A couple of hillbilly cousins and their uncle run a quality but small-scale moonshine business that is put under threat when an unscrupulous neighbour starts distributing inferior product in large quantities with the help of some criminals.I hadn't even heard of Moonrunners before a very kind fellow IMDber sent me a copy to check out. It clearly derives the bulk of its interest factor in that it was the film that the TV series 'The Dukes of Hazzard' was based on. Aside from the two central cousins, there is a Sheriff Roscoe, an Uncle Jesse and narration by Waylon Jennings. The series was made four years later and is a fond memory of mine – more or less everyone my age liked it back in the day. The movie is somewhat rougher than the TV series, with a more authentic feel than the polished for television characters from 'Dukes'. But it still is coming from a very similar place with its good natured Southern humour, plenty of car chases and very dumb cops. It has to be said though that while the movie did have a female side-kick for the boys, she didn't really do very much; something the 'Dukes' rectified in fine style with the introduction of the terrific Daisy Duke.As a film, it's very episodic with little real drama underpinning things. We never really feel too much for the characters as they don't have too much depth, while some events happen with little overall purpose. Still, it's all done with quite a bit of charm that it draws you in never-the-less. Added flavour is contributed by the entertainingly organic soundtrack and the on location shooting. It was probably a little ahead of the curve in some ways too, in that there was a plethora of 'good ol' boys' Southern action comedies that hit mainstream cinema in the late 70's, some of which were massive hits. Moonrunners fits into this bracket but is a very early example of this sub-genre and seems to have subsequently gone under the radar.

If you are truly a Dukes of Hazzard fan and not just a phony hopping on the popular band wagon then you will love this movie. Unfortunately there is no current release of this movie, but if you dig around on the internet deep enough you can find original VHS copies or "bootleg" (pun intended) copies on DVD for around about 9 bucks. I normally don't support illegal copies, but when the studio doesn't realize what a cult hit they own, and don't re-release it; well then there is no alternative. Anyway, Moonrunners is another classic 70's movie of the south.If you like this movie too then check out these other cult favorites: Cockfighter, Walking Tall, Walking Tall Pt. 2, Walking Tall: The Final Chapter, White Lightining, Hooper, Stroker Ace, Slap Shot, The Longest Yard, Urban Cowboy, Days of Thunder (before Tom went wacko!) *ALL MOVIES ARE THE ORIGINALS, NOT THE REMAKES

I absolutely love this movie.I watch at least once a month.Its great Kiel Martin as Bobby Lee Hag and his cousin Grady and the very sexy Chris Forbes as Beth Ann Eubanks.I have loved this movie since the day I bought it unfortunately it is seldom seen and ever harder to own.It so desperately needs to be re released.Anyway i would highly recommend this movie and I would also recommendThe Great Lester Boggs This Stuff'll Kill Ya White Lightining Gator all excellent movies

I liked the Dukes of Hazzard when it was first run and I even like it sometimes in the reruns but this movie was so boring that I did a lot of fast forwarding as I could not wait for it to end. This is the type of movie that you see at the drive-in movie that shows only very low quality "B" movies as a filler at the end and where most of the people are gone before it is over.