Put this up a day early, so I thought I'd move it to today just to be consistent.
A couple of years ago I talked about Gator, a dandy B-movie from the '70s starring Burt Reynolds, who plays a character named Gator McKlusky. Burt returned for the sequel, White Lightning, also a dandy B-movie.
Gator's in prison at the film's opening, but ain't nobody goin' to kill his brother and get away with it. So Gator's going to cooperate with the Feds and get the dirty bastards, including Ned Beatty as the crooked sheriff and R. G. Armstrong as Bear, his enforcer. That's about it for the plot, but when you have Burt at his charming best and a whole bunch of really great car chases and stunts (the finale is a real treat), you don't need much more. If you do, though, there's some romance with the alluring Jennifer Billingsley (great line in the trailer) and a great cast that includes Diane Ladd, Bo Hopkins, and John Steadman, among a lot of others. Don't blink or you might miss the screen debut of Laura Dern.
They really knew how to do this kind of thing back in the '70s, and Reynolds was made for parts like this. Did I mention that I miss the old days?
7 comments:
My first car was a 1966 Dodge Dart--a white 2-door--which I got in 1974. We called it "White Lightening" in honor of this movie!
How I'd love to relive the excitement of seeing these movies for the first time. The 70's were great fun at the theaters, and Burt's movies were always the best!
Alas, Burt's in financial straits these days.
Megan loves Burt Reynolds movies so a new generation is finding him.
That's good news, Patti.
"White Lightning" is the original, "Gator" is the sequel. Great movies!
You're right. My old brain isn't clicking on all cylinders today.
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