The only reason I ever sat through Thunder Road was because it was a Robert
Mitchum film. If I had read the plot before I watched it I would not have even
bothered to waste my time.
Honestly
I stopped paying attention in the first twenty minutes so this summary will not
be long at all. Lucas Doolin (Mitchum) and his family are moonshine makers and
runner. He is the runner for his father. His cousin customizes the car to hold
the liquor. The police are constantly on Lucas’s tail whenever he goes on a
run. Now to make matters more difficult a city Mafioso wants in on the
moonshine running and selling. When Lucas goes into town he is caught by the
police. The police put him in jail but they really want to use him to get to
the gang that wants in on the moonshine.
A
whole lot of drama happens in between that bored me to death and I am sure it
will bore you if I fill it in.
Robert
Mitchum was one of the screenwriters. He came up with the story and even wrote
the theme song. Mitchum was great I have yet to see him give a bad performance
in a film. I was just very bored with the topic of cars and liquor. I guess
that is the girl in me I need romance and drama… well there was romance and
drama but it was so forced and crappy with the main story. Mitchum’s son James
played his younger brother. He originally wanted Elvis in the role but Elvis’s
manager sucked and said no because Elvis was not getting paid enough so Mitchum
put his son in the role. James was by far the better choice because, obviously,
they look alike and he was a much better actor than Elvis.
Thunder Road was not my kind of film at
all. As I said I was bored with it in the first twenty minutes. The film was a
big hit when it was released which I guess I can understand for the time
period. Mitchum made Lucas a vet of the Korean War and his world was now dark
and angry. I can see this appealing to many of the returning vets and boys
coming of age at this time. The only way I can tell you to see Thunder Road is if you films with cars
or like cult films which this has become. Otherwise completely skip Thunder Road.
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