Thunder Road (1958)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

How sad is this?

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Although not Robert Mitchum's best film (that would be the brilliant "Night of the Hunter" or "Out of the Past"), but it's one of my favorites of his films. Mitchum plays a moonshine runner (think a young Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse) caught in the middle of moonshine war with the mob and some hard-nosed feds. The film was co-written and produced by Mitchum, and is rumored to have also directed much of the film. He also sang the film's theme song! The film had a chance to be even cooler with the part of Mitchum's kid brother being written for Elivis, who reportedly wanted to appear in the film, but Colonel Tom Parker demanded a huge salary that exceeded the entire budget of the small production. If you have to ding this very likable film, the story is a pretty corny one of Mitchum trying to keep his kid brother (played by his dead ringer real-life son instead of Elvis) while fending off Federal agents, rival moonshiners, and romancing nightclub singer Keely Smith.Still, Bob Mitchum running 'shine is pretty hard to resist, especially when you have some amazing stunt work from legendary stuntman Carey Loftin, the guy behind the car chases in "Bullitt," "Vanishing Point," and "The French Connection." This is easily THE definitive moonshine picture and a must see for fans of this type of picture.

Decent if unremarkable drama of a moonshiner and the feds who are trying to shut him down. A real study in star power with Robert Mitchum commanding the screen with seemingly little effort. An interesting contrast can be made between him and his son James, making his screen debut here, their appearance is so similar that you would think their performances would have a hint of the same similarity. The senior Mitchum owns the screen with an easy charm and magnetism while the young Mitchum is stiff with a vacant stare. Keely Smith contributes a couple of terrific numbers sung in her unique style but she also comes across as uncomfortable and mechanical in any scene which doesn't require her to sing. A huge drive-in hit in its day, it's easy to see why since it has a very laid back, low budget feel.

THUNDER ROAD is about the efforts of moonshiner Robert Mitchum to run carloads of illegal liquor past federal authorities AND avoid being killed by a mob that is attempting to corner the industry. Time and again, Mitchum risks his life and nearly gets himself killed...though we really never understand his motivation or his actions late in the film. That's because he and the rest of the cast just seem like caricatures--not real people.I am sure that many Southerners (particularly those in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina) see this film and cringe. While I know this could not have been the intention, those who watch THUNDER ROAD are likely to assume that 1950s Southerners are all a bunch of hillbilly moonshiners! Much of this because these are the ONLY sort of folks you see in the film other than the Federal agents (who seemed to have more Northern or neutral accents). As for me, I wasn't the least bit offended...I just thought it all was pretty funny--which is a problem, as the film was not meant to be a comedy. That's because the plot never seems particularly real and the film just came off as perhaps well-intentioned but silly.Interestingly, the film actually is about the roots of NASCAR. Little known to many today, the race car champs of the early days of stock car racing were originally runners for moonshiners. In order to avoid being caught, they learned tricks for enhancing their cars and became amazing drivers--and explains why most of the early champs had roots in this underground business. Showing this connection and evolution would make for an interesting film. Instead, the film just never seemed particularly good and was almost like an episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies" instead of a serious drama. The only item of minor interest was seeing Robert Mitchum's oldest son, James--especially since he looked like the spitting image of his old man. Otherwise, a dull film with little to offer in the way of real entertainment.

I grew up in oak ridge,Tennessee near bearden where the moonshiner that Lucas doolin portrayed was killed running from the law-he was nicknamed tweet-o-low-twill and was from rockholds,Kentucky and actually crashed into a power station like mitchum did on Kingston pike in bearden-the movie brought in the mob who were not involved in the true story-there is a book return to thunder road written by a man named Alex gabbard,who never could get an interview with mitchum regarding the true story that mitchum based his book on-apparently Mr.gabbard was friends of tweet-o-low-twill and met him while staying with his grandparents when he was a boy