Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw follows Bobbie Jo Baker, a small-town carhop who wants to be a country singer. When she meets Lyle Wheeler, a magnetic young drifter with wild outlaw ambitions, she leaves her predictable routine to join him on the road. What begins as petty theft soon escalates into more dangerous crimes, and the film watches how their flirtation and alliance harden under pressure. The story keeps its focus on the pair, on the adrenaline of their escapes, and on the tightening net of lawmen and rival criminals. Local residents and lawmen react, and the tone turns tragic.

Released in 1976, the film was directed by Mark L. Lester and written by Vernon Zimmerman. It stars Lynda Carter before her Wonder Woman fame, with Marjoe Gortner and Jesse Vint rounding out the cast in a gritty, low-budget production.

The picture wasn't a major commercial hit, finding most viewers in grindhouse and drive-in circuits rather than mainstream theaters, so its release remained modest and regionally focused, leaving it a minor entry in 1970s exploitation cinema, and later occasionally rediscovered.

Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw has drifted into cult territory among fans of 1970s exploitation and road movies, mainly because it features Lynda Carter before her TV breakthrough and Marjoe Gortner's evangelist-turned-actor persona. Its posters and a few tense roadside scenes keep showing up regularly in retrospectives and genre discussions.

Critical response was mixed to negative, reflected in modest user ratings and sparse attention. The film looks at fame-seeking, youthful rebellion, and the glamorized risks of crime, while also tracing how power, loyalty, and desperation change characters. Its rough edges and pulpy tone divide viewers more than they unite them.