Thunder Road, I can proclaim without fear of contradiction, is the greatest drive-in movie of all time. Even though I first saw it in a movie house on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore, I later saw it in five different drive-ins back in the days of speaker posts, and that was the proper milieu for it. Even though she was married to Louis Prima, Keely Smith was made for Mitchum.
shareYou are absolutely correct when saying "Thunder Road" was the greatest drive-in movie of all time. If our local theatre advertised 4 flicks for a buck, you could bet your bottom dollar that T-RD was one of them. We saw it so many times, we almost knew the script by heart. When Robert Mitchum upgraded to the 57 Ford, I think $400 was the going price. Not too bad deal for a collector car. Weren't "Moon Tanks" an option that year?
shareResearch will show you that the going price was quite a bit more than 400C, but you are on the money re "Moon Tanks". The Ford Fairlsne was the country'sbiggest seller that year. Mitchum, who rode the blinds from Rhode Island to Hollywood, appeared briefly in some Hopolong Cassidy oaters, finally got his break with "Nevada", then "GI Joe", with Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle, snd became my favorite actor. Like I said Keely Smith and Mitch were made for each other. He capped it off with "That Championship Season".
shareI rented Thunder Road today, and now I know where I got the $400.00 57 Ford Fairlane price. After Robert Mitchum wrecked it crashing through the two cars blocking the road, his body shop mechanic quoted him an estimate of $450.00 to fix it. Since it has been well over 40 years since I last saw that movie, you'll have to forgive my failing memory. Walt
shareI just got done watching "Thunder Road" and it is good fun. I love the karate chop Mitchum gives the guy with the hat. Mitchum is my favorite actor, no matter how the movie is, he delivers.
But Keely Smith was just awful. My friends and I were amazed at how poorly she did in her scenes. She looked emblamed. You could tell she wasn't even in the same league at Mitch. It was cringe worthy.
James Mitchum was pretty bad too. But the movie itself was good cheesy fun.
That's what makes horse races fun. Everbody's got their own pick in the sixth at Belmont. I will concur that Mitch was a great actor. Deborah Kerr said he was the best she ever worked with and that's pretty good authority. I still believe that Keely's dead-pan delivery fit right in. She would get up there with Louis Prima and belt one out, and never change her expression, and in a nightclub, it would bring the house down. I think Mitch, like most dads, was trying to help the kid, but there's no guarantee that you can pass on talent from one generation to another. Come to think of it, Mitch was a deasd-pan guy, and it worked for him. Cape Fear is right up there for me. I still maintain that a drive-in was the proper milieu for TR.
Buck35
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I'll agree. One of the guys in our car club owns a drive-in in Mt Sterling,KY and every year on the Sunday before Labor Day we do a car show and a movie. Thunder Road has only been equalled by American Graffiti in the number of requests for a repeat performance. So I can say, that in 2010 it will be coming back as our feature. We plan on having a couple live bands and one of the requirements is that they can perform The Ballad Of Thunder Road.
shareThunder Road is one of my dad's favorite movies.
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