Unrepentant Tennessee moonshine runner Luke Doolin makes dangerous high-speed deliveries for his liquor-producing father, Vernon, but won't let his younger brother Robin join the family business. Under pressure from both out-of-town gangster Kogan, who wants a piece of the local action, and Treasury agent Barrett, who wants to destroy the moonshine business, Luke fights for his fast-fading way of life.
Acting
Mitchum's lazy menace—he barely moves and still owns every frame.
Stunts
Those mountain chase sequences were DIY death traps. Real cars, real cliffs.
Sound
Mitchum's theme song became a Billboard hit. Unhinged multi-hyphenate behavior.
Director
Arthur Ripley
Robert Mitchum
Lucas Doolin
Gene Barry
Troy Barrett
Jacques Aubuchon
Carl Kogan
Keely Smith
Francie Wymore
Trevor Bardette
Vernon Doolin
Sandra Knight
Roxanna Ledbetter
James Mitchum
Robin Doolin
Mitchell Ryan
Jed 'Jess' Moultrie (uncredited)
Peter Breck
Stacey Gouge (uncredited)
Jerry Hardin
Niles Penland (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mitchum was so obsessed with moonshine culture he took the crew to real still locations; some locals thought the film crew WAS federal agents and fired warning shots.
This film basically invented the 'car as freedom/death' American myth that would dominate everything from Bonnie and Clyde to Drive.
