Macon County Line

Plot synopsis:
In 1954 Macon County, Georgia, brothers Chris (Alan Vint) and Wayne Dixon (Jesse Vint), are on a two-week spree of cheap thrills throughout the South before their upcoming stint in the Air Force. A pair of Chicago transplants, Wayne applied for service when his brother Chris was given the option of military service or prison as the result of an earlier episode with the law. Driving through Louisiana, the brothers pick up hitchhiker Jenny Scott (Cheryl Waters), a pretty blond with a shady backstory that she would rather not discuss.
Meanwhile, local backwater town sheriff Reed Morgan (Baer) is preparing to bring back his son Luke (Leif Garrett) from military school. Hunting season begins the next day and he buys Luke a new shotgun. While Chris, Jenny, and Wayne cruise through the back roads of Louisiana, they have car trouble. They stall out in Sherriff Morgan's town. Unable to repair the car, they scrape together enough money to get it patched up by garage owner Hamp (Geoffrey Lewis).
Waiting at the garage, they are informally threatened by Morgan, who says they could be picked up for vagrancy if they decided to stick around. Not interested in trouble, the brothers and Jenny head out once their car is running. But another breakdown – this time near the scene of the murder of Morgan's wife by two men who have also killed a cop – puts the trio into a lethal situation with Morgan. There is a devastating finale for all.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
That's a shame because it's a really great movie.It's not based on a true story (despite what they say at the beginning and end).
It all works though because you get four believable characters--the two brothers (real life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint), the hitchhiker (Cheryl Waters) and the sheriff (Max Baer Jr.).
And the last half hour is frightening and includes a neat twist at the end.A very good film that deserves to be rediscovered.
The film concerns a couple of out-of-town brothers caught up in violent crime and mistaken identity in the Deep South, where, in movie terms anyway, it's never a good place to be a Yankee without a road map, or worse, have your car break down.
The real surprise in the film is the strong, silent performance of Max Baer, Jr. in the key role of the deputy sheriff.
Like most viewers, I tend to think of Baer as the gentle, simple giant, Jethro, on the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies.
Baer may in real life be a gentle giant, but he sure ain't a simple one.This is at times a very dark movie, violent and forbidding, and at times almost painfully tense.
It may be a product of the Burt Reynolds good old boy era of movie-making, but it plays very differently from the kinds of films Reynolds made, closer in style to Sam Fuller or Phil Karlson..
Imagine Sam Peckinpah had done this, or John Boorman, or that it starred one of the many young upstarts of New Hollywood; it would've been one of the classic movies we referenced from this era, that's for sure.Alas it had none of those things.
But it wasn't a drive-in smash hit for no reason either and as much as high brow critics would dismiss the regular love-pit crowd as easily pleased or what have you, the truth is Macon County Line is an all around accomplished movie that is almost too good to be classified as exploitation.
Or the kind of hicksploitation you find in movies like Gator Bait.What starts as an amusing "boys just wanna have fun" road movie soon turns into a tight, gripping thriller but not without stopping to sample some of the local Lousiana colour first.
Even the backwoods mechanic carries an authenticity, a sense that you're watching a real person and that such people do exist.Which brings me to another major success for the movie.
We get a vision of the graphic South without the self-conscious quirks the Coens used in Raising Arizona or Oliver Stone in U-Turn, both great movies but still "artificial" in how they depict life.Tightly edited, beautifully photographed, with cool music and a fine-tuned screenplay, memorable performances and an unexpected ending, Macon County Line justifies its cult status and drive-in success 30 years down the line and belongs in the very elite company of gritnik gems like Two-Lane Blacktop and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia..
Knowing that Max Baer wrote and starred in it really didn't mean much to me either way.
Although it seems like it takes forever for something to happen (it's an hour into the 90 min film before the "shocking" part begins to unfold), the beginning is enjoyable.
You forget for a while that there's a point and get swept up in the antics of these (real-life) brothers who are joyriding when their car breaks down in Macon County.
Some movies just don't get the attention they deserve,and "Macon County Line" is certainly one of those.It could quite possibly have to do with the fact that Max Baer appears in it,because we so closely identify him with his "Jethro Bodine" persona,that we have a hard time picturing him as anyone else.If that is the case,it is a shame,because he really gives a top notch acting performance as the not-so-perfect deputy sheriff.This film was very different from any other made in the era.There are bad guys here,but no real hero to speak of.Basically,without giving the story away,it starts out very basic,taking a violent turn toward the end,with an explosively violent ending stemming from a tragic misunderstanding.A very well done and well acted film, that tragically got overlooked.If you are one to reach for the classics in your local video store from time to time,I suggest this one,though it sadly will never be listed as a classic.I think once you see it,you may be impressed enough to add it to your collection..
Richly atmospheric, "Macon County Line" veritably drips 1950s backwoods Louisiana, in a story about two good-humored, shiftless dudes, both laid-back and basically decent, who joyride through the South, with no particular goal in mind.
But a car problem puts them at the mercy of local hicks, including a White, bullying cop (Max Baer Jr.), prejudiced against Blacks and outsiders.The plot starts out with some red-light hi-jinx, augmented by lush color visuals and great music, like the Black gospel song "Keep On Keeping On" which conveys the film's subtle theme.
Casting and acting are fine, and considerably better than one would expect for this genre of film.I think people were surprised at the time by its success.
"Macon County Line", in addition to being a fine Gothic story set in an atmospheric South, evokes nostalgia for an era and pace of life gone forever..
Too bad only 21 people have bothered to vote for this movie.If you would like to time travel back to the 50's, and get a feel for the rural South, this is an enjoyable movie to watch..
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 takes place in the fifties and the plot focuses on two brothers driving through the Deep South.
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.
Real life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint provide standout performances that bolster the film.
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.
Great suspenseful movie but was it really a true story?..
I agree with many previous reviewers that this was an ideal drive-in thriller movie and well suited to the era with it's colorful cinematography of the picturesque South.Max Baer better known as "Jethro", the jovial dim witted clown of the "Beverly Hillbillies" series shows how equally well he can play officious gun toting Deputy Sheriff Reed Morgan of a southern Georgia town, flaunting his obvious authority with others.
When three teenagers arrive in his domain at a local service station with car trouble he immediately becomes suspicious and makes clear his anxiousness for them to leave his County as quickly as possible.Morgan shortly after leaves with son Luke, played by Leif Garrett, on a duck shooting expedition and while away two ex cons break into his house and rob and murder his wife Carol.
The excellent "Another Place Another Time" song of Bobbie Gentry in the closing credits adds vividly to the way life and events did exist and were perceived in the Fifties era..
Stacey contrasted it with its sequels by calling it a 'real movie', but I wouldn't put it that way: it's a drive-in movie all right, with all the sex, guns, cars and cops that implies.
But it's also got, let's see, uniformly excellent, low-key performances; the kind of local colour that is impossible for a studio production to capture, with juicy layers of deep-South detail; an organic, fluid narrative structure that keeps surprising you; inspired camera work and even clever blocking for God's sake; and what comes down to a pacifist, anti-authoritarian (and anti-racist) world view that is pervasive without being over-articulated.
Based on fact, the movie portrays the misadventures of real-life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint, as they frolic through the 1950's South on their way to a date with the Army.
For fans of actor Max Baer(Jethro Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies"), he does a great job in this movie.
"Macon County Line" is a serious minded movie with a message.
Real life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint, are cast as brothers Chris and Wayne Dixon, in this film.
Their troubles really begin though, when the local Sheriff's wife is brutally murdered in their home, and the Sheriff mistakenly thinks Chris and Wayne are the culprits.This story-line in this movie took place in the 1950s, when the deep south could be a particularly dangerous place, for outsiders passing through.
While the film begins as the kind of typical "good old boys" action film that flooded drive-ins 40 years ago, Macon County Line actually heads towards horror territory by the end, something most viewers did not expect .
Chris and Wayne Dixon, played by real-life acting brothers Alan and Jesse Vint, are two fun loving siblings from Chicago.
(The story takes place in Georgia in 1954.) However, they end up targets for the wrath of a Southern lawman (Max "Jethro Bodine" Baer), who mistakenly believes that they have butchered his wife."Macon County Line" is a superior example of this kind of exploitation filmmaking, fulfilling some of the requirements of the genre (like nudity, sex, and violence), but also taking the time to tell an entertaining and compelling story.
Baer concocted the story himself, and co-wrote the screenplay with director Richard Compton, doing a fine job of leaving his cheerfully dumb hayseed character Jethro far behind for the first time in his career.
(They figured audiences would have an easier time swallowing the chain of events this way.)The main hook of this sordid, and ultimately tragic, tale is an assortment of wholly engaging characterizations by the main cast: the Vint brothers, Cheryl Waters as the hitchhiker whom they pick up, Geoffrey Lewis as a local yokel garage owner, Joan Blackman as Baers' victimized wife, a very young Leif Garrett as Baers' son, James Gammon and Timothy Scott as a pair of despicable lowlifes, Sam Gilman as a deputy, Doodles Weaver as area resident Augie, Emile Meyer as store owner Gurney, et al.The cinematography by Daniel Lacambre is first-rate, the songs are wonderful, there is an appreciable sense of humor, and the finale is some genuinely atmospheric, suspenseful, and spooky stuff.
It all adds up to make a fine film that any fan of this era of filmmaking ought to check out.Impressively filmed on a low, low budget of approximately $225,000, it went on to gross over $18 million in the US.Followed a year later by "Return to Macon County".Eight out of 10..
The story here follows two likable brothers who are hunted by a vengeful southern sheriff who wrongfully believes they murdered his wife.
The only real actor of note in the film is Max Baer Jr. as a deputy sheriff, who's best known for playing dimwitted Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies," and is the only thing I can remember seeing him in, so it came as a surprise how good he was in this film.
Baer also co-wrote the film with director Richard Compton, who'd previously directed the the excellent biker film (my favorite disreputable exploitation film sub-genre) "Angels Die Hard" and who would later direct quite a few episodes of "Miami Vice" and "The Equalizer." It's a tough little story that's filled with lots of southern flavor and plenty of exploitation film charms (i.e. sex, violence, good 'ol boys, fast cars, injustice, etc.).
When their car breaks down they take shelter in a barn not knowing it belongs to Max Baer, Jr. They also
acquainted with that this violates social taboos.The film has become a deserved cult classic and Max Baer, Jr. must thank God
"Macon County Line" belongs to the redneck car/thriller genre, which overlaps with Southern Gothic (e.g.
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'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.
Two happy-go-lucky brothers (amiably played by real-life siblings Alan and Jesse Vint, who also popped up as a couple of no-count looters in the fantastic big budget all-star disaster epic "Earthquake") and a pretty female hitchhiker (blonde cutie pie sprite Cheryl Waters) embark on a rowdy cross country fun spree in the deep South in the 50's.
Their fun comes to an abrupt end when they run afoul of a repressively square and fascistic good ol' boy sheriff (sternly portrayed by producer and co-screenwriter Max Baer; Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies") who doesn't cotton to any smartaleck outsiders romping around his podunk burg.
Things go from bad to worse when a pair of criminals murder the sheriff's wife and the sheriff erroneously assumes that the brothers and their lady friend are responsible.Without a doubt one of the all-time great Southern-fried low-budget 70's drive-in classics, this darling is a huge personal favorite of mine.
The performances are all on-target, with stand-out supporting turns by Sam ("'Gatorbait") Gilman as a hard-nosed deputy, Joan Blackman as the sheriff's doomed wife, 70's teen pop idol Leif ("Devil Times Five") Garrett as the sheriff's son, James Gammon as a low-life hoodlum, Doodles Weaver as a doddery ol' cuss, and especially Geoffrey Lewis as a cranky gas station proprietor.
"Macon County Line" was a big drive-in hit in its day, and it has kept its reputation as a cult classic right into the twenty-first century.
Max Baer Jr. finds growing success with MACON COUNTY LINE.
He produced it, helped write it and stars as Sheriff Reed Morgan in a tiny 1954 Louisiana town (actually filmed in Sacramento California).
Brothers Chris(Alan Vint)and Wayne Dixon(Jesse Vint)already trying to out run their problems have car trouble in a mangy little town and need it fixed to finish their trip to California.
While the brothers are slowly making their way out of town, a pair of psychotic drifters brutally kill the redneck sheriff's beautiful wife(Joan Blackman).
Chris and Wayne are mistaken as the killers and with gun in hand Sheriff Morgan seeks revenge.The film is well photographed for a B movie.
After having heard about how great MACON COUNTY LINE is and how it's one of the undisputed classics of the 1970's drive-in/"hicksploitation" genre, I finally saw it for myself and was quite surprised by a few things.
When taken at face value, MACON COUNTY LINE reads like a tense, suspenseful cautionary tale about being in absolutely the wrong place at absolutely the wrong time, but the actual film comes up lacking for a number of reasons:1.
2. There were several times when I found myself wondering if the movie even had an editor; during the film's 88 minutes, much of the running time is spent on endless sequences meant to drive home a feeling of local color but those segments just drag on interminably, and the attempts at humor simply lay there like a dead raccoon.
That particular female element in hicksploitation would later be famously immortalized in the far superior JACKSON COUNTY JAIL (1976).But while I found MACON COUNTY LINE to be a vastly overrated disappointment, I was intrigued by Max Baer, Jr's portrayal of Sheriff Morgan.
I don't think so.There's been a lot of misleading stuff written about MACON COUNTY LINE over the years that paints the film as considerably more than it is, and as a curious student of the grindhouse/drive-in genre you may be intrigued by its rep, but bear in mind that much of its legend may be heavily colored by fond nostalgia, and that's why the ready availability of such oft-cited "classics" on DVD can be the genre's own worst enemy.
. but when Johnny got his gun Luke already had one, MACON COUNTY LINE documents.
By age 10 each of these "space cadets"--such as "Lt." Luke in this story--is an accomplished marksman, MACON COUNTY LINE warns.
MACON COUNTY LINE takes its cues from Real Life in showing that cop's sons are more likely to orphan themselves than barbers' boys or plumbers' kids.
MACON COUNTY LINE begs the question, "If priests can't have children, why should sheriffs?"