Thunder Road (1958)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Arthur Ripley

Writers:

Robert Mitchum (story)
James Atlee Phillips (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 May 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

YOU'LL NEED SHOCK ABSORBERS! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

A veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Internal Revenue Service | Smuggling | White Lightning | Rural

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14

12:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Lucas Doolin
Gene Barry	...	Troy Barrett, Treasury Agent
Jacques Aubuchon	...	Carl Kogan
Keely Smith	...	Francie Wymore
Trevor Bardette	...	Vernon Doolin
Sandra Knight	...	Roxanna Ledbetter
James Mitchum	...	Robin Doolin

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18919) (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1975) | Norway:16 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

D.R.M. Productions

Trivia:

The role of Robin was offered to Elvis Presley, who was very interested, but the idea was nixed by Presley's manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, who demanded more money for Presley's services than the producers were willing to spend.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Thunder Road was filmed in and around Asheville, NC. However, some of the scenes take place in Memphis, TN. In one of the Memphis scenes, Robert Mitchum pays a visit to the mob boss (Kogan) who is trying to horn in on his family's moonshine business. Mitchum parks his car in front of a building with "Asheville Pharmacy" in clear lettering on the window.

Quotes:

Lucas Doolin: [to a noisy customer, about the nightclub's singer] She's trying to make a living. If you want to bray, go find yourself a barnyard.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Species (1995)

Soundtrack:

The Whipoorwill

Mountain man moves moonshine to Memphis.

Arthur Ripley directs this cult classic crime/Noir. War vet Robert Mitchum returns home to ramrod the family moonshine business. This hard headed bootlegger takes on the Feds and the Mob while burning the roads in his whiskey laden hot rods. If that is not enough, he must keep his young brother(James Mitchum)from moving up from mechanic to driver in the family business and then there is the romancing of a Memphis chanteuse(Keely Smith). Also in the cast are Gene Barry, Sandra Knight and Jacques Aubuchon. Bob Mitchum produces, and takes partial writing credit plus writes songs for this evocative glimpse of southern culture. Mitchum also oversees his younger brother's film debut.

NOTE: It is said that Elvis Presley enjoyed this movie so much he memorized bad Bob's lines of the script.