Moonshine County Express

Last updated
Moonshine County Express
Moonshine county express - 1977 movie.jpg
Film poster by John Solie
Directed by Gus Trikonis
Written byHubert Smith
Daniel Ansley
Produced by Ed Carlin
Starring John Saxon
Susan Howard
William Conrad
Cinematography Gary Graver
Music by Fred Werner
Production
companies
Universal Majestic
Sunshine Associates
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release date
  • 1977 (1977)
Running time
82 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$700,000
Box office$1 million [1] or $1.1 million [2]

Moonshine County Express is a 1977 action film from New World Pictures. [3]

Contents

Plot

Dot refuses to sell out her inheritance—a stockpile of whiskey—when her moonshiner father is murdered by Sweetwater (Morgan Woodward) and his gang by order of Jack Starkey (William Conrad), the local kingpin. Dot and her sisters (played by Claudia Jennings and Maureen McCormick) try to sell the whiskey themselves while avoiding Starkey's men, eventually she gives in to the attentions of J.B. (John Saxon), the local car racer and moonshine runner, so that he will help them sell their stash.

A dog is killed, along with the local mechanic and moonshine salesman, so they decide to get out. While trying to get their stockpile out in a rental truck, they are stopped and shot at by Starkey and one of his men. Just when all hope is lost, the local sheriff shows up (Albert Salmi) and arrests Starkey for murdering their uncle Bill (Dub Taylor), who had sold them out by revealing the location of the stash, but then had the temerity to suggest to Starkey that they split the profits. Dot and J.B decide to leave for California, while Dot teases that she might be willing to lower her standards enough to marry J.B.

Cast

Production

The film at one stage was known as Shine. [1] The film was shot in Nevada City, California. Maureen McCormick recalled drug use was rife on set, writing in her memoirs that "Our crew was more like a pharmaceutical convention than a movie. Aside from John Saxon, Susan Howard, and a few other straight arrows, I could barely go thirty minutes without someone asking if I wanted a bump." She and Claudia Jennings became close friends on the film and Jennings had an affair with Gary Graver. [4]

Release

The Los Angeles Times called it "an unpretentious and engaging exploitation film... with a subtle and endearing love story." [5]

Roger Corman, head of production at New World, always thought one of the reasons the film was so popular was because it did not put down Southern people. "There's a tendency very often for people coming out of Hollywood and New York to consciously or unconsciously insult the sensibilities of the southerners, and I think Moonshine County Express was a success partially because it’s a low-budget film that’s quite well made and that presents a very fair viewpoint." [6] It was one of several Corman-financed movies starring John Saxon. [7]

DVD

Moonshine County Express has been released on DVD and a Blu-ray (currently out of print) was released by Code Red DVD.

Related Research Articles

<i>Battle Beyond the Stars</i> 1980 American space opera film by Jimmy Murakami, Roger Corman

Battle Beyond the Stars is a 1980 American space opera film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, and starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, Sybil Danning and Darlanne Fluegel. Intended as a futuristic "Magnificent Seven in outer space", the screenplay was written by John Sayles with the score by James Horner and special effects designed by filmmaker James Cameron. The film was theatrically released by Corman's New World Pictures and was a moderate box office success, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.

<i>The Wild Angels</i> 1966 film by Roger Corman

The Wild Angels is a 1966 American independent outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, The Wild Angels was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture. It inspired the biker film genre that continued into the early 1970s.

<i>The Undead</i> (film) 1957 film by Roger Corman

The Undead is a 1957 horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Pamela Duncan, Allison Hayes, Richard Garland and Val Dufour. It also features Corman regulars Richard Devon, Dick Miller, Mel Welles and Bruno VeSota. The authors' original working title was The Trance of Diana Love. The film follows the story of a prostitute, Diana Love (Duncan), who is put into a hypnotic trance by psychic Quintus (Dufour), thus causing her to regress to a previous life. Hayes later starred in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). The film was released on February 14, 1957 by American International Pictures as a double feature with Voodoo Woman.

<i>The Unforgiven</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

The Unforgiven is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Huston, and starring Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. Filmed in Durango, Mexico, the supporting cast features Audie Murphy, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, John Saxon, Joseph Wiseman, Doug McClure and Albert Salmi. The story is based on the novel The Unforgiven (1957) by Alan Le May. Uncommonly for its time, the film spotlights the issue of racism in the Old West against Native Americans and people who were believed to have Native American blood. The film is also known for the problems that occurred during production.

<i>Humanoids from the Deep</i> 1980 film by Barbara Peeters

Humanoids from the Deep is a 1980 American science fiction horror film starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's uncredited executive producer, and his company, New World Pictures, distributed it. Humanoids from the Deep was directed by Barbara Peeters and an uncredited Jimmy T. Murakami.

<i>The Pit and the Pendulum</i> (1961 film) 1961 film by Roger Corman

The Pit and the Pendulum is a 1961 horror film directed by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, and Luana Anders. The screenplay by Richard Matheson was loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story of the same name. Set in sixteenth-century Spain, the story is about a young Englishman who visits a foreboding castle to investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, apparently ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strapped to the titular torture device by his lunatic brother-in-law during the film's climactic sequence.

Candice Ann Rialson, also known as Candy Rialson, was an American actress known for her starring role in Hollywood Boulevard (1976). According to one obituary, "although never reluctant to take her clothes off, Rialson was always more 'cutie' than sleazy, but she became so notorious for her B-movie work that mainstream directors hesitated to hire her". She inspired the character played by Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown.

<i>Hollywood Boulevard</i> (1976 film) 1976 film by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante

Hollywood Boulevard is a 1976 American satirical exploitation film directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante, and starring Candice Rialson, Paul Bartel, and Mary Woronov. It follows an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles, only to be hired by a reckless B movie film studio where she bears witness to a series of gruesome and fatal on-set accidents. The film blends elements of the comedy, thriller, and slasher film genres.

<i>The Wasp Woman</i> 1959 film by Roger Corman, Jack Hill

The Wasp Woman is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Michael Mark, and Barboura Morris. The film was originally released by Filmgroup as a double feature with Beast from Haunted Cave. To pad out the film's running time when it was released to television two years later, a new prologue was added by director Jack Hill.

<i>Women in Cages</i> 1971 film by Gerardo de León

Women in Cages is a 1971 women in prison sexploitation film directed by Gerardo de León and starring Jennifer Gan, Judy Brown, Roberta Collins, and Pam Grier. Co-produced by Roger Corman, it was prominently featured in the Planet Terror portion of the 2007 film Grindhouse. Grindhouse director Quentin Tarantino said of the film, "I'm a huge, huge fan of Gerry de Leon.... the film is just harsh, harsh, harsh." He described the final shot as one of "devastating despair".

<i>Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die</i> 1990 American film

Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die is a 1990 American slasher film written by Mark Thomas McGee and James B. Rogers, directed by Jim Wynorski, and starring Gail Harris and Melissa Moore. The film features a similar storyline and many of the same actresses from its predecessor, and Wynorski's previous film Sorority House Massacre II, of which Hard to Die is essentially a remake.

<i>Gunslinger</i> (film) 1956 film by Roger Corman

Gunslinger is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Ireland, Beverly Garland and Allison Hayes. The screenplay was written by Mark Hanna and Charles B. Griffith.

<i>Von Richthofen and Brown</i> 1971 film by Roger Corman

Von Richthofen and Brown, alternatively titled The Red Baron, is a 1971 war film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as Manfred von Richthofen and Roy Brown. Although names of real people are used and embedded in basic historic facts, the story by Joyce Hooper Corrington and John William Corrington makes no claim to be historically accurate, and in fact is largely fictional.

<i>I Never Promised You a Rose Garden</i> (film) 1977 film by Anthony Page

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 American psychological drama film directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Joanne Greenberg. The film stars Bibi Andersson, Kathleen Quinlan, Sylvia Sidney, Martine Bartlett, Lorraine Gary, Signe Hasso, Susan Tyrrell, and Diane Varsi. It follows a mentally ill teen who struggles between fantasy and reality, escaping to her own imaginary world.

<i>Unholy Rollers</i> 1972 film by Vernon Zimmerman

The Unholy Rollers is a 1972 American action comedy film directed by Vernon Zimmerman and starring Claudia Jennings.

<i>Five Guns West</i> 1955 American film

Five Guns West is a 1955 Western film set during the American Civil War directed by Roger Corman. It was Corman's first film as director although he had already made two as producer. It was the second film released by the American Releasing Company, which later became American International Pictures.

<i>The Oklahoma Woman</i> 1956 film by Roger Corman

The Oklahoma Woman is a 1956 American Western film directed by Roger Corman.

Target: Harry is a 1969 thriller film directed by Roger Corman.

<i>Candy Stripe Nurses</i> 1974 American film

Candy Stripe Nurses is a 1974 American comedy film written and directed by Alan Holleb, and starring Candice Rialson. Produced and distributed by New World Pictures, it was the last in their popular "nurses cycle" of films that commenced with The Student Nurses (1970).

<i>Death Race 2050</i> 2017 film by G. J. Echternkamp

Death Race 2050 is a 2017 American satirical science fiction action direct-to-video film directed by G.J. Echternkamp, and starring Manu Bennett, Marci Miller and Malcolm McDowell. It is a sequel to the 1975 film Death Race 2000. Both films were produced by Roger Corman, who described the film as "a car-racing picture with some black humor."

References

  1. 1 2 Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 116
  2. Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 298. ISBN   978-0-8357-1776-2. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  3. Vagg, Stephen (November 26, 2019). "The Cinema of Exploitation Goddess Candice Rialson". Diabolique Magazine.
  4. McCormick, Maureen (2009). Here's the story : surviving Marcia Brady and finding my true voice. p. 106.
  5. "Love among the moonshiners". The Los Angeles Times. 4 June 1977. p. 38.
  6. Ed. J. Philip di Franco, The Movie World of Roger Corman, Chelsea House Publishers, 1979 p 228
  7. Vagg, Stephen (July 29, 2020). "The Top Twelve Stages of Saxon". Filmink.