolds himself, he's very attractive and likable. While Lauren Hutton exudes charm and beauty as a personable news reporter, she creates a very good love chemistry with her partner Reynolds. Country singer Jerry Reed makes a good heavy, he steals the show as the villain who lends real menace and evil to the rather cardboard vice king; Alice Ghostley as a cranky social crusader with a passion for cats and Talk show host Mike Douglas made his film debut in the role of governor, and , of course, Jack Weston as a plump and faintly incompetent federal agent.First film Reynolds directed, being professionally made. Burt keeps it simple, his direction suggests the makings of a model craftsman. And Reynolds gets uniformly nice interpretations from his actors. Gator chalked up a decent start for its budding director which he hasn't followed through enough. This was the first of the car stunt movies set in the American South that Burt Reynolds made during the 1970s and involved some kind of battle with a sheriff or official. This group of movies includes Smokey and the bandit (1977) and its follow-ups, as well as White Lightning (1973) and its sequel, Gator, (1976). Burt Reynolds went on to direct a few more films for both the big and small screen, such as: ¨Stick¨, ¨The End¨, ¨Hard Time¨, ¨The Man from Left Field¨, ¨Hawk¨ , ¨Amazing tales¨, ¨The Last Producer¨, ¨The Newton Family¨, ¨B. L. Stryker¨, and ¨Sharky's Machine¨ at his best. Gator(1976) rating: 6/10. The film will appeal to Burt Reynolds fans.
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Reviewed by paul_haakonsen 6 / 10

A drastic change of pace for this 1976 sequel...

I watched the 1973 movie "White Lightning" and then followed up with the 1976 movie "Gator" here, as I happened to stumble upon two Burt Reynolds movies that I hadn't previously seen. I did enjoy the 1973 movie, so I was looking forward to watching what writers William W. Norton and Roderick Taylor had to offer with the 1976 movie that was directed by Burt Reynolds.

While "Gator" certainly is watchable, it differs from the 1973 movie quite a lot. Whereas the 1973 movie "White Lightning" incorporated comedy, the 1976 movie "Gator" incorporates a more serious and mature aspect, as it deals with some pretty heavy contents, such as drugs and prostitution involving underage girls. That change of pace and contents was definitely no what I was expecting, and certainly not from a Burt Reynolds movie, wherein the previous movie they were setting the stage with mixing crime and comedy.

The movie stars Burt Reynolds, whom carries the movie quite well as the Gator McKlusky character. But it also have the likes of Jack Weston, Lauren Hutton, Alice Ghostley, Dub Taylor and Jerry Reed on the cast list. It was quite odd to see Jerry Reed's character Bama McCall take such a drastic turn of personality in "Gator" in comparison to the "White Lightning" movie.

"Gator" is not a bad movie, it just differed a lot from what I was expecting. And just a heads up, if you do sit down to watch "Gator", don't do so with the intent of being entertained with comedy.

My rating of "Gator" lands on a six out of ten stars.

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