WHITE LIGHTNING (1973) – Some readers have been asking for non-Christmas blog posts, so here we go with a review of this Burt Reynolds movie back before he settled in to lazily being a clownish parody of himself. Back when he was still legitimately a film star who could play things seriously.
In White Lightning Reynolds was at his dead-serious, dangerous best as an Arkansas convict who starts out the movie with just a year and a half left in his prison term for running moonshine whiskey aka “white lightning.” For the benefit of overseas readers or for readers in their teens or twenties let me take a moment to add some background on the illegal liquor business.
Moonshine liquor was illegal because not only were no taxes paid on the sale of the alcoholic product but because its illicit manufacture meant there were no safety standards. Anti-freeze or other fluids might have been used as ingredients, plus if you’ve ever seen an illegal still there might be drowned rats or squirrels that needed skimmed off the top of the vat from time to time. Continue reading
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