Moonrunners
| Moonrunners | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Gy Waldron |
| Produced by | Robert B. Clark |
| Written by | Gy Waldron |
| Starring |
James Mitchum Kiel Martin Arthur Hunnicutt Chris Forbes |
| Narrated by | Waylon Jennings |
| Music by | Waylon Jennings |
| Cinematography | Brian W. Roy |
| Edited by | William Chulack Avrum Fine |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Moonrunners is a 1975 film, starring James Mitchum, about a Southern family that runs bootleg liquor. It was reworked four years later into the popular long-running television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and as such the two productions share many similar concepts. Mitchum had co-starred with his father, Robert Mitchum, in the similar drive-in favorite Thunder Road eighteen years earlier, which also focused upon moonshine-running bootleggers using fast cars to elude federal agents. Moonrunners, a B movie, was filmed in 1973 and awaited release for over a year. Its soundtrack reflects the outlaw music boom of the 1970s during which the film was released.
The film was written and directed by Gy Waldron and is based on the life and stories of ex-moonshiner Jerry Rushing, who has a small role in the movie as a heavy at the Boar's Nest bar. It is listed in the book The Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time.
The story is narrated by the Balladeer (Waylon Jennings), who introduces and comments on the story of cousins, Grady and Bobby Lee Hagg, who run bootleg liquor for their uncle Jesse Hagg of Shiloh County.
Uncle Jesse is a Baptist who knows the Bible better than the local preacher. He has been a widower since Aunt Libby died ten years ago. He still makes liquor, according to his "granddaddy's granddaddy's" recipe, in stills named Molly and Beulah. Every drop is aged two years, and bottled in glass (never plastic). The Haggs have been making their recipe since before the Revolutionary War, and Jesse only sells to a friend in nearby Florence to ensure that his liquor is never blended with any other.
Bobby Lee (also called "Lee") is a smart-mouthed schemer, named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In the opening, Bobby Lee is placed in the Pikkens County jail for a bar fight at the Boar's Nest. On his way home, he helps Beth Ann Eubanks, who is on the run from family trouble in Mississippi. Uncle Jesse lodges her at his home, and Lee courts her.
...
Wikipedia