Roger Corman and 1970s era New World strike again with this engaging formula hicksploitation action flick. Susan Howard ('Dallas'), Claudia Jennings ("Gator Bait"), and Maureen McCormick ('The Brady Bunch') play the Hammer sisters, whose moonshiner father (Fred Foresman) is killed by goons representing a big time sleazy criminal (William Conrad, 'Jake and the Fatman'). The gals are as tough and sassy as they are sexy, and prove to be formidable adversaries, especially when they team up with J.B. Johnson (John Saxon), a racing enthusiast and ace delivery man."Moonshine County Express" doesn't set out to reinvent the wheel, and shows that movies of this ilk do deliver the goods by scrupulously following a formula. The vehicular action is first rate, there are mild doses of sex (there's a hilarious "fishing" scene), and the movie is violent without ever getting particularly gory. It's all played with humour and panache, thanks to screenwriters Hugh Smith & Daniel Ansley, and director Gus Trikonis ("Nashville Girl", "The Evil"). What truly brings it to life is the work of a colourful and interesting cast. Saxon is an amiable hero (if maybe a tad too old for his role), Howard a strong and independent minded heroine, and Conrad is an effective bad guy. He's somewhat blustery, but Conrad never makes him a one-dimensional cartoon. Morgan Woodward ("Cool Hand Luke") is also a good villain, playing Conrads' primary thug. If you're a fan of Jennings, be aware that she doesn't get that much to do. McCormick is cute as the youngest of the gals. The cast is rounded out by other familiar faces like Jeff Corey ("In Cold Blood"), Dub Taylor ("The Wild Bunch"), Albert Salmi ("Empire of the Ants"), Len Lesser ('Seinfeld'), the lovely Candice Rialson ("Hollywood Boulevard") as a town floozy, and E.J. Andre ("Magic").Set to an irresistible bluegrass music score by Fred Werner, and shot by legendary B movie D.P. Gary Graver, this is a fun example of its genre, guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.Eight out of 10.

Take some gorgeous gals, good 'ol boys, creepy villains, fast car chases, and throw in some gratuitous sex scenes. Put it all together, and you have another classic Roger Corman 70s B movie. Corman churned-out these low-budget films like mad, back then. And Moonshine County Express is a fast-and furious tale, of moonshiners in the backwoods of the south. The plot revolves around the three luscious Hammer sisters (played by Susan Howard, Claudia Jennings, and Mareen McCormick). Their father was a legendary moonshiner. And he gets brutally murdered by the local thugs, in a moonshine war.After their father is murdered by Starkey, the local crime kingpin, the Hammer sisters are determined to beat Starkey at his own game. The sisters discover a huge stash of pure bootleg liquor, stored away in a secret hiding place. They've inherited it from their father. And they plan on selling it right under Starkey's nose, and making a fortune. But Starkey proves to be a formidable foe, who'll stop at nothing to shut-down the Hammer sister's liquor business.This film boasts a talented cast of actors. Especially William Conrad, as the cigar-chomping, nefarious Starkey. John Saxon co-stars as the wily, ace moonshine runner, JB. Saxon has a tumultuous, eclectic chemistry with co-star, Susan Howard. Susan plays the eldest sister, Dot Hammer. Most of the time, Dot can't decide whether to kiss JB, or strangle him.Claudia Jennings, was known as the queen of 70s drive-in movies. Claudia plays the stalwart Betty Hammer, who defends her family with gusto, from Starkey and his thugs. Claudia's only in a supporting role though. So she never gets to become the center of attention, like she does in her films where she's the main character. Maureen McCormick, known to most as Marcia from the Brady Bunch, is Sissy Hammer, the youngest sister. Maureen doesn't shine as brightly as the rest of the cast. That's mainly because her role as Sissy, isn't very well-developed. This move was part of a sub-genre of 70s B movies, that featured good 'ol boys and gals in the sticks, as the main protagonists. These films always seemed to have the hero(s) running from either the law, the bad guys, or both, in souped-up muscle cars on dirt roads. Other 70s movies of this ilk, included Moonrunners (which spawned the TV show, the Dukes Of Hazzard), Smokey and The Bandit, Gator, etc. Moonshine County Express, is a top-tier film of this genre. So you'll enjoy it, if these kinds of films are your cup of corn-squeezins.

I have seen a John Saxon Film recently, was not MSCE (Moonshine County Express), but kept thinking about this film that I foundly remember from the 70s when I seen him recently. I came to IMDB to do a search to see if I could find the name of the film(found it here) to see about buying it on DVD, but to no avail, not even on VHS! That is awful :-( Couple fun things about the film, Three pretty sisters, One of them always using dynamite to blow up things, I think it was Maureen McCormick, and Claudia Jennnings being the brains of the three I think. John Saxon drives a muscle car, a cherry red Dodge Challenger, a real sweet car. A buddy of mine used to own one down the street from me at the time I seen this back in the late 70s. Hopefully, this gem will come out on DVD soon. If you like this film, you may also like "Duel", Steven Spielbergs first film.

i thought this was a pretty enjoyable film.3 pretty country sisters discover their murdered fathers moonshine stash and decide to cash in.they have to battle local crooks who don't want the competition.not too much plot(this ain't the godfather!) but Maureen McCormick aka Marcia Brady is absolutely beautiful and very sexy as the wild daughter in this seldom seen and hard to find film.