Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.

Director:

Michael Cimino

Writer:

Michael Cimino

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, Geoffrey Lewis

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Thunderbolt
Jeff Bridges	...	Lightfoot
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Eddie Goody
Catherine Bach	...	Melody
Gary Busey	...	Curly (as Garey Busey)
Jack Dodson	...	Vault Manager
Eugene Elman	...	Tourist (as Gene Elman)
Burton Gilliam	...	Welder
Roy Jenson	...	Dunlop
Claudia Lennear	...	Secretary
Bill McKinney	...	Crazy Driver
Vic Tayback	...	Mario Pinski
Dub Taylor	...	Station Attendant
Gregory Walcott	...	Used Car Salesman
Erica Hagen	...	Waitress

Storyline

Seven years after a daring bank robbery involving an anti-tank gun used to blow open a vault, the robbery team temporarily puts aside their mutual suspicions to repeat the crime after they are unable to find the loot from the original heist, hidden behind a school chalkboard. The hardened artilleryman and his flippant, irresponsible young sidekick are the two wild cards in the deck of jokers.

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Plot Keywords:

heist | preacher | ice cream truck | montana | safecracker | 

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Taglines:

Thunderbolt... the man with the reputation. Lightfoot... the kid who's about to make one!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1974 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Die Letzten beißen die Hunde

Filming Locations:

Choteau, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$25,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut feature film as an actor for Kyle Eastwood, son of Clint Eastwood, who was five years old at the time, playing, uncredited, a boy at a refreshment truck eating ice creams.

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Goofs

When Red and Lightfoot are opening the wooden crates with crowbars, the lid on Red's crate opens completely with one pry and the Lightfoot even lifts the top on his crate up before he uses the crowbar.

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Quotes

Red Leary: [Lightfoot shows up with the van, newly dented by the girl on the motorcycle] Where'd you get the dents?
Lightfoot: [Nonchalantly] Progress. I dreamt about you last night.
Red Leary: What about?
Lightfoot: I dreamt you said hello to me.
Red Leary: Don't you get smart with me. I'll break both your arms.
Lightfoot: I'll keep that in mind.
Red Leary: Remember what I said. John and me go back a long way. But you don't mean nothin' to me, understand? Nothin'!
Lightfoot: What'd you try and kill him for then?
Red Leary: Because we were friends.

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Connections

References Captain Lightfoot (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Where Do I Go from Here"
Composed and Sung by Paul Williams

User Reviews

A fascinating character-based comedy drama masquerading as a buddy action movie.

I found 'Thunderbolt And Lightfoot' in the "action" section of my local video store, and a quick glance at the cover and blurb might make you think you're in for a buddy action comedy, like Eddie Murphy et al made in the 1980s and Jackie Chan is making now. This is not entirely correct. While it is essentially a buddy movie and there is "action" in it, it is much more character-driven and episodic than most movies in the genre, and has more in common with forgotten 1970s gems like 'Scarecrow' or 'Fat City', than your typical Clint Eastwood fare from this period. Michael Cimino, who co-wrote the ecological SF sleeper 'Silent Running', and wrote the first (and best) movie in Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' series, debuts impressively as director here. Eastwood himself is very good as enigmatic thief Thunderbolt, even better is Jeff Bridges who steals the movie as his young protege Lightfoot. Some people dislike this movie because it appears to meander along for no particular reason, but I really enjoyed the interaction between Eastwood and Bridges, who really seem to be having a ball working together. The plot eventually comes together with a robbery involving the two and character actors George Kennedy ('Cool Hand Luke' and Eastwood regular Geoffrey Lewis ('The Way Of The Gun'). I still really wouldn't call this a caper movie (ala 'Rififi', 'The Killing', 'The Anderson Tapes', etc,etc.), it's not as straightforward as that. The robbery plot is almost an excuse for a bunch of enjoyable scenes between the actors, who are all excellent and really play off each other in an entertaining way. Also keep an eye out for bit parts by Gary Busey ('Big Wednesday'), Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke!), Dub Taylor ('The Wild Bunch') and others, especially an unforgettable bit with the legendary Bill McKinney ('Deliverance'), one of the highlights of the movie. There's no way I'm going to argue that 'Thunderbolt And Lightfoot' is a forgotten classic, but it is a lot of fun to watch, it is unpredictable and interesting and features some fine performances, and that is a lot more than you can say for most subsequent Hollywood movies of this type. Recommended to 1970s buffs and anyone who enjoys Jeff Bridges.