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{{Short description|1958 film by Arthur Ripley}}
<TABLE ALIGN="right"> <TR> <TD>
{{more citations needed|date = December 2019}}
]
{{Infobox film
</TD> </TR> </TABLE>
| name = Thunder Road
'''''Thunder Road''''' is the title of a ] ] about running ] in the mountains of ] and ] in the early ]. It was directed by ] and starred ], who also produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay, and is rumored to have directed much of the film himself, uncredited. The film became a ] and continued to play at drive-in movie theaters in some southeastern markets through the ] and ]. Mitchum played an anti-hero and rebel against the government, which may have contributed to the film's popularity. In the film, he drove a hot-rodded 1950 Ford coupe with a custom tank in the back for moonshine.
| image = Thunder road42.jpg
| caption = Theatrical poster
| director = ]
| screenplay = ]<br />Walter Wise
| story = ]
| producer =
| starring = Robert Mitchum<br />]<br />]<br />]
| cinematography = David Ettenson<br />Alan Stensvold
| editing = ]
| music = ]
| studio = DRM Productions
| distributor = ]
| released = {{Film date|1958|5|10|US}}
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
|gross=$1 million<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety213-1959-01/page/n46/mode/1up?q=%22top+grossers%22|magazine=]|title=Top Grossers of 1958|date=7 January 1959|page=48}} Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross</ref>
}}


'''''Thunder Road''''' is a 1958 American ]–] directed by ] and starring ], who also wrote the story. The supporting cast features ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The film's plot concerns running ] ] in the mountains of ], ], and ] in the late 1950s. ''Thunder Road'' became a ] and continued to play at ]s in some ] through the 1970s and 1980s.
The film was based loosely on an incident in which a driver transporting moonshine was said to have crashed to his death on Kingston Pike in ] somewhere between Bearden Hill and Morrell Road.


==Plot==
Its theme song, sung by Mitchum, became a popular single record.
Lucas Doolin (Robert Mitchum) works in the family moonshine business, running liquor his father distills to clandestine distribution points throughout the South in his ]. However, Lucas has more problems than evading government "revenuers".


Both a hothead and a fatalist, he is concerned that his teen-aged younger brother Robin (James Mitchum), who is also his mechanic, will be tempted into following in his footsteps. An aggressive urban gangster, Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon), is trying to gain control of the independent local moonshine producers and their distribution points. Dead shiners strewn along Thunder Road prove he is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. Determined Treasury agent Troy Barrett (]) is drawn in to stop the bloodshed, and its cause.


Barrett's attempt to engage Lucas are thrown right back in his face. The stakes rise when an attempt by Kogan to kill Lucas results in the deaths of another moonshine driver, Jed Moultrie (]), and Treasury Agent Mike Williams (]) mistaken for him and one of Barrett's men.
<hr>


Still, Lucas does not back off, a stubbornness and strike-first hostility attributed by townsfolk to a "machine-gunner's mentality" they feel he brought home from the Korean War, which pervades his every doing. Only with ] Francie Wymore (Keely Smith) can he drop his guard, as far as he is able. At the same time, he steadfastly resists the attentions of the belle of the mountain girls, innocent Roxanna Ledbetter (Sandra Knight), who has a crush on him and fears for his life.
'''''Thunder Road''''' is also the title of a ] movie directed by ].


When a series of government raids destroy local moonshiners' hidden stills, Lucas's father and the others shut down production "for a spell" to let the government deal with Kogan in its own time. In spite of this, Lucas is forced by circumstances and his own code of honor to make one final run of his dad's shine.
<hr>


Kogan's men successfully trick Robin into agreeing to drive for them, infuriating Lucas, who sends Robin home on the bus. Barrett tries to enlist Robin's help in convincing Lucas it's Kogan his Bureau is after, not his brother, but is rebuffed. In the exchange Barrett reveals Lucas never left the States in the Army and implies he may have spent his hitch in its stockade instead, explaining his pent-up anger and seeming death wish.
'''"]"''' is also the lead song on ]'s ] album, '']''. Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie even if he stated: "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster".


After Lucas meets with Francie and forebodingly gives her a large sum of money to hold for him, he calls Kogan to let him know he is coming to kill him for trying to set up his brother. Meanwhile, Roxanna spills all she knows about Lucas's intended final moonshine run – for now, anyway, till things sort out – to agent Barrett's wife when she can't contact Barrett directly. He deploys a sweeping dragnet of Bureau men and state police in an attempt to intercept Lucas before he gets caught, or killed, in Kogan's trap.
<hr>


Kogan sends his top henchman after Lucas just before Barrett and his officers arrive and arrest Kogan for murder. Lucas turns the tables on Kogan's driver and runs him off the road. Kogan's men then set spike strips to blow out Lucas's tires, which send his car careening down an embankment into an arcing electrical transformer. Barrett arrives too late to help with anything.
'''''Thunder Road''''' was also the name of the home-made spaceship in the film ] starring ], ], and ]. When asked how he came up with the name, Presson's character replies, "It's from an old Bruce Springsteen song".


As a snake of headlights winds up the lonely mountain road back home, Robin and Roxanna stand alone in silence. The same cortege of mourners bring their own back home as when a local boy was taken out by Kogan's men early in the conflict. As the glows draw closer Robin and Roxanne approach one another slowly. Without a word they clasp hands and walk away together into the dark.
<hr>


==Cast==
'''''Thunder Road''''' was the name of a famous Canadian country band in the early to mid 80's. Though the band members changed around often, the lead singer, David Thompson, was in the band for its entire, short life. Though the band is not often remembered, David Thompson's voice is often thought of as being the purest Canadian country has ever seen. The songs Rachel, Loser's Bar and Grill, and many others were on the top hits list.
* ] as Lucas Doolin
* ] as Troy Barrett
* ] as Carl Kogan
* ] as Francie Wymore
* ] as Vernon Doolin
* ] as Roxanna Ledbetter
* ] as Robin Doolin
* ] as Stacey Gouge, a rival driver
* ] as Jed Moultrie, a decoy driver
* ] as Mike Williams (uncredited)
* Nicholas Mann Konrad as Robert Mitchum's stunt driver


==Production==
== External links ==
The film was a production of Mitchum's own company, DRM, but no producer was credited.<ref name=varrev>{{cite magazine|magazine=]|date=April 23, 1958|author=Whit.|page=7|title=Film Reviews: Thunder Road|url=https://archive.org/details/variety210-1958-04/page/n268/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=May 12, 2023}}</ref>
*


The film was based loosely on an incident in which a driver transporting moonshine was said to have crashed to his death on ] in ], between Bearden Hill and Morrell Road. Per '']'' writer Jack Renfro, the incident occurred in 1952 and may have been witnessed by ], who passed the story on to Mitchum.<ref></ref>
]
]
]
]


===Casting===
]
The part of Lucas's younger brother, Robin, was originally written for ] per Mitchum's request. Mitchum personally submitted the script to Elvis in Los Angeles. The singer was eager to play the role, but his manager, ], demanded Elvis be paid a ridiculous sum of money, more than the entire budget for the movie, which ended negotiations. Mitchum's elder son, James, who strongly resembled his father, got the part instead. It was his first credited film role.<ref name=varrev/>

===Filming===
{{more citations needed|section|date=July 2023}}
In the film, Mitchum drove a souped-up black 1950 Ford two-door sedan (which was later repainted gray) with a custom tank in the back for moonshine liquor and a newer OHV Ford V8 with three two-barrel carburetors, but after it was blown up by Kogan's men, it was replaced with a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 two-door sedan.

Most of the scenes were filmed in ], along ] and others at ]. Some scenes were filmed in Beech, east of ]. Scenes include Reems Creek Road, Sugar Creek Road, and the Beech Community Center. Some scenes were actual local moonshine drivers shot with a camera mounted on a ] ]. Many city scenes were filmed in ], including the explosion of Doolin's car.<ref>{{cite web|last=Elliott |first=Joe |url=https://mountainx.com/movies/thunder-road-remembering-the-making-of-a-cult-classic-in-asheville/ |title=Thunder Road: Remembering the making of a cult classic in Asheville &#124; Mountain Xpress |publisher=Mountainx.com |date=2016-05-04 |access-date=2022-08-15}}</ref>

The stunt coordinator was ], with a stunt team of Hollywood's most accomplished stunt drivers, ], Neil Castes Sr., ], and ].

===Music===
The film's theme song, "The Whippoorwill", was sung by ] in her role as a nightclub singer, and a different studio rendition by her was released as a 45 rpm single on ]. Mitchum wrote the music with lyrics by ].<ref name=varrev/> The film's opening song, also co-written by Mitchum, is "The Ballad of Thunder Road", sung by ], a different arrangement of which was recorded by Mitchum and released as a popular 45 rpm single, also on Capitol.

==Reception==
A contemporary review by "Whit." of '']'' said it was "Burdened with an overage of dialog and an abundance of uneventful footage", but it had "plenty of fast auto action".<ref name=varrev/>

==In popular culture==
] said at a 1978 concert that the name of his song "]" had been inspired by seeing a poster of the movie, but he had not seen the movie.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thunder Road performance from Capitol Theatre, Passaic, N.J., Sept. 19, 1978|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf61K6ZKu_4| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628111218/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf61K6ZKu_4&gl=US&hl=en&amp;has_verified=1| archive-date=2011-06-28 | url-status=dead|work=Video posted on YouTube.com|publisher=bruchee|access-date=2011-06-23}}</ref>

In the episode of '']'' titled "And Coachie Makes Three", Sam and Coach watch the movie as part of a long-running tradition they have with viewing Robert Mitchum movies.

==See also==
* ]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{AFI film|id=52771|title=Thunder Road}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=17809}}
* {{IMDb title|0052293|Thunder Road}}
*
*

{{Arthur Ripley}}

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Latest revision as of 13:05, 22 December 2024

1958 film by Arthur Ripley
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Thunder Road" 1958 film – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Thunder Road
Theatrical poster
Directed byArthur Ripley
Screenplay byJames Atlee Phillips
Walter Wise
Story byRobert Mitchum
StarringRobert Mitchum
Gene Barry
Keely Smith
James Mitchum
CinematographyDavid Ettenson
Alan Stensvold
Edited byHarry Marker
Music byJack Marshall
Production
company		DRM Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • May 10, 1958 (1958-05-10) (US)
Running time93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1 million

Thunder Road is a 1958 American drama–crime film directed by Arthur Ripley and starring Robert Mitchum, who also wrote the story. The supporting cast features Gene Barry, Jacques Aubuchon, Keely Smith, James Mitchum, Sandra Knight, and Peter Breck. The film's plot concerns running bootleg moonshine in the mountains of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee in the late 1950s. Thunder Road became a cult film and continued to play at drive-in movie theaters in some southeastern states through the 1970s and 1980s.

Plot

Lucas Doolin (Robert Mitchum) works in the family moonshine business, running liquor his father distills to clandestine distribution points throughout the South in his hot rod. However, Lucas has more problems than evading government "revenuers".

Both a hothead and a fatalist, he is concerned that his teen-aged younger brother Robin (James Mitchum), who is also his mechanic, will be tempted into following in his footsteps. An aggressive urban gangster, Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon), is trying to gain control of the independent local moonshine producers and their distribution points. Dead shiners strewn along Thunder Road prove he is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. Determined Treasury agent Troy Barrett (Gene Barry) is drawn in to stop the bloodshed, and its cause.

Barrett's attempt to engage Lucas are thrown right back in his face. The stakes rise when an attempt by Kogan to kill Lucas results in the deaths of another moonshine driver, Jed Moultrie (Mitchell Ryan), and Treasury Agent Mike Williams (Dale Van Sickel) mistaken for him and one of Barrett's men.

Still, Lucas does not back off, a stubbornness and strike-first hostility attributed by townsfolk to a "machine-gunner's mentality" they feel he brought home from the Korean War, which pervades his every doing. Only with nightclub singer Francie Wymore (Keely Smith) can he drop his guard, as far as he is able. At the same time, he steadfastly resists the attentions of the belle of the mountain girls, innocent Roxanna Ledbetter (Sandra Knight), who has a crush on him and fears for his life.

When a series of government raids destroy local moonshiners' hidden stills, Lucas's father and the others shut down production "for a spell" to let the government deal with Kogan in its own time. In spite of this, Lucas is forced by circumstances and his own code of honor to make one final run of his dad's shine.

Kogan's men successfully trick Robin into agreeing to drive for them, infuriating Lucas, who sends Robin home on the bus. Barrett tries to enlist Robin's help in convincing Lucas it's Kogan his Bureau is after, not his brother, but is rebuffed. In the exchange Barrett reveals Lucas never left the States in the Army and implies he may have spent his hitch in its stockade instead, explaining his pent-up anger and seeming death wish.

After Lucas meets with Francie and forebodingly gives her a large sum of money to hold for him, he calls Kogan to let him know he is coming to kill him for trying to set up his brother. Meanwhile, Roxanna spills all she knows about Lucas's intended final moonshine run – for now, anyway, till things sort out – to agent Barrett's wife when she can't contact Barrett directly. He deploys a sweeping dragnet of Bureau men and state police in an attempt to intercept Lucas before he gets caught, or killed, in Kogan's trap.

Kogan sends his top henchman after Lucas just before Barrett and his officers arrive and arrest Kogan for murder. Lucas turns the tables on Kogan's driver and runs him off the road. Kogan's men then set spike strips to blow out Lucas's tires, which send his car careening down an embankment into an arcing electrical transformer. Barrett arrives too late to help with anything.

As a snake of headlights winds up the lonely mountain road back home, Robin and Roxanna stand alone in silence. The same cortege of mourners bring their own back home as when a local boy was taken out by Kogan's men early in the conflict. As the glows draw closer Robin and Roxanne approach one another slowly. Without a word they clasp hands and walk away together into the dark.

Cast

Production

The film was a production of Mitchum's own company, DRM, but no producer was credited.

The film was based loosely on an incident in which a driver transporting moonshine was said to have crashed to his death on Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee, between Bearden Hill and Morrell Road. Per Metro Pulse writer Jack Renfro, the incident occurred in 1952 and may have been witnessed by James Agee, who passed the story on to Mitchum.

Casting

The part of Lucas's younger brother, Robin, was originally written for Elvis Presley per Mitchum's request. Mitchum personally submitted the script to Elvis in Los Angeles. The singer was eager to play the role, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded Elvis be paid a ridiculous sum of money, more than the entire budget for the movie, which ended negotiations. Mitchum's elder son, James, who strongly resembled his father, got the part instead. It was his first credited film role.

Filming

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Thunder Road" 1958 film – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In the film, Mitchum drove a souped-up black 1950 Ford two-door sedan (which was later repainted gray) with a custom tank in the back for moonshine liquor and a newer OHV Ford V8 with three two-barrel carburetors, but after it was blown up by Kogan's men, it was replaced with a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 two-door sedan.

Most of the scenes were filmed in Woodfin, North Carolina, along U.S. Route 19 and others at Lake Lure. Some scenes were filmed in Beech, east of Weaverville. Scenes include Reems Creek Road, Sugar Creek Road, and the Beech Community Center. Some scenes were actual local moonshine drivers shot with a camera mounted on a pickup tailgate. Many city scenes were filmed in Asheville, North Carolina, including the explosion of Doolin's car.

The stunt coordinator was Carey Loftin, with a stunt team of Hollywood's most accomplished stunt drivers, Ray Austin, Neil Castes Sr., Robert Hoy, and Dale Van Sickel.

Music

The film's theme song, "The Whippoorwill", was sung by Keely Smith in her role as a nightclub singer, and a different studio rendition by her was released as a 45 rpm single on Capitol Records. Mitchum wrote the music with lyrics by Don Raye. The film's opening song, also co-written by Mitchum, is "The Ballad of Thunder Road", sung by Randy Sparks, a different arrangement of which was recorded by Mitchum and released as a popular 45 rpm single, also on Capitol.

Reception

A contemporary review by "Whit." of Variety said it was "Burdened with an overage of dialog and an abundance of uneventful footage", but it had "plenty of fast auto action".

In popular culture

Bruce Springsteen said at a 1978 concert that the name of his song "Thunder Road" had been inspired by seeing a poster of the movie, but he had not seen the movie.

In the episode of Cheers titled "And Coachie Makes Three", Sam and Coach watch the movie as part of a long-running tradition they have with viewing Robert Mitchum movies.

See also

References

  1. "Top Grossers of 1958". Variety. 7 January 1959. p. 48. Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross
  2. ^ Whit. (April 23, 1958). "Film Reviews: Thunder Road". Variety. p. 7. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  3. Clavin, Tom. That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and the Golden Age of Las Vegas. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2010. p. 143.
  4. Elliott, Joe (2016-05-04). "Thunder Road: Remembering the making of a cult classic in Asheville | Mountain Xpress". Mountainx.com. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  5. "Thunder Road performance from Capitol Theatre, Passaic, N.J., Sept. 19, 1978". Video posted on YouTube.com. bruchee. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-06-23.

External links

Films directed by Arthur Ripley
Categories: