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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Robert Mitchum (story)
James Atlee Phillips (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
10 May 1958 (USA) more
Tagline:
YOU'LL NEED SHOCK ABSORBERS! (original ad - all caps) more
Plot:
A veteran comes home from the Korean War to the mountains and takes over the family moonshining business... more | full synopsis
NewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Our Five Favorite Hunk of Junk Spaceships
(From Cinematical. 21 October 2009, 11:32 AM, PDT)
Josh Olson On 'Oz,' 'The Twisted Land Of Oz' And Todd McFarlane
(From MTV Movies Blog. 1 October 2009, 10:00 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
The film I love more (51 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Robert Mitchum | ... | Lucas Doolin | |
| Gene Barry | ... | Troy Barrett, Treasury Agent | |
| Jacques Aubuchon | ... | Carl Kogan | |
| Keely Smith | ... | Francie Wymore | |
| Trevor Bardette | ... | Vernon Doolin | |
| Sandra Knight | ... | Roxanna Ledbetter | |
| James Mitchum | ... | Robin Doolin |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #18919) (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1975) | Norway:16 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Film debut of Peter Breck. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the opening chase between Doolin and the Treasury agents, the agents are driving a 1957 Chevrolet with a grill mounted emergency light. However, in one scene of the chase, the car changes to a 1957 Ford without the emergency light. (This Ford was part of another chase later in the movie.) The Chevrolet then reappears for the rest of the chase. more
Quotes:
Lucas Doolin: [to a noisy customer, about the nightclub's singer] She's trying to make a living. If you want to bray, go find yourself a barnyard. more
Movie Connections:
Edited into They Saved Hitler's Brain (1963) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Ballad of Thunder Road more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (51 total)
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Filmed in 1957, and sent to theaters in 1958, it had the 'Rods' of the day. This was a film of youth, and wild rebels. In some ways, you had to be born then to understand it. I saw it for the first time at the Flying Cloud Drive-In. Siting in a 1951 Ford Custom with a full race flat head engine, and my best girl at my side. Three duces, Lakers, and overdrive trans. The car, not her. To this day I can close my eyes and hear the the high pitch voice singing the theme song. "Let me tell the story, I can tell it well, 'bout the whipperwill that drove...", well you know the song if you have seen the movie.
Imagine a drive-in filled with 'Rods'. On the screen you see a 50 Ford, with its lights out, driving down a dark country road. A 57 Chev pulls out from a hiding spot and gives chase. All heck lets loose, not on the screen, but in the drive-in. Fifty 'Rods' rev their 'Mills' with the Lakers open. Flames shoot from the pipes, and the noise pounds in your guts. Outside the drive-in 20 cops are waiting for the movie to end, and play time to start. Have this picture in your mind? That's the way it was back then. The movie showed a 50 Ford front clip on a 51 Ford. The inside view of the car shows a 51 dash. I spotted that when I first viewed the movie. The 57 Ford, that Bob drove later in the movie, had a 312 supercharged engine. I know that engine well. I had to get one after I saw the movie. Oh, and the car to go with it. Bootleging is not a southern exclusive. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, and we had 'shiners, and 'runners here. Minnesota 13 was the 'shine of the Volstead Days. Sorry, I forgot what this is all about, and no, I will not say if I did any of that. All my friends knew the song by heart, and we would sing it all the time. Bad guys drove Chev (Feds) and the good guys (Runners) drove Fords.
Simple, plain, and all 1950's. Lots of bad acting. Lots of continuity errors. Lots of hot cars. Lots of great action shots. A great title song. Look, if you were not born then, you have to see what Grandpa and Grandma made out to when they were young. No Drive-ins are around today. My 2002 Thunderbird has computers that limit my speed. I still know all the words to the song. I can still close my eyes and hear the roar of the 'mills', and see the flames from the Lakers, today. I still wish it was 'way back then', and 20 cops were waiting to play. "And when his engine roared, they called the highway Thunder Road"