150 Word Review: 'Thunder Road' (1958)
All gas, no brakes
Robert Mitchum is Lucas Doolin in Thunder Road, a brooding war hero who returns to the family business: bootlegging. Specifically, he’s behind the wheel of souped-up cars designed to transport illegal hooch all over the state. The hillbillies of Appalachia have been brewing booze for generations; it ain’t their fault the law ain’t on their side anymore. Running booze is dangerous work, but Doolin has a death wish.
There’s plenty of roaring car chases. Our hero gets into a few donnybrooks with rivals. He’s tough, you see, but when it comes to family and women, he’s soft, too. This is a Mitchum production: he developed and produced the movie, wrote and sang the theme song. He even cast his son, James, as his character’s little brother.
The movie ends with a title card thanking the government for its cooperation. Thunder Road is pro-G-man. It’s too bad they cast cool-as-hell Mitchum…