''The Moonshine War'' is a 1970 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Richard Quine Richard Quine (November 12, 1920June 10, 1989) was an American director, actor, and singer. He began acting as a child in radio, vaudeville, and stage productions before being signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in his early twenties. When his acting ...

, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

. It stars

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, '' Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war co ...

, and

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

Plot

John "Son" Martin owns and operates a profitable still, making moonshine whiskey in

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

-era Kentucky. One day, he gets a visit from an old Army acquaintance, Frank Long, who is now an

Internal Revenue The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

agent. When Frank is unable to persuade Son to cut him in on the profits, or even reveal where the moonshine is hidden, in exchange for Frank looking the other way, Frank calls in the dangerous Dr. Emmett Taulbee, who uses more violent methods in getting what he wants. Emmett and his henchmen go too far, killing Sheriff Baylor and even Emmett's girlfriend when she tries to get away. Frank can see that he made a mistake, so he volunteers to help Son fend off the gang. Still outnumbered, Son finally tells Emmett's men where the moonshine is buried in exchange for his life. However, when the crooks start digging, they set off Son's buried dynamite.

Cast

as Frank Long *

as Dr. Emmett Taulbee *

as John W. (Son) Martin * Melodie Johnson as Lizann Simpson *

as Sheriff Baylor * Joe Williams as Aaron * Suzanne Zenor as Miley Mitchell *

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

as Dual Metters *

Max Showalter Max Gordon Showalter (June 2, 1917 – July 30, 2000), sometimes credited as Casey Adams, was an American film, television, and stage actor, as well as a composer, pianist, and singer. He appeared on more than 1,000 television programs. One ...

as Mr. Worthman *

Harry Carey, Jr. Henry George Carey Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series. Early life Carey was born on a ranch near ...

as Arley Stamper * Tom Nolan as Lowell *

Richard Peabody Richard Peabody is a poet, editor, and publisher, based in Washington, D.C. Biography A native of the Washington DC metropolitan region, Peabody received a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland in 1973 and a M.A. in Literature from Am ...

as Boyd Caswell *

John Schuck Conrad John Schuck Jr. (born February 4, 1940) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is best known for his role as Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama ''McMillan & Wife''. He also played Herman Munster in the late-1980s ...

as E.J. Royce *

Bo Hopkins William Mauldin "Bo" Hopkins (February 2, 1938 – May 28, 2022) Issucover/ref> was an American actor. He was known for playing supporting roles in a number of major studio films between 1969 and 1979, and appeared in many television shows and ...

as Bud Blackwell *

Charles Tyner Charles Tyner (June 8, 1923 – November 8, 2017) was an American film, television and stage character actor best known, principally, for his performances in the films ''Harold and Maude'' (1971), '' Emperor of the North Pole'' (1973), '' The Long ...

as Mr. McClendon *

Terry Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

as Young Wife * Claude Johnson as Young Man *

Dick Crockett Richard DeHart Crockett (February 27, 1915 – January 25, 1979) was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director, best known for his work with director Blake Edwards. Career The first film ...

as Carl * Patty Sauers as Waitress *

Tom Skeritt Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', '' Top Gun'', '' A ...

as Neighbor (uncredited)

Production

In October 1968 it was announced film rights to the novel had been purchased by

Filmways Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production c ...

with MGM to release. In March 1969 Richard Quine signed to direct. In June, Patrick McGoohan, who had just made ''

Ice Station Zebra ''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W ...

'' for Filmways and MGM, signed to play the lead. "You have to do something from time to time to pay the rent", said the actor. Filming started August 1969. It was one of eight features greenlit under the new regime at MGM headed by Louis Polk and Herb Solow, the others being ''False Witness'', ''The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'' ( filmed in 1970), ''

The Strawberry Statement ''The Strawberry Statement'' is a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University from 1966–1968, particularly the April 1968 protests and takeover of the office of the dean ...

'' ( filmed in 1970), ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...

'' (planned for

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

but not filmed), ''

The Adventures of Augie March ''The Adventures of Augie March'' is a picaresque novel by Saul Bellow, published in 1953 by Viking Press. It features the eponymous Augie March, who grows up during the Great Depression, and it is an example of ''Bildungsroman'', tracing the de ...

'', ''

Man's Fate ''Man's Fate'' (French: ''La Condition humaine'', "The Human Condition") is a 1933 novel written by André Malraux about the failed communist insurrection in Shanghai in 1927, and the existential quandaries facing a diverse group of people associa ...

'' (planned by

Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and play ...

but not filmed) and ''The Ballad of Dingus Magee'' ( filmed in 1970). The novel was published in September 1969. The ''New York Times'' called it "a near perfect shotgun opera." The film went over budget.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moonshine War, The 1970s crime comedy-drama films 1970 films American crime comedy-drama films 1970s English-language films Films about prohibition in the United States Films based on American novels Films based on works by Elmore Leonard Films directed by Richard Quine Films set in 1932 Films set in Appalachia Films set in Kentucky Films with screenplays by Elmore Leonard Filmways films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Moonshine in popular culture 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links