White Lightning

source: White Lightning

I have loved WHITE LIGHTNING ever since I was a kid and I'm glad I now own the DVD. This was before Burt got his moustache and before he started doing comical pictures. Here Burt proves he can handle the serious stuff as the story of this movie is very serious. Burt plays Gator McKlusky, an ex-con out to avenge the death of his kid brother at the hands of uber-crooked sheriff Ned Beatty. Beatty makes a truly hateful bad guy as he strives to keep his jurisdiction of Bogen County, Arkansas, the way he likes it ie: with him as the absolute ruler. Reynolds agrees to help some federal agents prove that Beatty is taki9ng money from moonshiners but finds himself in a difficult moral position as it may mean betraying friends of his family. Ultimately, there are a lot of cool car chases and nail-biting drama as we head towards the final clash between Reynolds and Beatty. There is great support from Jennifer Billingsley, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong and Matt Clark, and the stunts (arranged by Hal Needham who would later direct Burt in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and CANNONBALL RUN) are excellent. This film is a must-see

The Retro channel bills itself as the place where memories are made. Well this film brought back some memories. Not the good ole boy, or the corn likker, or the sweet Arkansas babes - it had all of those - but the memories of the town I lived in from the Sixth grade through High School. White Lightening, starring Burt Reynolds as Gator McKlusky, was filmed in Benton, Arkansas. It was Saline County, not Bogen as the film states. It brought back memories of the Saline County Courthouse, where a lot of the action took place. Of course, I was off in Vietnam when they were filming, so I didn't get to see ole Burt. This isn't quality film-making or dramatic acting, although it was rumored to be Steven Spielburg's directorial debut. I wonder what happened there. Hey, it's OK for a rainy Saturday afternoon and it was a trip back home.

Burt Reynolds plays Gator McKlusky, a likable ex-convict just released from prison who helps the feds nab a corrupt small town sheriff. Laid-back Reynolds was often accused by critics of merely phoning these 'good ol' boy' performances in; true, he's on auto-pilot throughout. But in his day, Reynolds knew just how to make a low-key effort work well for himself. Ingratiating and handsome, Reynolds comes as close to winking at the audience as he can without breaking up; he seems to know these backwoods as well as any movie star, while director Joesph Sargent provides an easy pace and a sweaty ambiance which brings the South alive. Unfortunately, the story isn't much, and supporting actors Ned Beatty and Bo Hopkins overact (as usual). Diane Ladd is fine in a small part, and real-life daughter Laura Dern can be glimpsed in the background. Reynolds returned to this character for 1976's "Gator". *1/2 from ****

This was some really cornpone, overacted, silly gibberish. Good ol' boy takes on a crooked sheriff and rights all the wrongs done to the community. This junk will appeal to grown men with a reddish tinge to their necks and an I.Q. slightly higher than their coon dog. Reynolds needed to do something of the quality of "Deliverance", rather than this piffle.

After a promising start and a car chase almost nothing happens through a huge portion of the movie, they drive around, Burt talks to people for what seems like meaningless conversations, he uses his real name, everyone seems to know he's working for the feds, he openly writes notes in a small book, there is this real annoying woman he is screwing behind his buddy's back, etc, etc. Some pretty bad acting, amateur actors, bad fighting, bad lighting, bad direction and a horrible script. Another dull car chase and then the end. One of Burt's worse movies. Not a lot of effort was put into this.

Being an old movie, when I first saw 'White Lightning' with Burt Reynolds, I thought it would be a little hard to pay attention to, considering I'm used to the movies of today. It was knowing personally about where it was filmed that made me interested to see it. Filmed partly at the Tucker Penitentiary in Tucker, Arkansas, with a few of the correctional officers who worked there at the time as extras, was easy for me to see when I was hired at the Tucker Unit by the assistant warden. The grounds are the same and the prison itself has only been improved a bit. The barracks in which a scene of Reynolds was filmed are still there, as are the guard towers and even one of the officers who was an extra. Overall, it was an excellent movie and Burt Reynolds had established himself as a Southern star.

Although Burt Reynolds may have been more compelling in "Deliverance" (1972), he does give a fine performance in "White Lightning", as Gator McKlusky, a Southern good-ole-boy, out of prison to revenge his hippie brother's murder. And that revenge plot must, of necessity, track to Bogan County Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty), who is involved with hillbilly whiskey stills. Nobody could have been more convincing as a paunchy Southern redneck sheriff than Ned Beatty. Reynolds and Beatty would team up in later years to make at least two more films with a similar tone: "W.W. And The Dixie Dancekings" (1975), and "Stroker Ace" (1983). In "White Lightning", wonderful Louise Latham makes a semi-cameo appearance as Sheriff Connors' reliable secretary. Aside from casting and acting, "White Lightning" has other things going for it, not the least of which is a realistic portrayal of a small Southern town. The authenticity, with its various bubbas who frequent the pool halls, display their guns with pride, and race cars at the local fairgrounds, is striking. And with their big engines, the film's muscle cars gleefully tear up the pavement with their screeching tires and agile corner turning. Indeed, those cars are so souped-up they even burn rubber on dirt roads. Oh well, who cares if there's a minor sound effects plot hole. A more substantive plot hole has Sheriff Connors unfamiliar with the geography of his own county. In particular, he might want to check the map again to note the existence of a large lake at the end of one particular dirt road. Still, his ignorance is our gain as a plot point that proves symmetrically effective. Plot holes aside, this is a film of dust, dirt, car chases, whiskey stills, the sounds of screeching tires, and some dang good performances. "White Lightning" is worth viewing also for its 1970s nostalgia, and for its authentic Southern setting.

Burt Reynolds plays "Gator" McKlusky, a good ol' boy convict who gets word that his younger brother Donny has died. Not only did Donny die, but he was deliberately drowned by a crooked sheriff, J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty). "Gator" decides to cooperate with the Feds in order to get himself out of jail so he can seek revenge. His official mission will be to get the goods on not just Connors, but the moonshiners with whom he does business. In general, "White Lightning" is no great shakes, but it's certainly a pleasant and watchable enough rural action flick. If it does one thing well, it's that it showcases the charms of its star in fine fashion. Burt is engaging, and the strong supporting cast is a big asset. Beatty actually underplays the role of the antagonist, never turning him into the kind of cartoon character we might otherwise see in movies of this type. Jennifer Billingsley adds substantial sex appeal as Lou, the gal who turns Gators' head. First rate character actors and actresses such as Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Louise Latham, Diane Ladd, R.G. Armstrong, Dabbs Greer, John Steadman, and Iris Korn all contribute heavily. Buffs should note that Ladds' daughter Laura Dern appears in a couple of shots; it was her film debut. The flavourful score by Charles Bernstein is most enjoyable, and the filmmakers get great use out of various Arkansas locations. Joseph Sargent ("Colossus: The Forbin Project", "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three") does a fine job with the first unit direction, but it's really Hal Needhams' deft handling of the action sequences that bring "White Lightning" to life at just the right times. William W. Norton wrote the screenplay, creating a convincing milieu where traditional Southerners mistrust the current young generation of hippies and protesters. There are some poignant interludes with Gator & Lou, and at a home for unwed mothers. Fine entertainment for devotees of old drive-in movies. Seven out of 10.

Some people renting this expecting "Gator" style silliness are probably in for a surprise. This movie had a lot more of a "Deliverence" feeling than I expected, and felt authentic to the South of the 1970s. Ok, I wasn't there at the time, so it could be completely wrong. But it was convincing. This is what Reynolds could have been--a middleweight serious Southern Action actor, like a cornpone Marlon Brando. There's just enough meat on the script to get the old mental wheels turning, and just enough action that it doesn't turn into one of those boring intellectual films about the Bad Ol' South. All in all, a good, interesting, tight movie. Of course, it unfortunately led to "Gator" -- a bloated mess -- a few years later. Watching them back to back, it's pathetic to watch how Reynolds declined into a buffoon. As he showed in Boogie Nights, he's quite capable of playing serious dramatic roles. Too bad he didn't follow through on the promise of White Lightning, but I'm sure the $$$ were better for the garbage films he later made.