With the passing of the great Jerry Reed last week, I've been thinking more and more about a prominent genre of the 1970’s  -- the good ol’ boy movies -- a genre that's all but vanished. Depicting wily, rough and tumble men (and some women) usually of the Southern persuasion working occupations that ranged from race car drivers, moon shiners, truckers, stunt men and sheriffs, there was something extra special and charming about some of these pictures -- even the lesser ones. Filled with characters who usually had a beef with someone -- either the law or those not abiding by it -- their numerous action-packed sequences frequently revelead some sort of journey  -- a journey to rectify their situation, or maybe drop out completely.

Though many elitist types might simply label pictures like these "redneck trash," there’s a grittiness and subversive lawlessness you don’t see in movies these days -- not for the rural poor anyway. In films from "Smokey and the Bandit" to "White Line Fever," law enforcement was often either stupid or corrupt -- things to mock, attack or evade. And justice, towards cops or criminals, could work collectively or vigilante style depending on your predicament. You could carry a big stick or rally a convoy of trucks. Either way the TCB message, even if sometimes rendered cheesy, was distinctly American and frequently thrilling.

Really, these movies glorified rugged individualism, even a certain kind of counterculture, and given their wonderful lack of slickness (can you imagine Michael Bay directing "Macon County Line"?) they feel all the more compelling. I miss these movies and I miss stars like Jan-Michael Vincent, Joe Don Baker, Kris Kristofferson and Bandit-style Burt Reynolds. But for reasons I’m not entirely sure of (a change in fashion to more ‘80s tomes like "Star Wars"), the films ran out of steam and only a smattering popped up in the 1980’s and ‘90s.

To honor the lost genre of really, white-sploitation, and Mr. Reed's iconic Snowman, I’m listing my ten favorite good ol’ boy movies. And keep in mind, these are distinctly good ol’ boy movies -- so you won’t see great Southern films like "Deliverance," "Cockfigher," "Cool Hand Luke" or "Prime Cut" gracing the list. This is strictly CB’s, fist fights, pissed off sheriffs and fast, dirty cars.

"Thunder Road" (1958)

A wonderfully complex (and fun) Robert Mitchum starred in this depiction of the trials and tribulations of Appalachian moon shiners. The setting is evocative, the chase scenes exciting and the performances are sympathetic and regionally proud. A precursor to the good ol’ boy movies of the ‘70s, "Thunder Road" is hillybilly heaven. And Mitchum wrote the theme song and, by many accounts, co-directed the picture. Also, one is required to watch any movie Robert Mitchum stars in -- no matter what. A drunken jewel.

"White Line Fever" (1975)

There's so much going for this picture that I'm not sure where to start. First, the title, perhaps one of the greatest in all of good ol' boy cinema (truckers or...cocaine? And on those long rides, the two can go together perfectly). Then there's director Jonathan Kaplan, who made one of the greatest teen pictures of all time, "Over the Edge." And oh yes...Jan-Michael Vincent as Carrol Jo Hummer (you could be named Carrol Hummer in the '70s and no one batted an eye) a young trucker who stumbles into a dirty trucking scheme after borrowing money to purchase his big rig. Once his wife (Kay Lenz) is threatened, vengeance will be his -- brutally so. Rounding out the cast is the perfect Slim Pickens, L.Q. Jones and Dick Miller, among others. Violent, somewhat shocking and even, at times, bizarre, "White Line Fever" is a youth movie in many ways, with "On the Waterfront" and "Every Which way But Loose" (minus the chimp) -- with whippersnapper Jan Michael up against a bunch of fat cats. Never trust anyone involved in the trucker business over 30 -- unless he's Clint Eastwood or Jerry Reed, of course.

Read the rest of my southern fried classics including "Walking Tall," "Convoy" and not one but three Burt Reynolds masterworks here.

--posted by Kim