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.

---

Plot Keywords:

heist | friendship between men | church | preacher | road movie | 

---

Taglines:

HE HAS EXACTLY SEVEN MINUTES TO GET RICH QUICK! (original poster-ALL CAPS)

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Letzten beißen die Hunde

Filming Locations:

Choteau, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Malpaso Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to "American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood" (2009) by Marc Eliot, Hollywood talent agent Stanley Kamen gave the idea for the film to Michael Cimino to write, on speculation, for Clint Eastwood in mind as a vehicle for him.

---

Goofs

When Thunderbolt is delivering his sermon in the church, his hair is heavily oiled but it appears quite dry when he emerges from the church, chased by Dunlop.

---

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.

---

Connections

Featured in Biography: Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1994)

---

Soundtracks

Hallelujah! What a Savior!
(uncredited)
by Philip Paul Bliss
[Hymn sung in church in opening scene]

User Reviews

clint and jeff

most people remember Michael Cimino for his classic masterpiece the DeerHunter,, this film while not quite that is very close i think to a cult classic,, Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges work so well together,, add in Geoffrey Lewis,, George Kennedy,, small parts for Catherine Bach Vic Tayback , and Gary Busey, plus a great story,, and music, you have a wonderful film to behold,, Johnny is on the run from Red,, from a job he pulled 10 years ago,, Red tries to kill him but with Lightfoot's help Johnny lives another day,, he then convinces Johnny to pull the exact same job as 10 years ago, because they would never expect it.. the job involves blowing a safe, and high tailing it out of town,, Red gets greedy decides he wants all the cash,,,, but alas our heroes have something close to them Red does not,,, the wherabouts of the original 500,000 ,,, great movie,, i'd watch it over and over again,, Hollywood needs to make these kinds of movies,,