Rolling Thunder (1977)

A returning war veteran loses his family to a violent home invasion and decides to seek and retaliate against those responsible.

Director:

John Flynn

Writers:

Paul Schrader (screenplay), Heywood Gould (screenplay)

Stars:

William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Devane	...	Major Charles Rane
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Johnny Vohden
Linda Haynes	...	Linda Forchet
James Best	...	Texan
Dabney Coleman	...	Maxwell
Lisa Blake Richards	...	Janet (as Lisa Richards)
Luke Askew	...	Automatic Slim
Lawrason Driscoll	...	Cliff
James Victor	...	Lopez
Cassie Yates	...	Candy
Jordan Gerler	...	Mark
Jane Abbott	...	Sister
Jerry Brown	...	Patrolman 1
Jacque Burandt	...	Bebe
Anthony Castillo	...	Street Urchin

Storyline

Major Charles Rane comes back from the war and is given a number of gifts from his hometown because he is a war hero. Some greedy thugs decide that they want to steal a number of silver dollars from him. In the process they also manage to kill his wife and son and destroy his hand. The Major wants revenge so he enlists the help of his war buddy Johnny to meet the thugs in a final showdown.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder of family | death of family | haunted by the past | martial arts | vigilante justice | 

---

Taglines:

Welcome Home Major!

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

6 February 1978 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Der Mann mit der Stahlkralle

Filming Locations:

Pearsall , Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White (flashbacks)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Characters Fat Ed, Automatic Slim and T - Bird are featured in the theatrical release of "Grindhouse" (2007) as members of "Acuna Boys" Mexican Food. The logo for the fictional company shows up again in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" as part of "Grindhouse".

---

Goofs

MSgt Vohden mentions that he has been in the U.S. Army for ten years. He also served in Vietnam and was a POW there for an unspecified period (probably several years). However, his uniform lacks the required service stripes and overseas bars (both worn on the sleeve) to indicate the duration of his service and the length of time he served overseas.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Johnny: Major, I sure do hate to face all them people.
Major Charles Rane: Then put your glasses on, John.

---

Connections

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

---

Soundtracks

San Antone
Written by Barry De Vorzon (uncredited)
Sung by Denny Brooks

User Reviews

Influential and, sadly, somewhat forgotten

I recently caught this semi-exploitative revenge flick on TV (Showtime), after wanting to see it for a while. Unfortunately, it's not on DVD and there's a good chance you're not going to find it on VHS (or laser disc) either, unless you go through eBay, maybe. Anyway, despite the fact that my first viewing of "Rolling Thunder" was in a modified format (unless the movie was shot in 1.33:1, which I doubt), I had a blast. William Devane is pretty great as the slightly psycho Vietnam vet who comes home to find that his small town life isn't waiting for him. And, of course, he goes *completely* psycho after...well, I won't spoil anything. Worth mentioning: this film is a big influence on Quentin Tarantino, who named his short-lived film release company after it (i.e. Rolling Thunder Pictures). What a shame that the company didn't survive long enough to re-release the film it's named for. If you're really into '70s cinema, action, sleaze, etc., you have to make an effort to see "Rolling Thunder". For real.