★ 6 / 10
_**Redneck drama/thriller from 1974**_ "Macon County Line" belongs
Wuchak
_**Redneck drama/thriller from 1974**_ "Macon County Line" belongs to the redneck car/thriller genre, which overlaps with Southern Gothic (e.g. "The Fugitive…
_**Redneck drama/thriller from 1974**_
"Macon County Line" belongs to the redneck car/thriller genre, which overlaps with Southern Gothic (e.g. "The Fugitive Kind") and redneck car/comedies (e.g. "Smokey and the Bandit"). Many of these films take place in the South, but not always; there are tons of rednecks all over, even in the most "progressive" states, like California and Washington.
The plot revolves around two brothers in 1954 traveling through North Carolina. After picking up a lone female, their car breaks down in Macon County where they encounter a bigoted Sheriff. A crime takes place and the sheriff blames the trio.
The film only runs 89 minutes and the first hour is all small town tedium, which is part of the movie's low-budget charm, but the third act livens things up.
The screenplay was written by Max Baer Jr., best known as Jethro on the Beverly Hillbillies TV series; he also plays the redneck Sheriff in the story. Max, incidentally, directed another redneck classic, 1976's "Ode to Billy Joe".
The film has a good back country vibe and effectively shows how bigotry and racism are learned traits and not innate. It also shows how easy it is to blame the wrong person due to coincidence. Beyond this, the film has little depth. It's a light drama about mundane events in a small Southern town that turn to tragedy.
The movie purports to be based on a true story and offers details to this effect, but this was merely fabricated in order to hype the picture. It worked, as "Macon County Line" became a drive-in hit in the mid-70s.
My main beef with the film, other than its mundaneness, is that the story takes place in Macon County, North Carolina, but the picture was shot in the Big Valley of California (around Sacramento). It goes without saying, if you're going to film a Southern Gothic thriller that takes place in the South, shoot it in the REAL South, not friggin' California. That said, the filmmakers do a decent job of making it SEEM like the South, dry as California is.
GRADE: C+ or B-
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★ 8 / 10
Fantastic drive-in classic!
The_Void
You can always be guaranteed a good time with seventies American exploitation flicks; and Macon County Line is not only no exception to that rule; it stands…
You can always be guaranteed a good time with seventies American exploitation flicks; and Macon County Line is not only no exception to that rule; it stands tall as one of the best films of its type! Macon County Line was apparently a big hit in its day and then promptly forgotten - which is a shame. The film is a winner thanks to some easy to like characters, a constant stream of entertainment, some witty dialogue and a serviceable helping of gritty violence - you really couldn't ask for much more from a film like this! The film takes place in the fifties and the plot focuses on two brothers driving through the Deep South. They cause a bit of trouble and end up picking up a female hitcher along the way before their car dies thanks to a dodgy fuel pump. They manage to get it to a garage but can't afford to get it fixed properly and so go for a bodge instead. While waiting for their car to be fixed, they run into the local sheriff, who takes an instant and unfair dislike to the group...
Unlike many films of its type, this one is not overly sleazy and if anything the tone of the film is light and breezy for most of the duration. The pace of the film is very relaxed for the first hour, although it remains entertaining thanks to the characters. Real life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint provide standout performances that bolster the film. The film does take a bit of a turn for the final third when the real antagonists turn up; we get a rape and murder scene and from there the tone of the film becomes rather darker, although the violence featured is never excessive. The pace of the film heats up too and the climax is fast and furious; and means more since we already like all the main characters by then. This film really does come highly recommended. It might not have a great deal of substance and the production values are not great (though certainly very good considering the obvious low budget) but it's good fun throughout and I'm sure that everyone who goes to the trouble of seeing this film will not be disappointed!
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Great overlooked B Movie! Held record for highest grossing film per dollar invested until Blair Witch in 1999.