Thunder and Lightning (1977)

A young man who hauls liquor for moonshiners comes up against a competing gang of moonshiners who intend to get rid of him and take over his operation.

Director:

Corey Allen

Writer:

William Hjortsberg

Stars:

David Carradine, Kate Jackson, Sterling Holloway

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sterling Holloway	...	Hobe Carpenter
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Taylor
Charles Napier	...	Jim Bob
George Murdock	...	Jake Summers
Ron Feinberg	...	Bubba
David Carradine	...	Harley Thomas
Kate Jackson	...	Nancy Sue Hunnicutt
Roger C. Carmel	...	Ralph Junior Hunnicutt
Hope Pomerance	...	Mrs. Hunnicutt
Eddie Barth	...	Rudi Volpone (as Ed Barth)
Malcolm Jones	...	Rainey
Charles Willeford	...	Bartender
Christopher Raynolds	...	Scooter
Claude Earl Jones	...	Carl (as Claude Jones)
Emilio Rivera	...	Honeydew Driver

Storyline

A young man who hauls liquor for moonshiners comes up against a competing gang of moonshiners who intend to get rid of him and take over his operation.

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Plot Keywords:

moonshine | tape over mouth | forbidden love | chase | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

It's 250 proof fun! - as they bust up the biggest moonshine racket in the country.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sterling Holloway's final film role.

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Goofs

When Harley's air boat runs across the road and is nearly hit by the Buick Skylark the car stops at a slight angle on the road. When the second air boat follows him the Buick is now at a much more pronounced angle to the road, even having the rear tire off the pavement.

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Quotes

Rudi Volpone: [thinking it is Ralph Jr. in the station wagon and has his gun drawn out] Smile, R.J., smile. You're on Candid Camera! You're not R.J.
Scooter: No, I'm Scooter Davis.
Rudi Volpone: Where's R.J.? Now, you answer me fast or I'll blow your goddamn nose backwards for you!
Scooter: Well, he took the truck.
Rudi Volpone: What truck?
Scooter: The Honey Dew truck. He said there was a new route up north.
Rudi Volpone: Which way did they go?
Scooter: North on route 248, you ain't five minutes behind them.
Rudi Volpone: Okay, Scooter. Now, if you plan to blow the candles out on your next birthday cake, ...
[...]

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Connections

References Captain Kangaroo (1955)

User Reviews

Doesn't have the commercial appeal of "Smokey and the Bandit", though the leads are game...

Fatuous, witless, disappointing Southern moonshine adventure, with Kate Jackson as the daughter of a soda pop king and manufacturer of poisoned whiskey; she and thrill-seeking boyfriend David Carradine attempt to stop of shipment of the bad booze but run afoul of both the law and the moonshiner's shotgun-toting stooges. The redneck histrionics are shrill and labored, and the comedy relief is rather obvious (one of the better scenes has two hired killers bemoaning all the violence on TV, though it doesn't have the punch that better writing and directing might have given it). There are car crashes galore, two geezer brothers making whiskey in a swamp-land shack, an alligator wrasslin' preacher, and an ear-splitting soundtrack filled with hick music and squealing tires. Jackson and Carradine aren't bad, but they have next to nothing to work with; supporting cast includes some fine character actors, including a bearded, shaggy-haired Charles Napier, but they get stuck playing unfunny goons. Some of the best lines are delivered by the bit players, such as a garbage collector who points when he talks and a foreign delivery man who sings to himself on the job. *1/2 from ****

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Italian

Release Date:

12 August 1977 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Hog Heaven

Filming Locations:

Woodland Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$6,758,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1