Cheap Thunder Road (DVD) (Robert Mitchum, Gene Barry) (Arthur Ripley) Price

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Customer Reviews of Thunder Road

Possibly Robert Mitchum's finest; a must!
This black-and-white movie appeared in countless drive-in theatres in the south during the late 1950's and achieved a cult following as the definite favorite of the good old boy set. In fact, any understanding of southern males who are today between the ages of 45 and 60 is incomplete without considering this movie. Robert Mitchum is a moonshine runner, using souped-up Fords as tankers and fighting both the feds (Gene Barry plays the head fed) and organized crime. The attitude conveyed is that a man should be able to do what he wants on his own land, including make alcohol. Mitchum's movie makes a compelling case for this, one especially receptive to southerners and those who were then between ages 15 and 25.

Thunder Road has thrilling car chase scenes and fine acting performances by Mitchum, Keely Smith, Gene Barry, and Jim Mitchum (Robert's son). A big song was also composed by Mitchum: "The Ballad of Thunder Road." This is one to get and watch over and over again, especially with a six=pack of beer, hot dogs, barbecue, and lots of serious drive-in grade junk (fun) food,

This is for a good old time, so grab it and enjoy!

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My All-Time Favorite Movie!
Robert Mitchum is a cool moonshine runner in Thunder Road. It's my all-time favorite movie in a campy way. This is the first movie that had great car chases that I remember, although, of course, the special effects are nowhere up to today's standards. The dialog is corny: (upon viewing the reluctant moonshiner Jeb's funeral procession), (sappily) "They're bringing him back to the valley he never wanted to leave." The acting is corny too - see Keely Smith's open-mouthed expression in the resturant when she turns around to find Robert Mitchum gone. Anyway the story holds together, the characters are interesting, the action is good, and so is the song. Gene Barry is good as the BATF agent. Jim Mitchum (Robert's son who played his younger brother here) was corny. But Robert Mitchum was the coolest!

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Moonshine, moonshine, to quench the devil's thirst
IF you're a Robert Mitchum fan, it's almost impossible not to give THUNDER ROAD five stars. Heck, he even wrote and sang the title song.
Mitchum plays Lucas Doolin, a Korean War vet turned Kentucky moonshine runner, a man with "a machine gunner's outlook and death don't faze him much." Times are hard along Thunder Road, the revenuers from Alcohol and Tobacco are stepping up the pressure and a big city operator, Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon), is trying to buy out all the local moonshiners. Luke Doolin is the best runner out there, and when the revenuers & Kogan push, he pushes back.
The revenuers, personified by Troy Barrett (Gene Barry), want to shut down things and especially want help in capturing the big fish Kogan. At one point he even (mistakenly) tries to intimate Luke into cooperating. "I reckon you can do all you say," the sleepy-eyed Luke says after listening to Barrett's threats. "But first you got to catch me. If you can." Kogan's threat is more direct and lethal. He wants to buy out and build his empire. In other words, the moonshiners belong to a loose cooperative and Kogan is threatening a hostile takeover. Barrett tries to win through persuasion; Kogan's goons use guns.
THUNDER ROAD loves cars and driving. When we aren't underneath the souped-up '51 Ford's hood admiring the curves of its engine, we're speeding and chasing and crashing along the rural backroads. The chase scenes were probably pretty exciting for the time, although today they just look quaint and hokey.
Mitchum is, as always, excellent. In an interesting bit of casting, and perhaps as a nod to the dubious paternity in some areas of rural America, Mitchum's son James is cast as his brother Robin Doolin. The less said about his acting the better, but they do look an awful lot alike. Another interesting and somewhat wooden choice is the golden-throated Keely Smith as Mitchum's big city's girlfriend Francie Wymore. As a bonus to her fans, she sings a couple of songs.
THUNDER ROAD is a minor cult classic, most popular in the Appalachia region. I read an interesting bit of trivia from the IMDB site: Elvis Presley was originally offered the part of Robin Doolin, but Tom Parker put the kabosh on it. Now THAT would have been interesting.