Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2010 August 04 • Wednesday

Thunder Road was Robert Mitchum's movie. He starred in it, came up with the story, co-wrote the theme song and co-produced it. He denied being in any great movies but said only about Thunder Road that it was his fault it wasn't great—he wasn't responsible for the failings of any other pictures.

Mitchum plays a moonshine transporter pursued by Treasury agents and menaced by gangsters. He's also a war veteran who isn't afraid to take insane, death-defying risks with his car.

One of his cars has an oil slick device, six years before James Bond's in Goldfinger. (The movie came out in 1964, the novel in 1959. I can't remember if the oil slick is in the book, but Thunder Road still would have come first.)

When the syndicate boss threatens Mitchum and asks him, "How rough do you want it?", this is Mitchum's reply.

Mitchum's best move, though (and perhaps James Bond isn't quite rough enough for this one), is in this scene, where he's racing neck and neck with a gangster who's trying to run him off the road. Mitchum wins by flicking his cigarette into the guy's face.

Mitchum's "Ballad of Thunder Road" was performed by Randy Sparks in the movie, but a single version, with Mitchum singing it, spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Another recording of it, with reverby electric guitar, came out in the late '60s. You can hear both versions on Bear Family's That Man CD.

Also included in the CD is the material from Mitchum's 1956 album of Calypso songs.

Thunder Road was popular enough to make it onto this hot rod album.

It might be why he made the cover of Dig magazine (for teenagers only!). Son Jim Mitchum played Robert Mitchum's younger brother in Thunder Road.

And Mitchum was cool enough and musical enough to be on the front cover of this Chico Arnez record.

He's not on the record or anything. The text on the back cover explains that Robert Mitchum is just one of many stars who like to hang out at the Milroy and hear Chico play.