Thunder Road

Lucas Doolin, a Korean War veteran, returns to his Tennessee home and takes over his family's illegal moonshine trade. He runs high-speed deliveries of the liquor his father, Vernon, produces, and he keeps his younger brother Robin out of the business. His way of life is squeezed from two directions: Carl Kogan, an out-of-town gangster who wants a share of the local trade, and Troy Barrett, a Treasury agent determined to shut the moonshine operation down. Robert Mitchum plays Lucas, with Gene Barry as Barrett, Jacques Aubuchon as Kogan and Keely Smith as Francie Wymore.

Arthur Ripley directed, following The Chase in 1946; Thunder Road is the second of the two features he made, and Ripley also produced it with Mitchum. James Atlee Phillips and Walter Wise wrote the screenplay, and Mitchum's son James appears as Robin. Shot in the Tennessee mountains, the film pairs its crime story with car chases built around the drivers who hauled illegal liquor.

On IMDb the film holds a 6.5 rating from around 5,100 votes, while TMDB shows 6 out of 10 from a much smaller group of about 60 users. A critics' rating of 6.5 from 12 reviews places it in line with the audience score on IMDb rather than above or below it. The modest vote counts outside IMDb reflect a title whose reputation rests on its place in the careers of Mitchum and Ripley rather than on wide contemporary attention.