Whisky brutal

I thoroughly enjoyed this offbeat movie. Patrick McGoohan as a Tennessee revenooer? Yep, he pulls it off. Alan Alda as a moonshiner? Alda plays it low key. He's as cool as a cucumber despite facing considerable adversity. With more great performances from Richard Widmark, Will Geer, Bo Hopkins and, as a demented killer, Lee Hazlewood. Widmark played a bad guy but without the sneering, evil tones he was known for. Not sure whether previous reviewers watched the entire movie as the low ratings were a surprise to me. Regardless, I took the plunge and I'm glad that I did. Everyone in town loved Son Martin (Alda) so I found it interesting that the writers refrained from making this a typical rally around your buddy film, instead portraying all of Son's friends as nothing more than interested spectators. I say give this movie a try and you won't be disappointed.

This is one crazy bizarre film. Not so much the story, but the casting. Patrick McGoogan as the corrupt prohibition guy is just hilarious, I was waiting for him to yell out "Who is number one?" just for fun. Richard Widmark was also funny, as the bad guy working with Patrick McGoogan. It was weird to see Alan Alda playing the role of the dude with all of the moonshine. One crazy thing if it is 1932, why is there a countryish pop song that sounds like it is from the late 60's playing through this picture? Maybe to be funny. This movie is sometimes fun to watch, but it may annoy some. It was made during that down period at MGM, when studio hands were changing. Maybe Warner Archives will put this out on DVD.

After reading Mr. MacIntyre's review about "The 1932 Moonshine War" I'd have to conclude that Mr. MacIntyre's review of this movie was 80 percent ignorance and 20 percent assumption.

The movie is based in the last days before the repeal of the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitituion which made it a crime to import, buy or drink alcohol. A complete failure in regard to legislation. The principle of the movie revolved around a LARGE stash of 8 year old whiskey owned by Alan Alda's char acer that distributors would of paid twice their weight in gold for. What Mr. MacIntyre's missed was that the time and place were during the Great Depression in the Kentucky, the American South, which was triple-poor compared to the rest of the world. Alan Alda's character was not part of a family, but a member of a community who made whiskey to sell to the rest of the country because the soil of their farms could produce little else to keep them from going hungry. It was choice many people made during those times. The whiskey for Alda's character was a legacy from his father and his ticket out of the poor house along with his lady friend. Part of the dialog was leaving to go live in California, the eternal promise land even by today's standards.

Patrick McGooan's character was CROOKED, as in criminal, Federal officer looking to make himself rich from his old Army buddy "Son Martin's" whiskey. He was anything, but hard working and when confronted by the black man with the shotgun, even less so. Thus, his contact with Richard Widmark and his gang. When the gang found they no longer needed McGooan's character they turned on him. In turn Alda's neighbors turned on him, when the gang, posing as MORE Federal officers started raiding his neighbors stills and homes. They refused him service and credit at the local store among other things. I saw this flick as teenager and the storyline has remained with me for decades. It seemed that much of the story revolved around the old nursery rhyme about Chicky Licky who no one wanted to help make the bread, but they sure wanted to help eat it. The same thing is definitive in this movie, but the ending was beautiful in the destruction of the bad guys and the reconciliation of the neighbors. I'm surprised this movie isn't out on DVD or VHS.

I saw this movie six times when it first came out, and loved it.

There were snatches of dialogue in it that were pretty funny, and Lee Hazelwood was outstanding as bad guy Dual Metters.

Richard Widmark plays a rascal better than anyone else, and he was perfect as Dr. Emmett Taulbee.

The movie also starred the great character actors Charles Tyner and Bo Hopkins.

I've often wondered why this movie hasn't been made available on DVD.

Saw it again about a year ago on a very blurry VHS tape, and although it was pretty dated after thirty-five years, it was still a watchable movie.

Being from Louisville, Kentucky, it is hard to be objective about this movie.

Considering the times this film depicts, that is the closing days of Prohibition and in the depths of the Great Depression, it is also hard to take these characters too seriously, for after all they are all on the make in some way, which makes this so much fun to watch.

You don't give a damn who wins !!!!

Patrick McGoohan's character as a crooked G-Man is par for the course, and Richard Widmark's corrupt dentist with his little sexy bundle in tow and other hangers-on may not be your average Louisvillian, though I imagine he does need a fair amount of medicinal alcohol for his private use, especially around Derby Week !!! (After all, what's a Mint Julep without bourbon.)

Alan Alda is quite good as 'Son Martin', who is sitting on a fortune in moonshine, patiently waiting for repeal.

Add all the local color provided by a good supporting cast, and you have a watchable movie, though you do have all these Hollywood types trying to get by with bad Southern drawls and over-the-top acting.

One highlight is seeing a young Teri Garr strip naked at gunpoint,(at least I think it was her, since we had a brief rear view. Could have been a body double).

Best watched with a full jar !!!!