Edgar Soberon Torchia Fine low-budget action drama that pits the moralistic urban view of "hillbillies" against the philosophy of people from the mountain (in this case of Irish ancestry) who live by simple rules. Robert Mitchum plays Luke Doolin, a stubborn man who is a war defector and also in charge of the illegal moon-shining business run by his family for 250 years. On top of this he has against him a ruthless intermediary who wants to control the business in the area, including the county where the Doolins live and operate. I found most interesting the way innocent lives were taken up to a point: in our times, both Luke's singer girlfriend and his brother would have been killed in the middle of act 2. Sandra Knight, James Mitchum and Keely Smith are convincing in first big roles.

classicsoncall Hot rods, moonshine and Robert Mitchum - oh baby! - what's not to love about "Thunder Road"? OK, the film gets a little tedious at times with it's dialog and a few scenes that drag, but when it focuses on 'wild and reckless men and illegal whiskey', the picture revs up to a ninety mile per hour pace. And whoa! - long before James Bond - those moonshiners were using gadgets like the oil spray gimmick to run chasers off the road - did that really happen? You have to give Mitchum credit here, not only did he star, but he wrote the story and the title song and produced the picture. He also cast oldest son James as younger brother Robin in the story. It was the perfect part for Mitchum, the perennial bad boy of film in a role that allowed that understated malice and danger to show through.Watch for an obvious continuity goof in that lounge scene near the end of the picture with Lucas Doolin (Mitchum) and Francine (Keely Smith). As they were sitting at the table, a whiskey bottle was positioned at Lucas's elbow. When Francine goes to play a tune at the juke box, she turns around to find Lucas gone, and there are two different non-alcoholic bottles on the table.What would have made the picture better would have been a final showdown between Lucas and gangster Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon). Be that as it may, it's a worthy film that revives a certain nostalgia for those glory days of the Fifties with it's fast cars and sense of imminent danger, best expressed by Kogan when he tried to shake down Lucas with his warning that 'there's no middle way'.

thinker1691 In the back woods of Kentucky, Tennessee and Macon Georga, there is a tradition of making moonshine which dates back to when these towns were first founded. However, the fact that distilling alcohol is no longer illegal, most of the fun has been taken out of it. But back in 1958 a movie came on the silver screen which made its star a national icon and a household name. The movie was called " Thunder Road" and stars Robert Mitchum as 'cool driving' Lucas Doolin. His job in the film is transporting untaxed moonshine from one county to another. Although sought after by Treasury Agent Troy Barrett (Gene Barry) who plans to put all of the moonshine distillers out of business, it's a new criminal faction who becomes more dangerous than the law. The new organization, headed by Carl Kogan (Jacques Aubuchon) plans to take over Relow Valley by force and make the mountain people go back to raising Bumblebee Cotton. The night time, high speed chases along some of the hottest roads in the back woods, makes for exciting, shoot-em up, roll-over action and Mitchem is superb as the ex-army veteran, turned moonshine runner. Not to mention the movie's title song which he wrote and later became a radio hit. Robert Mitchum's on screen persona is what makes this 50's film a true Classic. ****

whpratt1 Enjoyed this Robert Mitchum film where he plays the role as a Korean War Veteran named Lucas Doolin who returns to his family and continues to carry on the family trade of running moonshine whiskey from the family still. Lucas is a very admired young man who has two different gals that are head over heels in love with him, but he just keeps running up and down the mountain hills of the South and never seems to want to quit and settle down. Gene Barry, (Troy Barrett) plays the role as a Treasury Agent who starts to investigate this moonshine business and is hot on the heels of Lucas Doolin. However, there is another man who wants to take over the whiskey running business and this creates more problems for Lucas as all his family and friends who are in this business and are going to run into big troubles. It was nice seeing Robert Mitchum's oldest son also giving a supporting role in this film.