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White Lightning (1973)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
22 October 1973 (Sweden) moreTagline:
If You Haven't Seen "White Lightning" You Haven't Seen Burt Reynolds morePlot:
An ex con teams up with federal agents to help them with breaking up a moonshine ring. | add synopsisPlot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Bastards’ Gets A Soundtrack (From MTV Movies Blog. 15 May 2009, 3:00 PM, PDT)
What Inglourious Music Will The Basterds Be Put To?
(From Screen Rant. 15 May 2009, 11:31 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
What Burt Reynolds Should Have Been moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Burt Reynolds | ... | Gator McKlusky | |
| Jennifer Billingsley | ... | Lou | |
| Ned Beatty | ... | Sheriff J.C. Connors | |
| Bo Hopkins | ... | Roy Boone | |
| Matt Clark | ... | Dude Watson | |
| Louise Latham | ... | Martha Culpepper | |
| Diane Ladd | ... | Maggie (as Diane Lad) | |
| R.G. Armstrong | ... | Big Bear | |
| Conlan Carter | ... | Deputy | |
| Dabbs Greer | ... | Pa McKlusky | |
| Lincoln Demyan | ... | Warden | |
| John Steadman | ... | Skeeter | |
| Iris Korn | ... | Ma McKlusky | |
| Stephanie Burchfield | ... | Jenny | |
| Barbara Muller | ... | Louella |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
101 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFun Stuff
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This was originally slated to be Steven Spielberg's first theatrical feature and he spent months on pre-production. moreGoofs:
Miscellaneous: There are several shots of Gators '71 Ford that show a stock front clip. Then there are some that show the left headlights covered in tape and a steel bracket that runs along the front bumper. moreFAQ
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Some people renting this expecting "Gator" style silliness are probably in for a surprise. This movie had a lot more of a "Deliverence" feeling than I expected, and felt authentic to the South of the 1970s. Ok, I wasn't there at the time, so it could be completely wrong. But it was convincing.
This is what Reynolds could have been--a middleweight serious Southern Action actor, like a cornpone Marlon Brando. There's just enough meat on the script to get the old mental wheels turning, and just enough action that it doesn't turn into one of those boring intellectual films about the Bad Ol' South. All in all, a good, interesting, tight movie.
Of course, it unfortunately led to "Gator" -- a bloated mess -- a few years later. Watching them back to back, it's pathetic to watch how Reynolds declined into a buffoon. As he showed in Boogie Nights, he's quite capable of playing serious dramatic roles. Too bad he didn't follow through on the promise of White Lightning, but I'm sure the $$$ were better for the garbage films he later made.