Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is a 1974 American crime film written and directed by Michael Cimino and starring Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, and Geoffrey Lewis.
Plot[]
While stealing a car, free-spirited drifter Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges) crosses paths with legendary thief Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood) in the midst of his own escape. Thunderbolt's old partners in crime, Red (George Kennedy) and Eddie (Geoffrey Lewis), believe he double-crossed them after they robbed a Montana bank vault several years ago. After Thunderbolt successfully pleads his innocence and is let off the hook, Lightfoot rallies them together as a group to rob the very same bank again.
Cast[]
- Clint Eastwood as Thunderbolt
- Jeff Bridges as Lightfoot
- Geoffrey Lewis as Goody
- Catherine Bach as Melody
- Gary Busey as Curly
- Jack Dodson as vault manager
- Gene Elman as tourist
- Burton Gilliam as welder
- Roy Jenson as Dunlop
- Claudia Lennear as secretary
- Bill McKinney as crazy driver
- Vic Tayback as Mario
- Dub Taylor as station attendant
- Gregory Walcott as used car salesman
- Erica Hagen as waitress
- Alvin Childress as janitor
- Virginia Baker as couple at station
- Stuart Nisbet as couple at station
- Irene Cooper as cashier
- Cliff Emmich as The Fat Man
- June Fairchild as Gloria
- Ted Foulkes as young boy
- Leslie Oliver as teenagers
- Mark Montgomery as teenagers
- Karen Lamm as girl on motorcycle
- Luanne Roberts as suburban housewife
- Lila Teigh as tourist
- George Kennedy as Red Leary
- Beth Howland as vault manager's wife (uncredited)
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Leonard Maltin gave the film three out of four stars, describing it as "Colorful, tough melodrama-comedy with good characterizations; Lewis is particularly fine, but Bridges steals the picture."
Thunderbolt has an 87% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The RT consensus is "This likable buddy/road picture deftly mixes action and comedy, and features excellent work from stars Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges and first-time director Michael Cimino."