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Film critic Scott Von Doviak of the Star-Telegram out of Fort Worth, TX put together here a comprehensive study of the sub-genre of drive-in movies known as "hixploitation". For the uninitiated, these were those low-budget flicks that dealt with plots involving moonshiners, truckers, stock car racers, honky tonk singers, swamp monsters, anti-establishment folk heroes, etc. The prime era for these cultural celluloid masterpieces were the late '60's through the late '70's, but this tome examines the very origins going back as far as "Thunder Road" in 1957 and the hick flick metamorphosis into its heyday and even beyond to its eventual decline.
The author masterfully breaks down all the types of "redneck cinema" into seperate chapters where he examines and critiques the good, the bad, and the ugly:
(1) "Moonshiners"--Briefly educating the reader on NASCAR's roots, he then digs into such Southern matinee classics as "Thunder Road", "White Lightning" and its sequel "Gator", "Moonrunners" (the inspiration behind "The Dukes Of Hazzard"), and a host of others.
(2) "Smokey the Red Necked Sheriff"--No surprises here, as this chapter analyzes this classic hero/villain mix with characters like Buford T. Justice ("Smokey and the Bandit") and Buford Pusser of "Walking Tall" fame (where they clearly divide truth from redneck filmic fantasy). Also critiqued are "Macon County Line" and "In the Heat Of the Night", and a little history on real life rednecks with badges that were the inspirations to a number of exploitation filmmakers.
(3) "Honky Tonk Heroes"--This chapter deals with "country music" films that were either inspired by songs ("Harper Valley PTA", "Ode To Billy Joe") or were about creating the songs ("Honeysuckle Rose", "Coal Miner's Daughter", "Nashville").
(4) "Crackerjacks"--Basically, films that have really white main characters: "Every Which Way But Loose", "Hooper", "Road House", and "Cockfighter". There's also a brief history on Evel Knievel and the two movies he inspired, "Viva Knievel!" and his biopic starring George Hamilton, "Evel Knievel".
(5) "Hick Chicks"--A short chapter, but a good one; Russ Meyer's "Mudhoney", Harry Novak's hillbilly sexploitation resume, and a look at Claudia Jennings' drive-in film career.
(6) "Dixie DeMilles"--The author gives an insightful look into the film careers of H.G. Lewis (his horror/exploitation flicks set in the South), Ron Ormond (low-budget filmmaker with an odd and obscure resume), and Earl Owensby (another obscure figure in the drive-in moviemaking scene).
(7) "Around the Track"--As you may have guessed it, films set in and around the world of NASCAR ("Red Line 7000", "The Last American Hero", "Greased Lightning", "Six Pack", "Stroker Ace", and "Days Of Thunder"). There's also some background history on former stock car champ (and legendary moonshine runner) Junior Johnson.
(8) "From Sea To Shining Sea"--This deals with the plot(s) of people in cars hitting the open road, usually in a race of some sort...or not. Reviewed here are "Two Lane Blacktop", "Vanishing Point", "Cannonball!", "Death Race 2000", "The Gumball Rally", and the "Cannonball Run" movies.
(9) "Fender Benders"--Another short chapter, this one dealing with the life and films of H.B. "Toby" Halicki (best known for the original "Gone In 60 Seconds"); and Ron Howard's work with Roger Corman ("Eat My Dust" and "Grand Theft Auto").
(10) "Keep On Truckin'"--This is a somewhat extensive study on the trucker culture: the films, the music, and the CB craze of the '70's.
(11) "The Death Of Bigfoot"--Obvious enough, a look at the Bigfoot movie trend of the '70's that was launched after the financial success of "The Legend Of Boggy Creek".
(12) "Creepy Critters"--"Nature gone amok" and/or monster movies set in rural locales: "Attack Of the Giant Leeches", "Frogs", "Grizzly", "Pumpkinhead", and others.
(13) "Hillbilly Horror"--"Deliverance" is naturally discussed as well as a humorous documentation of the author attempting to take on a 24 hour marathon of videos including "Redneck Zombies", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" and other classic (or not so classic) backwoods horror films.
As an afterword, Von Doviak ponders the future of hixploitation and sees it in documentary filmmaking, where he discusses several including "American Movie", "Brother's Keeper", "Paradise Lost', and more. Plus there's an exhaustive A-Z filmography of this genre including many movies that weren't even mentioned in the above chapters.
The only real issue I had with this book was that I think there could have been more written (it's roughly a little over 200 pages) and the price ($35 and yes, at first, I said "Fuck that"). But as a buff for these kinds of films, it's been a great resource for me, and a fun re-read. If this is right up your alley, and you don't want to pay the hefty cover price, you may want to check on Amazon and see if you can nab a used copy.
If you want to order it straight from McFarland Publishing, here's the link:
http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-1997-5
