Q 01/05

Which singer was eager to act in Thunder Road until his manager demanded more than the film's entire budget?

A) Ricky Nelson

B) Elvis Presley

C) Jerry Lee Lewis

D) Johnny Cash

Answer · why

B) Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was handed the script by Robert Mitchum in person and wanted the part, but Colonel Tom Parker's price ended the talks.

Q 02/05

Which rock star named a 1975 song after Thunder Road after seeing only the Robert Mitchum film's poster?

A) Bob Seger

B) Kris Kristofferson

C) Bruce Springsteen

D) Neil Young

Answer · why

C) Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen told a 1978 audience he had never watched the movie, yet its title opens his breakthrough album Born to Run.

Q 03/05

What relation was James Mitchum, who plays Robert Mitchum's kid brother in Thunder Road, to the star in real life?

A) His nephew

B) His cousin

C) His brother

D) His son

Answer · why

D) His son

His son James, then a teenager, looked so much like Robert that he could pass for a sibling. It was his first credited film role.

Q 04/05

Which racing body grew out of contests between moonshine runners like the one Robert Mitchum plays in Thunder Road?

A) NASCAR

B) IndyCar

C) NHRA

D) IMSA

Answer · why

A) NASCAR

NASCAR was formed after out-of-work liquor drivers kept their skills sharp in organized races, and former runner Junior Johnson became one of its star...

Q 05/05

Thunder Road's James Mitchum later starred in Moonrunners, a 1975 bootlegger tale reworked into which hit TV series?

A) The Dukes of Hazzard

B) B. J. and the Bear

C) The Greatest American Hero

D) Hardcastle and McCormick

Answer · why

A) The Dukes of Hazzard

The Dukes of Hazzard followed four years later from the same writer, Gy Waldron, who drew on the stories of real ex-moonshiner Jerry Rushing.