Moonshine Mountain (1964)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer: Charles Glore

Composers: Charles Glore, Hershcell Gordon Lewis

Starring: Charles Glore, Gordon Oas-Heim, Jeffrey Allen, Bonnie Hinson, Carmen Sotir, Ben Moore, J.G. Patterson Jr., Stanley Dyrector, Gretchen Eisner

More info: IMDb

Tagline: GIT SET FER THE WILDEST RIP-ROARIN'EST SCREENLOAD OF CORNBALL ACTIONS and EXCITEMENT YOU EVER EYE-BALLED!

Plot: Charles Glore plays a country western singer who goes back home to the hills of Carolina where he gets caught up in a feud between some local moonshiners and "the Revenoores".

My rating:

Will I watch it again?  No.

I've said it before but it's worth repeating.  I get a sense of how others feel when their nationality is stereotyped in movies when I see crap like this.  I grew up in the Deep South and seeing Southerners depicted in such a cartoonish way is painful and embarrassing.  The accents are so bad that it hurts hearing them.  The comedy is dumb, the characters are dumb and it's shot like what you'd expect from HGL.  He made this one right on the heels of the movie he's most famous for, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS (1964).  That had dumb yokels, two but at least that one had lots of gory kills (and like this one, sadly, there's no nudity...what the hell did that man have against boobs?).  I'd say skip this one unless you're torturing yourself to sit through every HGL picture he made and that's a lot.

Bad Georgia Road (1977)

Director: John C. Broderick

Writers: John C. Broderick, Jeffrey Bernini

Composer: Don Peake

Starring: Gary Lockwood, Carol Lynley, Royal Dano, Tom Kibbe, John Wheeler, Cliff Emmich, Glynn Rubin, Dick Haynes, John Kerry, Conrad E. Palmisano, Mary Woronov, George 'Buck' Flower

More info: IMDb

Taglnie: They're makin' time to the county line.

Plot: A NYC magazine fashion editor leaves everything when she inherits a $100k estate in Alabama.  Little does she know that it's not the sprawling romantic Southern plantation she thinks.  Instead it's a small rundown house and a small-time moonshine runnin' business.  Defeated, she sees the money potential in the liquor and tries to make it better.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I don't know why I keep watching these dumbass 70s hicksploitation pictures.  I know they're not going to be good but I keep hoping to find that gem among the trash.  This one stars Gary Lockwood, Frank from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968).  You'd think that'd be a positive but he plays the main redneck, Leroy, who runs the liquor.  He's covered in dirt and grease and he's always out for himself.  I barely recognized him.  That's good acting, I guess.  Royal Dano is fun as always.  There's not much action, almost nudity (but not quite) and lots of stereotypes and dumb yokels (which include the police, of course).  The only thing that makes this stand out from the rest is around the 3/4 mark there's a rape.  It gets real awfully fast, going from a dumb redneck comedy to HOLY FUCK!  After that it's right back into familiar territory and it ends without bringing the story to a close.  The ending works but it leaves you wanting more...well, not really wanting more to this movie but wanting closure I reckon.  The last twenty minutes is unlike any hicksploitation flick I've seen and that's worth a little something.  And what the fuck is the title all about?  It takes place entirely in Alabama (although I'm sure it was filmed in CA).

Indian Raid, Indian Made (1969)

Director: Bob Favorite

Writer: Bruce Kerr

Composers: Joe Counts, Art Schill, Chuck Story

Starring: Morganna, Chuck Davis, Bobby Little, Dick Mann, Glory Bee, Tifanny Lace, Sandy Russell, Dawn Diano

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  Moonshine stills, Undercover agents, Injuns, Gals, and everythin'...

Plot: An agent goes undercover to bust a moonshiner and sleeps his way to solving the case.  Meanwhile, a Pocahontas wannabe recruits a couple of Redneck nitwits to do her bidding.



My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

BEST.  OPENING CREDITS.  EVER!!!

When it comes to bad Hicksploitation, and they're all pretty bad from what I've seen, this one at least has some great looking broads that all show off their goods.  And there's A LOT of it, too.  It's about an hour and fifteen minutes long and I'd say more than half of that is a bounty of boobs.   Nobody cares about the story for this sort of thing but there is an attempt at one with a beginning, middle and end.  The comedy is horrible except for one scene...

I laughed.  The few other attempts at the funny are over the top, corny and bad.  But we're not watching this to have our funny bones tickled now are we?  I thought so.  Back to the boobs.

Look, there's a lot of simulated fucking in this picture with the typical squirming and grinding you'd normally find in these flicks but you've got two things that make this one's scenes stand out; all of the chicks are hot and the filmmakers aren't making us watch the same bloody bits over and over.  The scenes might play longer than you want but then what do you expect in low budget trash like this?  The best scene in the movie is hands down Morganna's striptease.

Hubba fuckin' hubba!  I would love to go back in time and see this hottie in action on the stage.  It's worth watching the whole movie just for this one bit.  It'll take you an hour to get to it but it's several minutes of hotness!  To my knowledge this was released by Something Weird Video on VHS and not DVD but you can find the whole thing online if you do a simple search....and you should if you know what's good for you.

Killers Three (1968)

Director: Bruce Kessler

Writers: Dick Clark, Michael Fisher

Composers: Mike Curb, Harley Hatcher, Jerry Styner

Starring: Robert Walker Jr., Diane Varsi, Dick Clark, Norman Alden, Maureen Arthur, Tony York, Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, John 'Bud' Cardos, Beach Dicerkson, Jerry Petty , Clint Stringer, William Alspaugh, Douglas Barger

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It started out as a Country Picnic! But before it was over 37 men were dead.

Plot: Two backwoods North Carolinians, Johnny (Walker) and Roger (Clark) rob a bootlegger's safe, kill several people in the process, and head for California with Walker's wife, Carol (Diane).

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

What starts out as a 'revenuers against the moonshiners' low budget action flick turns into a 'criminals on the run' picture clearly inspired by the previous years' BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967). I much prefer the second half when the chase is on.  Normally in a picture like this you'd get lots of action while they gang's on the run but not this one.  It slows down quite a bit.  At first it was a contrast to the first half and it felt like it was going nowhere fast but there are some moments that make it worthwhile like when Carol goes to visit her mother for the last time (which reminds me of how much Clyde & Bonnie used to visit their families).  I can see how a lot of people would be turned off by the slow pace of the last half hour or so but I grew to really dig it.  There are small moments of excitement but that's the violence that erupted when the law crossed their paths.  The other times are spent worrying where they're going to go, how they're going to travel and eat, etc.  Real life problems, the most basic of needs have to be met...just like what happened with Clyde & Bonnie (if you're remotely interested in their story I HIGHLY recommend Jeff Gunn's wonderful book, GO DOWN TOGETHER: THE TRUE, UNTOLD STORY OF BONNIE AND CLYDE).  One of the big reasons why I've been wanting to see this (and it's on Netflix streaming of all places) is because Dick Clark wrote, produced and starred in it.  He does a really good job.  Hell, they all do just fine.  Merle Haggard sings a few ballads and has a small role.  I don't need to see it again but if I did, I think I'd start right when they blow the safe that starts their time on the lam.  That's the best part.

The Devil's 8 (1969)

Director: Burt Topper

Writers: Larry Gordon, Willard Huyck, John Milius, James Gordon White

Composers: Michael Lloyd, Jerry Styner

Starring: Christopher George, Fabian, Tom Nardini, Leslie Parrish, Ross Hagen, Cliff Osmond, Larry Bishop, Robert DoQui, Ron Rifkin, Joe Turkel, Baynes Barron, Lada Edmund Jr., Margjorie Dayne, Roy Thiel, R.L. Armstrong, Rlaph Meeker, Charles Bail, Lynda Day George

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Eight... you'll love or hate!

Plot: A federal agent rounds up eight convicts to help fight a vicious moonshine gang.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Why only 8?  Because a dozen would have added more money to the budget and it's slightly less obvious that they're re-telling THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) but destroying a big time moonshine outfit instead of killin' Nazis.  Slightly.  OK, so I don't mind ripping off another movie as long as it's fun.  This one is OK but I'm docking a point for the absolutely horrible music.  There's a hokey theme (that sounds way too much like the country/bluegrass tune, Rocky Top, released in 1967) that gets played, and I'm not exaggerating here, probably at least 40 times.  They do mix it up every once in a while by playing the tune in a minor key which hardly helps.  What's worse, the picture ends with the song sung for the first time.  It's awful, just awful.  If it weren't for that it wouldn't be that bad of a picture.  The music ruined the picture for me.  It's not a great film to begin with but it would've been a reasonable time at the drive-in if it were paired with something better.  It's on Netflix streaming right now but please don't waste your time.

Moonrunners (1975)

Director: Gy Waldron

Writer: Gy Waldron

Composer: ???

Starring: James Mitchum, Kiel Martin, Arthur Hunnicutt, Chris Forbes, George Ellis, Pete Munro, Joan Blackman, Waylon Jennings, Ralph Mooney, Don Brooks, Fred Newell, Larry Whitemore, Duke Goff, Richie Albright, Elain 'Spanky' McFarlane

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You take a load of 200 proof corn liquor through a Georgia roadblock at 100 miles an hour and if you ain't a dead man, you're a moonrunner.

Plot: Grady and Bobby Lee run moonshine for Uncle Jesse, who prides himself on his old-school moonshining methods, and refuses to buckle in to the 'big business moonshine' of Jake, who controls these parts for New York mobsters.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

So I'm sittin' here watchin' this and I'm hearing things like "Uncle Jesse", "Cooter" and "Roscoe P. Coltrane".  That can only mean one thing.  THE DUKES OF HAZZARD TV show, but the show didn't happen until '79 and this is '75.  Well, I stopped the picture to investigate and it turns out writer/director Gy Waldron used this film as the starting point for creating DUKES.  Way cool.  Now I'm back in the picture and with that knowledge I'm having some fun.  Waylon Jennings even lends his voiceover periodically in the film just like he would later famously do for the TV show.  At about an hour and forty five minutes, it's one of the longest moonshine hicksploitation pictures I've come across but it's pretty entertaining.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a home run but there's a lot to like, especially if you're a fan of the show (which I was nearly 35 years ago but I haven't seen it since the early 80s). You've got your car chases, cars chasing cars, and more car chases.  While they aren't likely to bowl you over with awesomeness, there are some nice moments.  Then there's the bubblegum intrigue of runnin' 'shine and all of that.  There are a couple of surprises, namely a certain someone's death and the ending.  If you're remotely into these types of 70s staple genre films then you need to put this one near the top of your list.  You can watch the full flick on YouTube.

Moonshine County Express (1977)

Director: Gus Trikonis

Writers: Hubert Smith, Daniel Ansley

Composer: Fred Werner

Starring: John Saxon, Susan Howard, William Conrad, Morgan Woodward, Claudia Jennings, Jeff Corey, Dub Taylor, Maureen McCormick, Albert Salmi, Len Lesser, Bruce Kimball, Candice Rialson, E.J. Andre

More info: IMDb

Tagline: 100 proof women runnin shine cross the county line!

Plot:  When a moonshiner is murdered, his three daughters take over the family business.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

This one's loaded with some familiar faces - Saxon, Conrad, Jennings, McCormick and one of my all time favorite character actors, Dub Taylor.  He's not in it much but the shit that spews from his mouth is funny.  It's a better than average drive-in hicksploitation picture that does a lot of what's come before but Gus Trikoni and co. were able to make this into a pretty fun flick.  Unlike a lot of movies in this genre it's not loaded with completely stupid and incompetent police.  Conrad plays the heavy that's got the town and the sheriff under his control and Howard and her sister's recently murdered pappy has a secret stash of some incredible hooch but Saxon is the only man who can come to their rescue.  There's a moment in the picture where one of the girls exclaims they need a man to help them.  Not just anyone but a man.  It's laughable and sad at the same time.  There are a few car chases and some action but the lack of any nudity keeps this on the family-friendly side of things.  It sure would have been fun to see this at a drive-in.  The funniest part for my money is when J.B. (Saxon) and Dot (Howard) are at a spacious bar.  There's a band playing, The Tom and Dink Show, and they're singing a song called, Fireman's Ball.  I couldn't understand the beginning of the lyrics but the rest of this hilarious country tune goes like this, "...the dog has rabies. The cesspool's overflowing and it looks like rain. Grandmaw's got syphilis and grandpa's de-ranged and all of their children had their sex changed."

Still Making Moonshine (2007)

Director: Kelly L. Riley

Writer: ???

Composer: (no score but songs)

Starring:  Jim Tom Hendrick, Jerry Jumper, William "Birdman" Bird, Pat Williams, Gilford Williams, Corey Stephens

More info: www.highprooffilms.com

Plot: Documentary filmmaker Kelly L. Riley returns to the mountains of North Carolina and discovers more than just whiskey being bootlegged. Jim Tom smiths a still from a roll of copper at his creek-side camp. In a dry county thick with prying eyes and tee-totalers, Jim Tom slips around making a run of moonshine. Jerry Jumper and William Bird explain how the old spirit allies of the Cherokee, “the little people”, still live in the nearby woods and streams. As a feature length sequel to the critically acclaimed short documentary “Moonshine”, “Still Making Moonshine” is a drunken tale of lost language, severed limbs, buried shine and blackouts.
 

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Here's more wacky adventures with Jim Tom and his moonshine-making shenanigan's.  Like the the previous documentary, MOONSHINE (2000), we hang around him, his friends, kinfolk, etc.  There are some colorful folks out there.  For as fun as it is to hang out with these people I found it lacking.  I wanted to know more about Jim Tom's background and more about the particulars of making moonshine like with the crapload of sugar and cornmeal, time, etc, how much liquor does it yield?  I'd like to get an idea of how much it's worth it.  It would have been nice to see the film maker's reactions to tasting the stuff.  Also, how much could you sell it for?  Is he just making it for himself?  I don't recall finding out if he does anything with it but drink it himself.  There was another man who says he gives it away to folks who need it for medicine (colds and such).  The rotting foot was gross.  So while I didn't get as many details as I would have liked, it's still a fun ride, hanging out with these people and spending time in a place that for some is a world away. For me, I just have to drive a few miles.  Road trip anyone?

Moonshine (2000)

Director: Kelly Riley

Writer: ???

Composer: (no score but various songs)

Starring: Jim Tom Hedrick, Gerald Hedrick, Gladys Hedrick, Pat S. Williams, Matt Williams, Gilford Williams, Randell, Red John and Linda

More info: IMDb

Plot: The legendary story of Jim Tom Hedrick and the process of distilling moonshine whiskey from corn mash. A taste of bootleg whiskey and Jesus, straight from the mountains of North Carolina.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I was in the mood for some Hicksploitation last night and this documentary, and the follow-up STILL MAKING MOONSHINE (2007), felt like a good warm up to some backwoods 70s picture I still hadn't decided on.  Jim Tom is a colorful character.  There's no doubt about that.  This film is only about twenty minutes long so you don't get much time to spend with Jim Tom and his kin, friends, etc but it's enough to whet your appetite for more.  It's an interesting introduction but it's not necessary to see this one before STILL MAKING MOONSHINE because enough of this footage ends up in the other that you wouldn't be missing much.

The Moonshine War (1970)

Director: Richard Quine

Starring: Patrick McGoohan, Richard Widmark, Alan Alda, Melodi Johnson, Will Geer, Joe Williams, Susanne Zenor, Lee Hazlewood, Bo Hopkins, Teri Garr

More info: IMDb

Tagline: 1932: The Moonshine War. The 18th amendment prohibited drinking. It didn't say a word about killing, double-crossing or blowing things up.

Plot: Frank Long, a Federal agent (McGoohan), comes to a sleepy Southern town looking to extort Son Martin (Alda) out of his rumored 150 barrels of top-notch moonshine. When Martin doesn't play ball, Long calls one of his gangster pals, Dr. Emmett Taulbee (Widmark), to lend some muscle only Taulbee wants it all for himself. The explosive finale leaves A LOT of people dead.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah. But if a nice widescreen print surfaces I might give it another go.

I really dig period pieces like this, set during the Great Depression, along with gangster movies and just about anything remotely interesting set during the 1930s. When you add this incredible cast AND that's it's written by Elmore Leonard, it's a sure bet that I'm going to watch it. So after watching pirates cavort for couple of hours I tossed this one in hoping for one of those "hidden gems". Nope. It's just watchable entertainment with some good and indifferent performances and an explosive finale that almost makes up for the film's shortcomings.


I'm a HUGE fan of Patrick McGoohan's after having watching more than half of his great early 60s spy show DANGER MAN (AKA SECRET AGENT) and THE PRISONER. With that and a few movies I've seen him in, he's a beast of an actor. In THE MOONSHINE WAR he uses one of his "nerdy spy voices" he used in DANGER MAN but this time with a Southern drawl that's only sometimes present (that happens with Widmark, too). If McGoohan had gone with his normal voice, still keeping the wandering accent, he and the picture would have been better served.


Widmark is great as the main heavy as is Hazelwood as his enforcer, Dual Metters. The rest of the cast does a great job, too, and there's a lot of familiar faces even if you don't know their names like Will "Grandpa from THE WALTONS" Greer and Bo "THE WILD BUNCH" Hopkins.

Meet Lee Hazelwood, the guy that wrote the Nancy Sinatra classic,
"These Boots are Made for Walking." Seriously.

Alan Alda is OK but his character doesn't get much set-up which hurts because he's the one guy we're supposed to root for. He's the underdog, the local boy the corrupt government official and the gangsters want. The problem is Son Martin doesn't get much in the way of character development in the first half of the movie. The movie starts and ends with McGoohan and it's mostly his picture, then Widmark and then Alda. I didn't feel like I knew enough about Alda to get behind him.


I can't believe I've gotten this far talkin' about this picture without bringing up that one of my top top 3 favorite actresses gets naked...sort of.

Put me down for the first person who NEEDS to own this on Blu-ray!!!
The quality of this doesn't give me enough detail.

The music was hokey. I could have done without Fred Karger's score. There's something about bass harmonica that doesn't work. I dig the instrument but it seems like it's rarely used properly. It's an instrument that dances that fine line of funny cliche and being serious. I'm not terribly sure how to describe it but there it is. The score had a goofy TV quality that didn't work sometimes.

The ending, though...WOW! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! LOVED IT! After you go through the standoff that takes up the final half hour, it's earned and fucking beautiful. Watch this if you want it spoiled...

This isn't nearly as strong of a movie as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't going into this thinking it's the CITIZEN KANE of moonshine pictures. I guess I'm trying to say I was disappointed that, now that I've seen it, there was a lot of potential that wasn't fully realized. Is it mostly the director's fault this didn't work? Probably but considering the talent involved, I expected a little more. It's definitely worth watching if this sounds like your bag but lower your expectations a little and you'll walk away glad you checked it out.

Dixie Dynamite (1976)

Director: Lee Frost

Starring: Warren Oates, Christopher George, Jane Anne Johnstone, Kathy McHaley, Stanley Adams, R.G. Armstrong

More info: IMDb

Tagline: They got 'em mad ... now there's no stoppin 'em!

Plot: When their moonshiner father is killed by a corrupt deputy, two young girls decide to take over his business and get revenge on the men who had him killed.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? Noop.

#4 on 42nd Street Forever Vol. 2: The Deuce (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

Made by our old buddy Lee Frost (director of such classics like CALL GIRL 77 (1962), Hollywood's World of Flesh (1963), and Chrome and Hot Leather (1971)), this low budget's only appeal is seeing Oates, George and Armstrong together in the same film. I think this might just be Warren Oates' worst picture. I haven't seen them all yet but it's a good bet. Hell, there's no real reason why his character is even in it. He doesn't serve the plot at all. You can completely remove him and, with very little re-writing, you'd never know the difference. And for Frost, who started out making titty pictures, you'd think there'd be some hicksploitation nudity. Nope. I'm not pissed about the movie it's just frustrating when you've got some talent that's being underutilized. Oates is great as always and George and Armstrong are fun, too, but the lead girls that go on a Bonnie & Clyde-esque crime spree were lacking in talent. I didn't go in expecting much but it would have been nice. Dynamite this ain't!

Hot Summer in Barefoot County (1974)

Director: Will Zens

Starring: Nobodys. A bunch of fucking horrible no-talent nobody "actors". (If you were actually in the movie and you're reading this, this doesn't apply to you. You were wonderful. Fantastic. You're the only reason I watched this white mold-encrusted turd.

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: There's only two rules in Barefoot County--Love thy neighbor and do unto others!




Plot: A city cop is sent out to the country to go undercover and bust up a ring of moonshiners run by a woman and her three hot teenage daughters.

My Rating: 2.5/10

Would I watch this again? How dare you ask me that!



There's only one rule in watching BAREFOOT COUNTY--Kill me now! I couldn't find a trailer for it online. You're better for it. Trust me.

What's worse than a bad action movie? A bad comedy. What's worse than a bad comedy? A bad drama. What's worse than a bad drama? HOT SUMMER IN BAREFOOT COUNTY. Boy, is this bad. I'd like to think that I can find something good in anything. Seriously, the ONLY thing good about this, uh, movie is the poster and that's no lie, brother.

My face actually contorted to this very expression by the end of the film! It's like someone farted and I knew it wasn't me but felt totally guilty anyway and accepted the blame.

This is 90 minutes of "when's it gonna get good?". It doesn't. And then you start to cry.


The acting is atrocious. I'm a stickler for a decent Southern accent and these people are horrible. It's about as offensive as Madonna's 98-year-old penis arms.


The sheriff and his deputy have GOT to be the dumbest Southern cops in movie history. You thought Enis from THE DUKES OF HAZZARD was stupid? He's a fucking Rhodes Scholar compared to these two. The picture opens with a high speed chase and the sheriff, a VERY poor man's Bud Spencer, looks like he's afraid to drive!


The music is bad, stereotypical country (and not even the so-bad-it's-good) music. And if all of this shittinest isn't enough, there's plenty of cartoon-y sound effects for all kinds of special moments like when the deputy falls down and we get the slide-whistle/timpani boink. Does it even matter any more that this is an early Troma picture? After this and MOTHER'S DAY (1980), I'm not going to go out of my way to see another.

Here's our studly hero...

and his sexy prey...

The two lovebirds start making out by the lake and the kissing starts. She's digging it and she's giving as much as she's taking but as soon as his hand moves from her neck to the top of her breast she shoves him away. "Why, Jeff, I thought you weren't like those other boys. I thought you were different." Why, Jeff, you fucking pig. How dare you! You should know that when a girl is making out with you (and don't forget that you both love each other), all hot and heavy like by the lake, you can't expect to move your hand down four inches to her breast and expect to get away with it! I mean, WTF man?




Say, that reminds me. Your probably sayin', "Hey, Scorethefilm! Sure it's a shitty-ass movie but there's lots of nudity, right?" Fuck no. There's barely any if you can even call it that. A Russ Meyer film this ain't! Don't waste your time. And this bullshit is rated "R"! "R" for Ripoff, that is.

There's your nudity, boys. Move along 'cause there's nothin' to see here.

As you can see, it ends happily ever after for everyone except the viewer. Please avoid this. I imagine it's on par with watching every...single...episode of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD to find out which episode was the worst and then having to write your doctoral thesis on how it's possible that something so shitty could ever get made.

I've got access to some cool looking cars, big-ass moonshine jugs, GREAT Southern locales and I know plenty of people who can do the Southern accent justice. Just get me a camera and some girls who are willing to at least get topless and I'll make a better fucking movie than this. It's THAT bad!