Thunder Road

Director: Arthur Ripley
Year Released: 1958
Rating: 2.5

Fearless moonshiner (Robert Mitchum) gets chased by every gangster and lawman in the South but still manages to rake in the cash - the moonshiners of yesteryear were like the drug dealers of today. It's all right as a drive-in/B-movie - and Mitchum oozes charisma - but nothing is particularly noteworthy: for one, the acting is sub-par (everyone looks like cowardly panty-waste in comparison to R.M.) and the ending is blunt and unsatisfying. Interesting personal factoid: my Grandmother, now in her late 80's, used to be a moonshine runner with her sisters way back when they were teenagers ... and their biggest clients were the town politicians and police officers! Corruption: doth thou knowest no end?