''Thunder Road'' is a black-and-white 1958

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

–

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

directed by

Arthur Ripley Arthur DeWitt Ripley (January 12, 1897 – February 13, 1961) was an American film screenwriter, editor, producer and director. Biography In 1923, he joined the Mack Sennett studio as a comedy writer. In the 1920s, he worked closely with Fr ...

and starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

, who also produced the film and wrote the story. With

Don Raye Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Th ...

, Mitchum co-wrote the theme song, "

The Ballad of Thunder Road "The Ballad of Thunder Road" is a song performed and co-written by actor Robert Mitchum in 1958, with music by composer Jack Marshall. It was the theme song of the movie '' Thunder Road''. The song made the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 twice, in 1958 an ...

". The supporting cast features Gene Barry,

Jacques Aubuchon Jacques Georges Aubuchon (October 30, 1924 – December 28, 1991) was an American actor who appeared in films, stage, and on television in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Aubuchon, who grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was the son of Art ...

Keely Smith Dorothy Jacqueline Keely (March 9, 1928The reference work ''The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet'' gives Smith's date of birth as March 9, 1932. – December 16, 2017), profession ...

, James Mitchum,

Sandra Knight Sandra D. Knight is a retired American actress. Acting career Film Knight acted in low-budget films of the 1950s and 1960s, such as ''Frankenstein's Daughter'' (1958) in which she played the titular role, ''The Terror (1963 film), The Terror'' ...

, and Peter Breck. The film's plot concerns running

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

in the mountains of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

in the late 1950s. ''Thunder Road'' became a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...

and continued to play at drive-in movie theaters in some southeastern states through the 1970s and 1980s.

Plot

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

veteran Lucas Doolin (Robert Mitchum) works in the family moonshine business, delivering the illegal liquor his father distills to clandestine distribution points throughout the South in his souped-up

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

. However, Lucas has more problems than evading the U.S. Treasury agents ("revenuers"), led by determined newcomer Troy Barrett ( Gene Barry). Lucas is concerned that his younger brother Robin ( James Mitchum), who is also his mechanic, will be tempted into following in his footsteps and becoming a moonshine runner. A well-funded outside gangster, Carl Kogan (

), tries to gain control of the independent local moonshine producers and their distribution points, and is willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. The stakes rise when an attempt by Kogan to kill Lucas results in the death of a government agent and another moonshine driver (

Mitchell Ryan Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American film, television, and stage actor, who in his six decades of television is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows'', and later for his co- ...

). In a romantic subplot, Lucas becomes involved with

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

Francie Wymore (

). He is unaware one of the neighbor girls, Roxanna Ledbetter (Sandra Knight), has a crush on him and fears for his life. When a series of government raids destroys their hidden stills, Lucas's father and the other local moonshiners shut down production "for a spell" to let the government deal with Kogan in its own time, but Lucas is forced by circumstances and his own code of honor to make a fatal final run.

Factual background

The film was based loosely on an incident in which a driver transporting moonshine was said to have crashed to his death on Kingston Pike in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...

, between Bearden Hill and Morrell Road. Per

Metro Pulse ''Metro Pulse'' was a weekly newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1991 by Ashley Capps, Rand Pearson, Ian Blackburn, and Margaret Weston, and was a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. In 2007, ''Metro Pulse'' ...

writer Jack Renfro, the incident occurred in 1952 and may have been witnessed by

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

, who passed the story on to Mitchum.

Cast

as Lucas Doolin * Gene Barry as Troy Barrett *

as Carl Kogan *

as Francie Wymore *

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of '' Adventures of S ...

as Vernon Doolin *

as Roxanna Ledbetter * James Mitchum as Robin Doolin * Peter Breck as Stacey Gouge, a rival driver *

as Jed Moultrie, a decoy driver * Nicholas Mann Konrad as Robert Mitchum's stunt driver

Cast notes

*The role of Robin Doolin, Lucas's younger brother, was originally written for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

per Mitchum's request. Mitchum personally submitted the script to Elvis in Los Angeles. The singer was eager to play the role, but his manager,

Colonel Tom Parker Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997),

, demanded Elvis be paid a ridiculous sum of money, more than the entire budget for the movie, which ended negotiations. Mitchum's elder son James got the part, which worked well owing to his extremely close physical resemblance to his father.

Production

In the film, Mitchum drove a souped-up black 1950 Ford two-door sedan,(which was later repainted gray) with a custom tank in the back for moonshine liquor and a Ford V8 with three two-barrel carburetors, but after it was blown up by Kogan's men, it was replaced with a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 two-door sedan with the same alterations excluding the carburetors. The 1951 Ford ended up getting blown up by Kogan, whose henchmen had planted a bomb that activated when a federal agent put the key in the ignition to start the car. In the film, a closeup of the key being inserted in the ignition used a 1951 Ford for that and earlier interior shots. Most of the scenes were filmed in

Woodfin, North Carolina Woodfin is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,123 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for Nicholas Washington Woodfin, a renowned lawye ...

, along U.S. Route 19 and others at

Lake Lure Lake Lure is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. In 2020 the town population was 1,634. Lake Lure was incorporated in 1927, and acquired the lake after which it is named in 1965. History In 1902, Dr. Lucius B. Morse and ...

. Some scenes were filmed in Beech, east of Weaverville. Scenes include Reems Creek Road, Sugar Creek Road, and the Beech Community Center. Some scenes were actual local moonshine drivers shot with a camera mounted on a pickup tailgate. Many city scenes were filmed in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, including the explosion of Doolin's car. The stunt coordinator was

Carey Loftin William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is ...

, with a stunt team of Hollywood's most accomplished stunt drivers, Ray Austin , Neil Castes Sr.,

Robert Hoy Robert Francis Hoy (April 3, 1927 – February 8, 2010), was an American actor, stuntman and director. Life and career Hoy was born and raised in New York. He joined the Marines and served in World War II. Bobby Hoy's career spanned 55 years as ...

, and

Dale Van Sickel Dale Harris Van Sickel (November 29, 1907 – January 25, 1977) was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years. Van ...

. The film's theme song, "The Whippoorwill", was sung by Keely Smith in her role as a nightclub singer, and a different studio rendition by her was released as a 45 rpm single on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

. The film's opening song is "The Ballad of Thunder Road", sung by

Randy Sparks Randy Sparks (born July 29, 1933, Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Biography Sparks grew up in Oakland, California, and attended the Universit ...

, a different arrangement of which was recorded by Mitchum and released as a popular 45 rpm single, also on Capitol. Both songs were co-written by Mitchum.

In popular culture

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

said at a 1978 concert that the name of his song " Thunder Road" had been inspired by seeing a poster of the movie, though he did not see the movie itself. In the episode of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'' entitled ''And Coachie Makes Three'', Sam and Coach watch the movie – as part of a long-running tradition they have concerning Robert Mitchum movies.

References

External links

* * * *
Lyrics & recording: "Ballad of Thunder Road"

"Thunder Road festival held yearly (April) in Rockwood, TN."
{{Arthur Ripley 1958 crime drama films 1958 films American black-and-white films American chase films American crime drama films Films about alcoholic drinks Films about automobiles Films directed by Arthur Ripley Films scored by Jack Marshall Films set in Appalachia Films shot in North Carolina United Artists films 1950s chase films Moonshine in popular culture 1950s English-language films 1950s American films