Bullet Points: White Lightning
Fast cars were to Burt Reynolds, what vigilantism was to Charles Bronson. Fast cars would become a Burt Reynolds’ hallmark. One could argue that Burt’s most memorable role of them all was as Bandit in 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit, a movie filled with high speed action! And there were plenty of other films that followed Smokey and the Bandit that kept Burt behind the wheel. But in this edition of Bullet Points, I will be looking back at Burt’s first fast car movie… 1973’s White Lightning.
- Ain’t That a Hole in the Boat: As the movie begins we are introduced to the ruthless Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty, Rolling Vengeance) as he causes the death of two college students. The two young men are in a row boat, they are gagged and tied to cinder blocks. Connors gets out his shotgun shoots a hole in the boat and the young men sink into their watery graves… It turns out that one of those college students was Donny McKlusky and when news of Donny’s murder gets to his older brother Bobby “Gator” McKlusky (Burt Reynolds, Malone), who is serving time in an Arkansas state prison for moonshining, Gator is hellbent on avenging his brother’s death.
- Plan B: Gator can’t do much for his brother behind bars, so he decides to make a break for it, but his freedom is fleeting and he’s right back digging ditches with his fellow inmates. Gator has an epiphany… if the Feds threw him in jail, they can get him out. It turns out that Sheriff Connors has been under investigation for some time, but to this point there has been no solid evidence against Connors profiting from the moonshiners that run in his Bogan County fiefdom. So Gator agrees to go undercover for the Treasury Department in hopes of exposing Sheriff Connors dirty dealings… but in actuality he is going to get some good old fashioned revenge. The Feds are nice enough to supply Gator with a souped-up Ford Custom 500 and give him the name of a contact in Bogan County, who they have under their thumb. But before he goes to Bogan County, Gator does what any good son would do and he visits his Ma and Pa, who naturally aren’t happy with what Gator is about to do as they don’t want to lose two sons!
- Hey Dude: When Gator arrives in Bogan County, he tracks down his contact, Dude Watson (Matt Clark, Tuff Turf). Dude is reluctant to help Gator, but after a punch to the gut, he caves and introduces Gator to one of Bogan County’s top moonshine runners, Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins, Trapper County War) and by default, Roy’s main squeeze, Lou (Jennifer Billingsley). Gator agrees to be a blocker on Roy’s next run and his high performance driving skills on that run gets him in good with Roy and Roy’s boss, Big Bear (R.G. Armstrong, Predator). But while all this is going on, Sheriff Connors has been tipped off that the Feds have sent someone to Boone County to gather evidence against him… and at first all signs point to Dude Watson, Which doesn’t end well for Dude and leaves his wife Maggie (played by Diane Ladd) a widow.
- Gator Hunting: The jig is eventually up for Gator and he feels the wrath of Big Bear (who in addition to being one of the biggest moonshiners around, is also bosom buddies with Sheriff Connors). Gator manages to escape with his life and with help from Lou finds refuge and it is there that we find out that Donny McKlusky was killed for protesting or in Sheriff J.C. Connors’ eyes… stirring up trouble. If you didn’t already hate Sheriff Connors at this point, this information seals the deal. Obviously Gator ALREAY hated Connors and it was about time that these two have their final showdown, which comes in the form of a high speed chase and ends in poetic fashion.
White Lightning was your basic revenge tale, but it incorporated so many of the elements that future Burt Reynolds projects would use with great success . White Lightning also capitalized on the momentum Reynolds had coming off of 1972’s Deliverance and that momentum would go on to make Burt Reynolds one of the biggest stars of the 1970s.
As great as Reynolds was as Gator McKlusky, my hat goes off to Ned Beatty as the sinister Sheriff. You can almost admire Connors for taking money and spreading that wealth with his officers, who were underpaid. But you can’t admire his fighting against the winds of change and taking his wanting to keep things the way they have always been to the extreme… like in the case with Donny McKlusky. Having grown up with Beatty as the bumbling Otis in Superman and the affable Dean Martin in Back to School, it’s always a bit of a shock for me to see Beatty in such a negative light, but the role showed the kind of range that Beatty had as an actor.
Bonus Bullet Points can often range from completely useless to absolutely amazing…
- Retroactive Advice: Never let your girlfriend hang around prime Burt Reynolds. Someone should have probably let Roy know that.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see R.G. Armstrong get a massage, then White Lightning is the movie for you.
- Directed By: Joseph Sargent directed White Lightning. Sargent would go on to direct 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and 1987’s Jaws: The Revenge.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Burt Reynolds eat breakfast while swimming, then White Lightening is the movie for you.
- Sequel: Burt Reynolds would reprise the role of Gator McKlusky in 1976’s Gator.
