Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Cortechba Overrated

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Scott LeBrun Robert Mitchum is terrific as always in this drive-in classic, one of the all time great movies made about moonshiners. Bob plays Lucas Doolin, a Korean War veteran who comes home to help out with the family business of illegal whiskey. He does his damnedest to keep his younger brother Robin (played by Bobs' son James, who makes his film debut here) from entering the business as a driver, while romancing a chanteuse named Francie (Keely Smith). Lucas has his hands full dealing with a ruthless rival, Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon), while a dedicated Treasury agent, Troy Barrett (Gene Barry) tries to make a deal with him."Thunder Road" might not appeal to B movie enthusiasts across the board, because, in the end, it's got more drama in it than action. But the dialogue is cool, the cars are slick, the photography (credited to both David Ettenson and Alan Stensvold) is very atmospheric, and the performances are all quite engaging. Mitchum is fun to watch, exuding his own natural charisma as a character with his own moral code and own way of doing things. The younger Mitchum holds his own opposite his dad, and lovely Sandra Knight is appealing as Roxanna, the girl in love with Lucas. Aubuchon is an entertaining heavy, and Trevor Bardette is likewise solid as Lucas's father Vernon. While watching, keep an eye out for a few prominent character actors, making their own film debuts in uncredited roles: Peter Breck, Jerry Hardin, Mitchell Ryan.Bob also co-wrote that plaintive song "The Whipoorwill", crooned in the movie by Ms. Smith, and got a hit record out of the title tune.Seven out of 10.

Robert J. Maxwell I understand this was Robert Mitchum's baby from the beginning. He wrote the music, sang the songs, chose the cast and crew, did Princess Aurora's pas de seul in the Sleeping Beauty sequence, and managed to shoot down four Zero fighters in one pass.I grew up in a subculture where cars and courage were much admired and this film has plenty of both. But I didn't enjoy it that much the first time around and, more recently, have found that my appreciation of it hasn't increased much.As the defiant, whiskey-running hero with the hopped up 1950 Ford, Mitchum is fine. He strides through the movie in that bulky, slightly swaybacked way of his. But he really doesn't get much of a chance to show his chops, as he did in, say, "Night of the Hunter" or "Farewell, My Lovely," or "Cape Fear." He's more of a monument than a human figure.Nobody else rises above "below average" -- certainly not Mitchum's son, James, who seems to be suffering a serious case of exopthalmia. Keely Smith has a smooth voice that's weak but polished. I like her. There's something anthropological about her features, but she can't act. Most of the supporting cast are embarrassing. I winced, watching the old timers sitting around, whittling wood, and trying to decide whether to defy the corrupt criminal organization that's trying to invade their generations-long enterprise in the North Carolina hills.Worst of all, the director has almost completely failed to capture the ethos, the atmosphere, of the Appalachian hill country. In the 1950s, Asheville had an accent that nobody could make up. Tomatoes were "maters", and bread became "braid." It's absent here. You get a much better feeling for the South in films like "Cool Hand Luke" (shot in California) and "In the Heat of the Night" (shot in Illinois).I wish it had been better. The script should have included some exposition on whiskey making and whiskey running but much of that is just plain skipped over. Someone flips open the hood of that Ford and men gaze lovingly down at the engine (the "mill", which has a "racing cam"). The engine appears to have three carburetors, but we don't know what we're looking at, or why it's so special, or why extremely high speed is necessary on twisting mountain roads. I expect even racing car enthusiasts may be disappointed. At any rate, there is a spectacular crash at the end.

Volker Scheunert I just saw "Thunder Road" for the first time on TV this morning a 3:00 a.m. (an appropriate time of day to watch this one). For years I had been longing to watch it and I surely wasn't disappointed at all - that is, I missed "The Ballad Of Thunder Road" sung by Mitchum. Most Germans - if they have any love for America at all - dig new York City or California but I was alway haunted by the West and later by the South. Sure, I hate racist reactionary rednecks, but I love freedom-loving stubborn individualists who are doing things their own way. And Mitchum's Lucas Doolin ist a perfect example of this kind. Technically being far from perfect - this exciting little "Hillbilly Noir" movie to me is the greatest homage to the South and its people and culture! No Civil War epic can match this. Sixties movies like "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "In The Heat Of The Night" also have a great Southern feel, but they concentrate on what was wrong with the South - mainly the widespread racism. "Thunder Road" instead celebrates Southern virtues - individualism, dedication and integrity. Besides that, it shows rural life in the 50s, including rockin' teenagers and those beautiful American cars. This is an out-and-out Robert Mitchum film, he wrote the story, produced the film, played the main role and even co-wrote the music! Mitchum is not the Happy End type of guy, but he is as cool an actor as there ever was. 14 hours after seeing "Thunder Road" for the first time, I can say that alongside "Out Of The Past" and "Blood On The Moon" it is is my favorite Mitchum movie.

whpratt1 Enjoyed this Robert Mitchum film where he plays the role as a Korean War Veteran named Lucas Doolin who returns to his family and continues to carry on the family trade of running moonshine whiskey from the family still. Lucas is a very admired young man who has two different gals that are head over heels in love with him, but he just keeps running up and down the mountain hills of the South and never seems to want to quit and settle down. Gene Barry, (Troy Barrett) plays the role as a Treasury Agent who starts to investigate this moonshine business and is hot on the heels of Lucas Doolin. However, there is another man who wants to take over the whiskey running business and this creates more problems for Lucas as all his family and friends who are in this business and are going to run into big troubles. It was nice seeing Robert Mitchum's oldest son also giving a supporting role in this film.