Gator

Burt Reynolds returns as Gator McKlusky, the moonshine runner he had played three years earlier in White Lightning. Fresh out of prison, Gator settles into a cabin in the Okefenokee Swamp with his father, who still distills illegal liquor. His plans to go straight and regain custody of his nine-year-old daughter collapse when a federal agent, Irving Greenfield, threatens him with more prison time unless he gathers evidence against Bama McCall, a childhood friend who now runs the rackets in a small Southern town and has moved into extortion, prostitution and killing. Gator works his way into McCall's operation as a collector while trying to avoid violence, assisted by television reporter Aggie Maybank, who becomes his partner and his lover. When McCall's methods turn deadly, Gator abandons his restrained approach.

The film was Reynolds's first turn as a director, ahead of The End, Sharky's Machine, Stick, The Man from Left Field and The Last Producer. William W. Norton wrote the screenplay, produced by Jules V. Levy and Arthur Gardner. Lauren Hutton plays Aggie, Jerry Reed plays McCall, and Jack Weston, Dub Taylor and Burton Gilliam appear among a credited cast of 47. It opened on August 25, 1976 and took about 11 million dollars worldwide. Ratings sit below the middle on both IMDb, at 5.8 from roughly 5,500 votes, and TMDB, at 5.2 from 98. A film critics' score of 4.8 from eight reviews places it below even the modest audience figures.