White Lightning (1973 film)
Encyclopedia
White Lightning is a 1973 American action film
from United Artists
starring Burt Reynolds
as Gator McKlusky. The film, directed by Joseph Sargent
and written by William W. Norton
, also starred Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty
, Bo Hopkins
, R.G. Armstrong, and Diane Ladd
. It was also the uncredited film debut of six-year-old Laura Dern
.
A sequel
, Gator
, was released in 1976.
) is serving time in an Arkansas
prison for running moonshine
when he learns his younger brother Donny was murdered and that Sheriff J.C Conners (Ned Beatty
) was the one behind it. Gator knows the sheriff is taking money from local moonshiners, so he agrees to go undercover for the Feds
and try to expose the sheriff. He gets a job running moonshine with Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins
) and starts having an affair with his girlfriend Lou (Jennifer Billingsley). Eventually, when the sheriff discovers Gator is working for the Feds and sends his enforcer Big Bear (Armstrong), Gator decides to go after the sheriff in an epic car chase finale.
s Charles Bernstein
. Some of this score was also used by Quentin Tarantino
in his 2003 film Kill Bill Vol. 1 and his 2009 film Inglourious Basterds. Bernstein's score was released by Intrada Records
in May 2010.
On the TV series Archer
, the movie and its sequel are favorites of the title character, Sterling Archer, though he believes Gator
to be the stronger installment.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
from United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
starring Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Gator McKlusky. The film, directed by Joseph Sargent
Joseph Sargent
Joseph Sargent is an American film director. He has directed many television movies, but his best known feature film works are probably White Lightning, MacArthur, Nightmares and Jaws: The Revenge, with his most popular film being The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He has won four Emmy Awards...
and written by William W. Norton
William W. Norton
William Wallace "Bill" Norton, Jr. was an American screenwriter. Later in life, he was convicted of gun running in France when he tried to send arms from the United States to the Irish National Liberation Army in Northern Ireland. He moved to Nicaragua after being released from prison, where he...
, also starred Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
, Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
, R.G. Armstrong, and Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
. It was also the uncredited film debut of six-year-old Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
.
A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Gator
Gator (film)
Gator is a 1976 action film starring and directed by Burt Reynolds. It is a sequel to White Lightning. Reynolds honored his favorite professor from college, Watson B...
, was released in 1976.
Plot
Bobby "Gator" McKlusky (Burt ReynoldsBurt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
) is serving time in an Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
prison for running moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
when he learns his younger brother Donny was murdered and that Sheriff J.C Conners (Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
) was the one behind it. Gator knows the sheriff is taking money from local moonshiners, so he agrees to go undercover for the Feds
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
and try to expose the sheriff. He gets a job running moonshine with Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins
Bo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
) and starts having an affair with his girlfriend Lou (Jennifer Billingsley). Eventually, when the sheriff discovers Gator is working for the Feds and sends his enforcer Big Bear (Armstrong), Gator decides to go after the sheriff in an epic car chase finale.
Cast
- Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Gator McKlusky - Jennifer Billingsley as Lou
- Ned BeattyNed BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
as Sheriff J.C. Connors - Bo HopkinsBo HopkinsBo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
as Roy Boone - Matt ClarkMatt ClarkMatthew or Matt Clark may refer to:* Mat Clark, American ice hockey defenceman* Matt Clark * Matt Clark * Matt Clark * Matt Clark *Matthew Clark*Matthew H. Clark...
as Dude Watson - Louise LathamLouise LathamLouise Latham is an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's film Marnie...
as Martha Culpepper - Diane LaddDiane LaddDiane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
as Maggie - R. G. ArmstrongR. G. ArmstrongRobert Golden "R.G." Armstrong is an American actor and playwright. A veteran character actor who appeared in dozens of Westerns over the course of his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director Sam Peckinpah....
as Big Bear - Conlan CarterConlan CarterChester Conlan Carter is a former film and television actor best known for the role of "Doc", featured in sixty-six episodes of the Rick Jason and Vic Morrow ABC World War II television series Combat!...
as Deputy - Dabbs GreerDabbs GreerRobert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His distinctive, southern-accented voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as westerns...
as Pa McKlusky - Lincoln Demyan as Warden
- John SteadmanJohn SteadmanJohn Steadman was an American sportswriter for The Baltimore Sun. His career spanned 7 decades and he attended and reported on every Super Bowl from its inception until his death.-Background:...
as Skeeter - Iris Korn as Ma McKlusky
- Stephanie Burchfield as Jenny
- Barbara Muller as Louella
- Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
(uncredited) as Sharon Anne, Maggie's daughter
Cult status
White Lightning is considered a classic 1970s action film with multiple car chases, shootouts, and fist fights. The film's music was written by A Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
s Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein (composer)
Charles Bernstein is a composer of film and television music. His credits include the score for A Nightmare on Elm Street....
. Some of this score was also used by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
in his 2003 film Kill Bill Vol. 1 and his 2009 film Inglourious Basterds. Bernstein's score was released by Intrada Records
Intrada Records
Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California. Intrada Records is an American record company based in Oakland, California...
in May 2010.
On the TV series Archer
Archer (TV series)
Archer is an American animated television series created by Adam Reed for the FX network. A preview of the series aired on September 17, 2009. The first season premiered on January 14, 2010. The show carries a TV-MA-LSV rating....
, the movie and its sequel are favorites of the title character, Sterling Archer, though he believes Gator
Gator (film)
Gator is a 1976 action film starring and directed by Burt Reynolds. It is a sequel to White Lightning. Reynolds honored his favorite professor from college, Watson B...
to be the stronger installment.