MovieChat Forums > The Moonshine War (1970) Discussion > One of the BEST B's ever made, a gem!

One of the BEST B's ever made, a gem!

posted 16 years ago by wmjahn
8 replies | jump to latest

Come on folks, you can't be serious! THE MOONSHINE WAR has only a 5,9 rating on the IMDB ??? 123 voters ?

I really like Alan ALDA, he is such a normal guy, always a reliable actor, very watchable, practically never a bad part, funny, poignant, great timing. Hardly anybody ever looked at his lesser known movies?

THE MOONSHINE WAR is a terrific B-movie! A novel and script only ELMORE LEONARD in his prime could have come up with, paired with a director many would not really call a great one, but here he has delivered his best directing-effort ever! I would have never thought Richard QUINE to be such a cynic to deliver a movie like this, but obviously this director, who had worked with so many stellar 50ies and 60ies casts, was so happy to get a little B-effort to direct, probably with hardly any studio-involvement, that he decided to make one of the MOST CYNICAL movies I have ever seen! And the sheer joy everybody involved had in making this little gem is visible in every frame.

And the cast loves it! Alan ALDA is terrific, as is Richard WIDMARK, who has made a couple of nice movies shortly before and after that, but where he really shines like in his early prime is in MOONSHINE WAR. And nobody having seen this gem will ever be able to forget LEE HAZLEWOOD, who only starred in 4 movies, of which this one is by faaaar the best!

OK, it is brutal, no doubt, but so what? Moonshining was never a "profession" for cowards and the times back then were not the most peaceful, but what the heck. Just that Alan ALDA is in it, does not mean it has to be a cozy harmless comedy. It certainly is a comedy anyway, but a very brutal one and from what I can see, Alan ALDA loves to be part of it as much as anybody else in this cast. Just look at this classical ending: just wonderful! This ain't a family-movie, nothing for the kids to enjoy on a Sunday evening, unless Dad wants to risk a war with his wife, but that is exactly the reason why this is nothing short of a MUST-SEE for every movie-lover.

Folks, give this another viewing, this is up there with the best B's ever made, up there with THE OUTFIT, ROLLING THUNDER, DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY, VANISHING POINT, POINT BLANK, LOLLY MADONNA WAR, ... etc. etc. etc.

Call me biased, but I rate this as high as 10! I wish there would be more flicks like this out there to discover. If you know any compareable one, drop be a line, please.

[–] joehrobertsjr 16 years ago

I'd give this one about a 5 and that's being generous. When the best part of the movie is the theme song you know you have problems but at least we get to hear a young Hank Williams, Jr. I'll admit that the movie has a good cast and the book on which it was based was pretty good. Unfortunately, the direction is weak and most of the actors are completely wrong for their roles. McGoohan is perhaps the most miscast as a prohibition agent. Read the novel and you'll be crying out for Robert Stack to play a crooked version of his Eliot Ness personna. Alda is flat and lifeless in his role plus he affects the worst Southern accent in movie history, bar none. Widmark just mails it in. He must have needed the money. The two best performers are Will Geer as a rural sheriff and Lee Hazelwood as Widmark's menacing enforcer. This actually could have been a good film with a better director and better casting.

[–] wmjahn 16 years ago

Hm, I got no problem with disagreement, but aren't you a little bit harsh ?

I would not choose other actors, although I love Bob Ryan, Bob Duvall, then of course Warren Oates, who is a king for me, but I am not sure if it would have worked as well with them as it does with the cast it has, which I consider great.

And yes, the title song is great, too.

But if this is a "generous 5" for you, which prohibition movie do you rate (much?) higher ? I am just curious, because - frankly - I do not know any, but maybe you know one that I don't?

[–] joehrobertsjr 16 years ago

If you want me to be a little less harsh I will say that The Moonshine War isn't a completely unwatchable movie if you can put up with Alda's awful Southern accent. The script isn't bad. If they'd put Robert Stack in Patrick McGoohan's role, cast Robert Duvall instead of Alan Alda as Son Martin, and moved McGoohan over to play Dr. Taulbee instead of Widmark they might have had a hit on their hands instead of a barely remembered flick.

As for a good Prohibition movie you may have to go back to the 1930's or 1940's to find a good flick with a similar theme. "The Roaring Twenties" with Cagney and Bogart comes to mind. "Dillinger", a 1973 B-movie with Warren Oates in the title role, isn't great but it's not terrible either. Oates gives a good performance and he bears a strong resemblance to the real life Dillinger. Otherwise, you might as well watch an episode of "The Untouchables" on DVD if you want to see something good on the screen with a Prohibition setting.

[–] wmjahn 16 years ago

Thanx a lot for your kind input!

I never saw the US-version, just a dubbed German one, so I can not say anyting about Mr. lda's accent.

I agree with ROARING 20ies being good (and I add THUNDER ROAD, at least partially), as well as DILLINGER, which stars "God" Warren Oates, but I can not agree with UNTOUCHABLES TV-series, which is just too tame, but of course that is logical considering when it was made (ran here on TV, dubbed).

All the mentioned movies are moreless straightforward stuff, but I love the weired thing, the incomplete achievement.

My 10-rating is certainly overdoing it (I am biased, no doubt), but still I love it, it is so much "off the road", you do not find that many pictures like this in the 70ies.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] wmjahn 16 years ago

:-))))) Thanx !

Finally someone who cheerishes this little gem as much as I do! Thanx for the input, mate, I really do appreciate it !!

The fun of watching movies is not to have seen the latest must-see "blockbuster" from the Hollywood-industry, but to find and cheerish unknown underrated little gems like this one. :-)))

[–] SidekickinWhiteFury 11 years ago

An under appreciated film.
I don't believe it was a B movie.
There was a budget and some name actors. (Not Alda he wasn't known yet.)
Really a lot of fun and very well done from beginning to end.

I am reminded of the wonderful scene in Barton Fink by Michael Lerner:
Jack Lipnick: Look Bart, barring a preference we're going to put you on a wrestling picture, Wallace Beery. I say this because they tell me you know the poetry of the streets, so that would rule out westerns, pirate pictures, screwball, Bible, Roman... look, I'm not one of those guys who thinks poetic has got to be fruity. We're together on that aren't we? I mean I'm from New York myself, well, Minsk if you want to go all the way back. Which we won't, if you don't mind and I ain't asking. Now people are going to say to you, Wallace Beery, wrestling, it's a B picture. You tell them: BULLSH!T! We do NOT make B pictures here at Capitol. Let's put a stop to that rumor RIGHT now!

[–] wmjahn 11 years ago

:-))

Widmark ...

I don´t use B-picture in any negativ way, actually it is a badge of honor, a privilege, a prerogative to be called a B-picture.

Forget about the so-called "A´s", at least today it only money (the budget) that counts. Let´s take WORLD WAR Z, it certainly had an impressive budget, but that´s all which seperates it from a B. I take KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS any day and watch it a 3rd or 4th time, which is highly unlikely to happen to WWZ.