Il contrabbandiere

I was 5 when this was made, but the first time i saw it I must have been 9 or 10 - I will never forget the electric-feeling charge that went through me that first time. When viewing the movie today, one has to keep in mind the period in which this movie was made. It looks and feels dated.

Being a car nut even at that young age, I started paying close attention when i saw Lucas Doolin's 50 Ford flying around a curve with a 57 Ford carrying two G-men on its tail. Just when it looks like he's about to get caught by a bumper clamping device on the front of the 57, he activates a lever that releases the rear bumper of the 50 Ford and leaves the G-men sitting there holding nothing but a bumper.

With a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, Robert Mitchum as sleepy-eyed Lucas Doolin seems utterly cool and totally unafraid of anything that stands in the way of his way of making a living, which happens to be transporting illegal liquor. Everyone in his small community of Harlan seems to either look up to him or be envious of him. The scene where Gene Barry walks up to him after a chase and boxes Doolin and the 50 Ford in is classic. Realizing he is caught, Mitchum sits in the car, shuts off the engine, lights a cigarette and leans back in the seat. Barry walks up, leans over to the window and says "I believe I have a bumper that belongs to you." Mitchum nonchalantly replies "Well, why don't you give it back? That's like stealing, ain't it?"

I last saw this about 5 years ago. I would have been 46 then. It still excited me then. I guess it always will.

Decent if unremarkable drama of a moonshiner and the feds who are trying to shut him down. A real study in star power with Robert Mitchum commanding the screen with seemingly little effort. An interesting contrast can be made between him and his son James, making his screen debut here, their appearance is so similar that you would think their performances would have a hint of the same similarity. The senior Mitchum owns the screen with an easy charm and magnetism while the young Mitchum is stiff with a vacant stare. Keely Smith contributes a couple of terrific numbers sung in her unique style but she also comes across as uncomfortable and mechanical in any scene which doesn't require her to sing. A huge drive-in hit in its day, it's easy to see why since it has a very laid back, low budget feel.

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"

If ever there was a film that combined all the drama of hotrod cars, moonshine runners, romance and the family ties and traditions of Appalachia, this one's it. Robert Mitchum virtually owned this entire film. He wrote the story based on an actual incident that occurred just outside Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee state police confirm that in about 1953, a moonshine runner crashed his "moonrunner" car at a place called Reardon, which is now part of the city, and died. How Mitcum found the story, we may never know. Mitchum also helped write the lead song "Thunder Road" and the second song in the movie, "Whipporwill." He also recorded the title song and it was high on the pop charts for months. And, he cast his own son as his brother in the movie. Though technically far from perfect (the cars seem to change styles during the chase scenes), and the acting in places leaves a LOT to be desired, old movie theater operators will tell you they can still fill all their seats with a double bill of "Thunder Road" and "Rebel Without A Cause." I'll certainly be there every chance I get.

Arthur Ripley directs this cult classic crime/Noir. War vet Robert Mitchum returns home to ramrod the family moonshine business. This hard headed bootlegger takes on the Feds and the Mob while burning the roads in his whiskey laden hot rods. If that is not enough, he must keep his young brother(James Mitchum)from moving up from mechanic to driver in the family business and then there is the romancing of a Memphis chanteuse(Keely Smith). Also in the cast are Gene Barry, Sandra Knight and Jacques Aubuchon. Bob Mitchum produces, and takes partial writing credit plus writes songs for this evocative glimpse of southern culture. Mitchum also oversees his younger brother's film debut.

NOTE: It is said that Elvis Presley enjoyed this movie so much he memorized bad Bob's lines of the script.