Ohio Sheriff Blames 'Thunder Road' for Glamorizing Crime

One Ohio sheriff's editorial on the legacy of 'Thunder Road' and the sorry state of current crime ran today in the Cleveland Daily Banner.

"The story line of this movie romanticized the lives of those who today we would call less than honorable citizens...

In the movie the moonshiners were justified in their law-breaking because they were supposedly poor, humble folks who were victimized by the federal government. That same refrain is still being used by many criminals today. History tells us that these poor, underprivileged victims were finally put out of business by the dogged efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement."

Of course, putting anything on camera tends to glamorize it. No mention of Mitchum's own brush with the law.

Christopher Mitchum Running For Office?

According to the Santa Barbara Independent, Christopher Mitchum, son of actor ROBERT MITCHUM, is "seriously considering" running for political office again.

Chris was the Republican nominee in the 1998 general election for the California State Assembly in the 35th District, but lost the election to Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson, Wikipedia states.

The picture at left is from a 2009 appearance.

Chris, now 67, appeared in a few films alongside his famous father, including 'Young Billy Young,' and the 1985 TV movie 'Promises to Keep,' which also co-starred Chris's son Bentley.


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President Eisenhower: Not a Mitchum Fan!

Turns out that Dwight Eisenhower was not a fan of ROBERT MITCHUM and refused to let any of his movies be screened at the White House, according to a new article about presidential viewing habits in the Washingtonian.

"Westerns were a lot more common in the 1950s than they are today, but Ike clearly favored silent-type, tough-guy movies. He was also discriminating. He refused to watch films featuring Robert Mitchum because Mitchum had served time for marijuana possession. This was no small sacrifice: Mitchum was a star who appeared in more than 20 movies during Eisenhower’s two terms, including 1955’s classic 'The Night of the Hunter.'

White House projectionist Paul Fischer occasionally would try to sneak a Mitchum film past the President, but Ike would get up and walk out of the theater upon seeing the actor’s face onscreen."