Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thunder Road
It is hard to believe but the movie Thunder Road is 50 years old this year. In 1958 when it was released it was popular with those of us in Wicomico Senior High School. For those who are not familiar with the movie it starred Robert Mitchum and some other people. Robert Mitchum was always a popular star on Delmarva. He lived with his grandmother for a while in, I think Felton Delaware, and he had a farm over around Cambridge or Easton. When he would hit Ocean City, his drinking and actions were popular gossip around town. Anyway Thunder Road is about a Tennessee bootlegger who ran fast cars transporting the illegal alcohol. It was a “B” movie but certainly developed a cult following. I think I have a tape of it somewhere around the house and it is shown on Turner Classic movie channel ever so often.
The theme song (written by Robert Mitchum) goes like this;
NOW LET ME TELL THE STORY, I CAN TELL IT ALL
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN BOY WHO RAN ILLEGAL ALCOHOL
HIS DADDY MADE THE WHISKEY, SON, HE DROVE THE LOAD
WHEN HIS ENGINE ROARED,
THEY CALLED THE HIGHWAY THUNDER ROAD.
SOMETIMES INTO ASHVILLE, SOMETIMES MEMPHIS TOWN
THE REVENOORS CHASED HIM BUT THEY COULDN'T RUN HIM
DOWN
EACH TIME THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD HIM,
HIS ENGINE WOULD EXPLODE
HE'D GO BY LIKE THEY WERE STANDIN' STILL ON THUNDER
ROAD.
CHORUS
AND THERE WAS THUNDER, THUNDER OVER THUNDER ROAD
THUNDER WAS HIS ENGINE, AND WHITE LIGHTNING WAS HIS
LOAD
THERE WAS MOONSHINE, MOONSHINE TO QUENCH THE DEVIL'S THIRST
THE LAW THEY SWORE THEY'D GET HIM, BUT THE DEVIL GOT
HIM FIRST.
ON THE FIRST OF APRIL, NINETEEN FIFTY-FOUR etc etc etc
So advance forward four years and I found myself in the Air Force. Now you may not know this but military people tend to be some of the biggest bullshiters you would ever meet. Once they realized there was no one from home to tell otherwise they developed their own make believe childhood and environment. About ever other guy from the southeastern United States would tell the story line from Thunder Road as tho it actually happened to them and they ran fast cars with illegal alcohol. They all seem to think they were the only one who had seen the movie and no one would be suspicious of them. Neverless it is a great redneck cult classic movie.
This movie review of Thunder Road is as good as any of them.
# posted by Howard @ 10:43 AM 
