Thunder Road

19581958
ApprovedApproved
1h 32m

Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Crime Drama Film-Noir

A veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business. He has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the business and the... Read allA veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business. He has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the business and the police who are trying to put him in prison.A veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business. He has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the business and the police who are trying to put him in prison.

Director
- Arthur Ripley
Writers
- James Atlee Phillips(screenplay)
- Walter Wise(screenplay)
- Robert Mitchum(original story)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Gene Barry in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum and Sandra Knight in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum and Sandra Knight in Thunder Road (1958)

Peter Breck and James Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum and James Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum and Gene Barry in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum and Keely Smith in Thunder Road (1958)

Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

James Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Director
- Arthur Ripley
Writers
- James Atlee Phillips(screenplay)
- Walter Wise(screenplay)
- Robert Mitchum(original story)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

The Wonderful Country

6.2

The Wonderful Country

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

7.4

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

Angel Face

7.2

Track of the Cat

6.4

Track of the Cat

Between Midnight and Dawn

6.5

Between Midnight and Dawn

Where Danger Lives

6.8

Where Danger Lives

Not as a Stranger

6.7

Not as a Stranger

I Wake Up Screaming

7.2

I Wake Up Screaming

Home from the Hill

7.4

Home from the Hill

The Magnetic Monster

5.8

The Magnetic Monster

Thunder Road

7.1

The Big Steal

7.0

A veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business. He has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the business and the police who are trying to put him in prison.

southern gothic 1950s mother son relationship father son relationship hixploitation 65 more

Taglines
- YOU'LL NEED SHOCK ABSORBERS! (original ad - all caps)
Genres
Certificate
- Approved
Parents guide

Trivia
All of the "moonrunner" cars in the film had actually been used by moonshiners in the Asheville, NC, area, where the film was shot. The moonshiners sold the cars to the film company in order to buy newer and faster cars.

Goofs
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: [talking on pay telephone] Hello, Kogan?... Doolin.
Carl Kogan: What's on your mind, Mr. Doolin?
Lucas Doolin: You. You're on my mind. You finally made the big mistake tonight, Kogan. Niles Penland was a mistake... Jethro Moultrie and Williams - that was a mistake, that was a big mistake, a bad mistake, but tonight you made the *big* mistake. You put your dirty, fat hands on my kid brother. I swore I'd *kill* anybody who tried to make him a whisky runner. I'm on my way into Memphis right now, and when I get there you're gonna find out that I meant *exactly* what I said.

Connections
Edited into The Twilight Zone: The Prime Mover (1961)

Soundtracks
Ballad of Thunder Road
(uncredited)
(Theme song)
Composed by Robert Mitchum and Don Raye

Top review

Has a strange charm I can't put a finger to....

THUNDER ROAD opens with a bang! A bumper snatcher (Government car that rips back bumpers off the cars they chase) grabs the plate off the hot rod belonging to the most sought after moonshiner in the business, Lucas Doolin. Doolin is probably the coolest Robert Mitchum performance. With his sleepy eyes, he slaps around the rival moonshiners, basically tells the ATF boys they'll never get him, tries to keep his younger brother (Played by Mitchum's 17 year old son, Jim.) away from the moon business. The film has a real charm to it, basically because the film never sneers at the hillbilly culture it depicts. Reportingly, the drive in classic of the 1960's, and I can see why. Recommended viewing.

helpful•35

4

boris-26
Feb 14, 2001

Release date
- May 10, 1958 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Also known as
- Jack O'Diamonds
Filming locations
- Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Production company
- D.R.M. Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 32 minutes
Color
- Black and White
Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1

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Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road (1958)

Top Gap

By what name was Thunder Road (1958) officially released in India in English?

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