WHITE LIGHTNING 1973
> IT NEVER STRIKES TWICE – ’CAUSE ONCE IS ENOUGH!
IF THERE’S a cooler character name than Gator Mcklusky, I’m yet to hear it, so 1973’s White Lightning already has something going for it – especially as said character is played by the late, great Burt Reynolds. A talented mechanic and driver, Gator is doing time for running ‘white lightning’ – that’s moonshine, folks – in his home state of Arkansas. When he learns that his younger brother Donny has been murdered by the crooked Sheriff JC Connors (Ned Beatty), Gator is hellbent on revenge. So the local feds seize the opportunity to channel his rage into helping them nail Connors once and for all.
Gator is released from prison early and handed the keys to a hotted-up, big-block/four-speed ’71 Ford Custom (don’t look too close), and he soon establishes his cover as a new ’shine runner looking for work in the appropriately named Bogan County. Gator is hooked up with local racer and moonshine go-to, Dude Watson (Matt Clark) – who himself has cut a deal to stay out of prison – to infiltrate the local whiskey operation, which is spearheaded by tough guy ‘Big Bear’ (RG Armstrong) and protected by Connors.
A foot in the door from Dude soon sees Gator working as a blocker for local runner Roy (Bo Hopkins) and his loosemoralled better half, Lou (Jennifer Billingsley). It isn’t long before the trio are making a name for themselves running the good juice throughout the thirsty south.
However, a spanner is heavily thrown in the works when Gator and Lou strike up a romance under the suspicious eye of Roy, and the wheels completely fall off when Gator’s pent-up need for revenge overshadows his deal with the feds.
After Dude is killed during an ambush, Gator finds himself injured and on the run from the crooked Connors, who has becoming increasingly aware of the feds nipping at his heels. A final showdown ensues with Gator and Connors tearing through the cornfields, before a finale true to the filmic style of the times.
VERDICT: 4/5
A HUMID, dusty and action-packed simple pleasure of a movie, White Lightning helped establish Reynolds as a sure thing for flicks of this genre, and he appears to be having a great time during the in-car action scenes. However, the supporting cast is also excellent, especially Ned Beatty as the crooked sheriff and Bo Hopkins as Roy (fresh from his role as The Pharaohs’ leader, Joe, in American Graffiti). And if you love your full-sized early-70s Fords, you are in for a treat – there are plenty of Custom 500s, Galaxies and LTDS being violated across all sorts of terrain, magically squealing rubber on the dirt to Bullitt sound effects. How can you go wrong?