White Lightning (1973)

Admirable film.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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.

White Lightning (1973) *** (out of 4) Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) has a year to go in prison when he gets word that his younger brother was murdered. It turns out the crooked Sheriff (Ned Beatty) of their small town killed him so now Gator agrees to work with the Federal government to bring down some illegal moonshine. Gator's real plan to seek vengeance.WHITE LIGHTNING was a hit with fans and most critics when it was released and it helped keep steam in the Reynolds train that was burning pretty bright thanks to DELIVERANCE. This here is another one of those "good ol' boys" type of films where the South is shown as a dirty and corrupt place but to the rescue is a good looking and fun-nature man who knows how to drive really fast and knows how to make it with all the pretty ladies.If you're looking for ground-breaking entertainment then you're not going to find it here but WHITE LIGHTNING does offer some good laughs, some nice car chases and of course Reynolds doing what he does best. It's always fun watching these early performances by Reynolds because you can tell he's having a lot of fun and he certainly has no trouble bringing that charm across. I'm sure the ladies would say it was his looks. The guys would say it was his attitude. Perhaps both would agree that the legendary laugh is what did it.Whatever the reason Reynolds is certainly a lot of fun here playing the good guy and Beatty gets to really have fun playing the creep. There's no question that the two of them worked magic when together. We also get a nice supporting cast here including Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Jennifer Billingsley as the love interest and R.G. Armstrong as one of the big moonshiners. The film offers up a great mix of comedy and action and there's no question that the car chases are its main entertainment. There are a lot of wrecks and crashes and all of this was perfectly captured and it makes for a pretty entertaining slice of Hollywood's thoughts of what the South was.

I will watch this movie over and over one of Burt before his mustache era lol. But seriously its a great movie. Action,racing fast cars, fast women and my favorite line of all time came from this movie...shaky pudding pie lol that I still use to this day. Im 52. Bo Hopkins plays a really cool shine runner and his women is hot also. Matter of fact she is the one with the line ,shaky pudding pie , my kind of gal lol. Ned Beatie is also in it as a sadistic sheriff and he plays the part very good. He is cool talking southern boy that has the twang in his voice as well. Its the first in a line of two movies that are both great. So if you have seen this movie you really need to watch the second one. Back to back if possible. Well that's my small take on this film that I just had ta keep talking about it for 10 lines lol.

White Lightning is a terrific action/drama that tells the story of a hard-driving moonshiner named Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) who is released from prison early in exchange for any help he can give the government with its case against his fellow moonshiners. Gator, however, has his own agenda and it has nothing to do with his altruistic nature. It seems that Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty) of Bogen County is not only one of the biggest moonshiners in Arkansas, he's also responsible for killing Gator's brother. And Gator wants revenge.One of the coolest things about White Lightning is that it presents Burt Reynolds as an actor at the top of his game. This was a Burt Reynolds who seemed to actually care about the final product and not just yucking it up with his buddies on screen. White Lightning was made before Burt became a clown, mugging for the camera. That's not to say there isn't any humor in White Lightning – it's just used judiciously. Burt is joined by phenomenal cast. In addition to Ned Beatty (who's perfect as the Sheriff), R.G. Armstrong, Bo Hopkins, Diane Lane, and Dabbs Greer give solid, memorable performances. In fact, I can't think of a single actor that bothered me. The movie was helped tremendously by the decision to film in rural Arkansas. I grew-up in the South and everything from the locations to the sweat dripping off Burt's chin had a feeling of authenticity. I've been to places like the old Kroger I spotted in the background and I sweat just like Burt in the oppressively hot Southern summers. It all felt real to me. Finally, the plot is just terrific, mixing in just the right amount of high speed car chases, brutal looking fight scenes, and dramatic conversations. It drew me in right from the start and held my attention throughout. Overall, it's a well-made, entertaining movie.