''Thunder in Carolina'' is a 1960

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

film directed by Paul Helmick and starring

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

, Alan Hale, Jr., and

Connie Hines Connie Hines (March 24, 1931 – December 18, 2009) was an American actress best known for co-starring on the 1960s sitcom '' Mister Ed''. Life and career Hines was one of four children born in Dedham in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, t ...

. Written by Alexander Richards, it contains 1959-vintage stock car race footage. Filmed at a number of small dirt ovals in the South, the film is set in the 1959 edition of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. ...

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina metropolitan area. Darlington is known f ...

Plot

A stock-car veteran (

) teaches a grease monkey to race in the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C.

Cast

: Mitch Cooper * Alan Hale, Jr.: Buddy Schaeffer *

: Rene York * Race Gentry: Les York (billed as John Gentry) * Ed McGrath: Reichert * Troyanne Ross: Kay Hill * Helen Downey: Eve Mason * Van Casey: Stoogie * Tripplie Wisecup: Myrtle Webb *

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 stunt double, stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film ind ...

: Tommy Webb * Billie Langston: Peaches * Ann Stevens: Singer * George Rembert, Jr.: Junior Thorsen * Olwen Roney: Motel manager * Richard Taylor: Higgins * George Fordham: Waiter

Production

All filming was done during 1959 with much of the footage taken during the actual event. A film car was entered to capture on-track sequences and Rory Calhoun actually ran some laps during the race. Calhoun drives a two-tone 1957

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

, with a blue body and white top, while his friend-turned-competitor "Les York" is in a 1959

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

. The film is a "B" grade production in terms of budget but ''Thunder in Carolina'' managed to capture much of the sound and fury of the era.

Release

The film had its opening engagements on June 7, 1960, in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Hartsville, South Carolina Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Harts ...

. The film was later marketed on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

as ''Hard Drivin'' with a freeze-frame title spliced into the opening.

Reception

It grossed $271,847 in its first week in a 100 theater saturation release in the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

. The film was released nationally on July 15, 1960.

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

is a fan of the film."QUENTIN TARANTINO: MY FAVOURITE RACING MOVIES" ''F1 Social Diary'' 21 August, 2013
accessed 5 July 2014

References

External links

* * 1960 films 1960s sports films American auto racing films American romantic drama films Films shot in South Carolina NASCAR mass media 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language sports films {{sport-film-stub