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Moonshine County Express
Moonshine County Express
	Film poster by John Solie
Directed by	Gus Trikonis
Written by	Hubert Smith; Daniel Ansley
Produced by	Ed Carlin
Starring	John Saxon; Susan Howard; William Conrad
Cinematography	Gary Graver
Music by	Fred Werner
Production; companies	Universal Majestic; Sunshine Associates
Distributed by	New World Pictures
Release date	1977;
Running time	82 mins
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$700,000
Box office	$1 million or $1.1 million

Moonshine County Express is a 1977 action film from New World Pictures.^[3]

Plot

Dot refuses to sell out her inheritance—a stockpile of whiskey—when her moonshiner father is murdered by Sweetwater (Morgan Woodward) and his gang by order of Jack Starkey (William Conrad), the local kingpin. Dot and her sisters (played by Claudia Jennings and Maureen McCormick) try to sell the whiskey themselves while avoiding Starkey's men, eventually she gives in to the attentions of J.B. (John Saxon), the local car racer and moonshine runner, so that he will help them sell their stash.

A dog is killed, along with the local mechanic and moonshine salesman, so they decide to get out. While trying to get their stockpile out in a rental truck, they are stopped and shot at by Starkey and one of his men. Just when all hope is lost, the local sheriff shows up (Albert Salmi) and arrests Starkey for murdering their uncle Bill (Dub Taylor), who had sold them out by revealing the location of the stash, but then had the temerity to suggest to Starkey that they split the profits. Dot and J.B decide to leave for California, while Dot teases that she might be willing to lower her standards enough to marry J.B.

Cast

John Saxon - J.B. Johnson
Susan Howard - Dot Hammer
William Conrad - Jack Starkey
Morgan Woodward - Sweetwater
Claudia Jennings - Betty Hammer
Jeff Corey - Hagen
Maureen McCormick - Sissy Hammer
Albert Salmi - Sheriff Larkin
Dub Taylor - Uncle Bill
Len Lesser - Scoggins
Candice Rialson - Mayella
E. J. André - Lawyer Green

Production

The film at one stage was known as Shine.^[1] The film was shot in Nevada City, California. Maureen McCormick recalled drug use was rife on set, writing in her memoirs that "Our crew was more like a pharmaceutical convention than a movie. Aside from John Saxon, Susan Howard, and a few other straight arrows, I could barely go thirty minutes without someone asking if I wanted a bump." She and Claudia Jennings became close friends on the film and Jennings had an affair with Gary Graver.^[4]

Release

The Los Angeles Times called it "an unpretentious and engaging exploitation film... with a subtle and endearing love story."^[5]

Roger Corman, head of production at New World, always thought one of the reasons the film was so popular was because it did not put down Southern people. "There's a tendency very often for people coming out of Hollywood and New York to consciously or unconsciously insult the sensibilities of the southerners, and I think Moonshine County Express was a success partially because it’s a low-budget film that’s quite well made and that presents a very fair viewpoint."^[6] It was one of several Corman-financed movies starring John Saxon.^[7]

DVD

Moonshine County Express has been released on DVD and a Blu-ray (currently out of print) was released by Code Red DVD.

References

^ ^a ^b Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 116
^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-8357-1776-2. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
^ Vagg, Stephen (November 26, 2019). "The Cinema of Exploitation Goddess Candice Rialson". Diabolique Magazine.
^ McCormick, Maureen (2009). Here's the story : surviving Marcia Brady and finding my true voice. p. 106.
^ "Love among the moonshiners". The Los Angeles Times. 4 June 1977. p. 38.
^ Ed. J. Philip di Franco, The Movie World of Roger Corman, Chelsea House Publishers, 1979 p 228
^ Vagg, Stephen (July 29, 2020). "The Top Twelve Stages of Saxon". Filmink.