Production
In the film, Mitchum drove a souped-up 1951 Ford 2-door sedan hot-rod with a custom tank in the back for moonshine and later a 1957 Ford coupe with the same alterations. The '51 Ford was modified with a '49 hood and grill and the rear taillight trim was removed. The film's dialogue refers to the car as a '50, but it is not, although at least one exterior shot, when the car spills oil on the road, is of the trunk of a '50.
Most of the scenes were filmed in Asheville, North Carolina Highway 16 and others at Lake Lure. Some scenes were filmed in Beech, east of Weaverville. Scenes include Reems Creek Road, Sugar Creek Road and the Beech Community Center. Some scenes were actual local moonshine drivers shot with a camera mounted on a pickup tailgate.
The stunt coordinator was Cary Loftin. The stunt team included Ray Austin, Neil Castes Sr., Robert Hoy and Dale Van Sickel.
The movie's theme song, "The Ballad of Thunder Road", was later recorded by Mitchum and became a popular single record, although Mitchum's rendition is not the one in the film itself.
Read more about this topic: Thunder Road
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)
“... this dream that men shall cease to waste strength in competition and shall come to pool their powers of production is coming to pass all over the earth.”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)
“The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)