In the wake of the critically and popularly acclaimed "Deliverance", Burt Reynolds trades on his reputation as a rebellious Southern boy and stars in "White Lightning", an action story of revenge. Reynolds is Gator McKlusky, a fast-driving daredevil who is in prison, where he seems rather comfortable, until he learns of his brother's death.
Gator pulls out all stops to escape the prison walls and he seeks out his brother's murderer. Along the way, he reacquaints with numerous denizens of the white lightning trade, homing in on the dirty lawman that presumably killed his brother for unknown reasons. A strong supporting cast---including Ned Beatty, Dabs Greer, and Matt Clark---gives the film an authentic tone.
Highlighting Reynolds'swarthy good looks and his trademark laugh, the film becomes a series of car chases through the dusty back roads and cornfields of the redneck South. This character type and this formula would appear again and again in Reynolds' later films, with slight variations. Hal Needham had a (recognizable) hand in the car stunts that populate this film.
Though this is not one of Reynolds' best films, it helped him create a fan base that followed him through his successful Smokey and the Bandit films and beyond.
Gator pulls out all stops to escape the prison walls and he seeks out his brother's murderer. Along the way, he reacquaints with numerous denizens of the white lightning trade, homing in on the dirty lawman that presumably killed his brother for unknown reasons. A strong supporting cast---including Ned Beatty, Dabs Greer, and Matt Clark---gives the film an authentic tone.
Highlighting Reynolds'swarthy good looks and his trademark laugh, the film becomes a series of car chases through the dusty back roads and cornfields of the redneck South. This character type and this formula would appear again and again in Reynolds' later films, with slight variations. Hal Needham had a (recognizable) hand in the car stunts that populate this film.
Though this is not one of Reynolds' best films, it helped him create a fan base that followed him through his successful Smokey and the Bandit films and beyond.