Thunder Road

Thunder road. just the name brings back memories of being young. My dad's favourite movie is thunder road and he used to sing the song when I was young. He had the 45 of the ballad of Thunder road sung by Robert Mitchum. When the film was released on VHS My mom paid a $110. for it. the whole family sat down and was hooked and my dad was transported back to 1958. The film has a honest and touching quality about it. The people in it react as real people would.

The story is simple and that's part of the charm.

Lucas Doolin is home from the Korean War. Filled with a death wish. Luke drives his father's moonshine to the buyers. It's a dangerous job. the Mob is out to shut them down by any means needed. and the Tresury department is out to shut down the mob and the moonshiners. When drivers start getting killed and some drivers are arrested the pressure is on. only one driver is brave enough or reckless enough to keep running and that's Luke. Despite pressure from his mother and his father and his lover to quit. Luke just can't bring himself to quit. The recklessness of it gives him a thrill. Plus he doesn't like to be told what to do. When the mob boss contacts Luke and asks him to work for him Luke declines even though he knows it means a death sentence. When the Boss tells him if he can't get him then he'll get his brother Robin to drive. Luke beats the man and warns him. That No one will ever make a whisky runner out of his brother he'll kill the first man that tries. When one of Luke's cars is tagged as a whisky transport Luke sells it to a friend and buys a new car. When his friend dies in the old car the victim of a bomb meant for Luke he knows his time has run out. Trapped between the Mob and the G-Men Luke makes his last run and his last stand on Thunder Road. The Movie's influence is pretty far reaching Bruce Springsteen named one of his songs after it even tho he never saw the film. Steve Earle rewrote it as Copperhead Road his biggest hit song to date. And Burt Reynolds made a career out of his whisky runners in the 70's. And to this date it's been well remembered as the king of the drive in pictures. Tough gritty with some romance and a lot of action. The acting is decent. And Robert Mitchum can forever lay claim to the title of the king of cool after making this movie. This is the Movie that Steve Mcqueen could only dream of making !