Vitals

Burt Reynolds as Bobby “Gator” McKlusky, paroled moonshine runner and Marine Corps veteran

Bogan County, Arkansas, Summer 1973

Film: White Lightning
Release Date: August 8, 1973
Director: Joseph Sargent
Costume Designer: Michael Butler

Background

White Lightning was arguably the first of what would be deemed “hick flicks”, a series of rural-themed films that became popular in the ’70s. The story was usually the same, an anti-hero would use his muscle car to face off against a corrupt, and usually fat, Southern lawman with illegal booze as the story’s MacGuffin. Burt Reynolds was strongly associated with this subgenre, kicking off with his appearance in White Lightning, the more lighthearted sequel Gator, and the wildly popular Smokey and the Bandit. This first, 1973’s sweltering Southern adventure White Lightning, is the grittiest and my favorite of this trio. Continue reading →