Thunderbolt And Lightfoot is one of the great ‘buddy’ movies of the 70s.
The idea of a mis-matched ‘bromance’ comedy-thriller is certainly nothing new, but there was a slew of these type of films released around the same year (Freebie And The Bean, Scarecrow). Subsequent movies in the genre include Midnight Run, 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon and many others – some original, many formulaic.
Clint Eastwood was originally planning to direct Thunderbolt And Lightfoot himself, but ultimately decided instead to give writer Michael Cimino his big break in directing. Cimino went on to bring us mega-hit The Deer Hunter and mega-flop Heaven’s Gate.
By comparison, this is a relatively small-scale affair, set in the mid-west. Clint Eastwood’s bank-robber in hiding is saved from execution by happy-go-lucky grifter Jeff Bridges and sets about robbing the same bank for a second time.
Cimino’s film deftly includes many off-kilter, idiosyncratic moments, treading a fine line between broad comedy and eventual tragedy. The chemistry between Eastwood and Bridges is what makes the movie, though. (Bridges was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his efforts).
One thing always bugged me with this movie, however. There is one gaping plot point which takes a lot of suspension of disbelief. Having hidden the loot from a previous robbery behind the blackboard in an old school house, only to find the building gone, Thunderbolt subsequently stumbles on the same school house, which has been preserved and moved in its entirety to a new location miles away. It beggars belief firstly that the characters just happen to come across this and secondly that the building could have been moved without anyone disturbing and discovering a stack of money in the wall!
These two posters include a slightly tattered but original release Belgian poster, where the title was changed to Le Canardeur (‘The Sniper’). The other poster is a rather cool image from a French re-release in 2011, which has sold.
The Belgian poster plus a set of French lobby cards including the image above of Clint and the gang can be found for sale here.