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Macon County Line

  • 1974
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Jesse Vint, Alan Vint, and Cheryl Waters in Macon County Line (1974)
Home Video Trailer from Anchor Bay Entertainment
Play trailer1:43
1 Video
99+ Photos
Coming-of-AgeTragedyActionDramaRomance

A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters.A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters.A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters.

  • Director
    • Richard Compton
  • Writers
    • Max Baer Jr.
    • Richard Compton
  • Stars
    • Alan Vint
    • Cheryl Waters
    • Max Baer Jr.
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Richard Compton
    • Writers
      • Max Baer Jr.
      • Richard Compton
    • Stars
      • Alan Vint
      • Cheryl Waters
      • Max Baer Jr.
    • 40User reviews
    • 39Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Macon County Line
    Trailer 1:43
    Macon County Line

    Photos114

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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Alan Vint
    Alan Vint
    • Chris Dixon
    Cheryl Waters
    Cheryl Waters
    • Jenny Scott
    Max Baer Jr.
    Max Baer Jr.
    • Deputy Reed Morgan
    • (as Max Baer)
    Geoffrey Lewis
    Geoffrey Lewis
    • Hamp
    Joan Blackman
    Joan Blackman
    • Carol Morgan
    Jesse Vint
    • Wayne Dixon
    Sam Gilman
    Sam Gilman
    • Deputy Bill
    Timothy Scott
    Timothy Scott
    • Lon
    James Gammon
    James Gammon
    • Elisha
    Leif Garrett
    Leif Garrett
    • Luke Morgan
    • (as Lief Garrett)
    Emile Meyer
    Emile Meyer
    • Gurney
    Doodles Weaver
    Doodles Weaver
    • Augie
    Avil Williams
    • Public Defender
    Jay Adler
    Jay Adler
    • Impound Yard Man
    Roger Camras
    • Man in Car
    David Orange
    • 1st Highway Patrolman
    Roger Pancake
    • 2nd Highway Patrolman
    Carolyn Judd
    • Waitress
    • Director
      • Richard Compton
    • Writers
      • Max Baer Jr.
      • Richard Compton
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews40

    6.51.8K
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    Featured reviews

    grafspee

    Great suspenseful movie but was it really a true story?.

    I agree with many previous reviewers that this was an ideal drive-in thriller movie and well suited to the era with it's colorful cinematography of the picturesque South.

    Max Baer better known as "Jethro", the jovial dim witted clown of the "Beverly Hillbillies" series shows how equally well he can play officious gun toting Deputy Sheriff Reed Morgan of a southern Georgia town, flaunting his obvious authority with others. When three teenagers arrive in his domain at a local service station with car trouble he immediately becomes suspicious and makes clear his anxiousness for them to leave his County as quickly as possible.

    Morgan shortly after leaves with son Luke, played by Leif Garrett, on a duck shooting expedition and while away two ex cons break into his house and rob and murder his wife Carol. Returning home he notices the teenagers car broken down nearby and after discovering the fate of his wife sets out in armed pursuit of the teenagers. The teenagers take refuge on a houseboat and the tragic events which unfold give this movie a hold on to your seat electrifying finale. The excellent "Another Place Another Time" song of Bobbie Gentry in the closing credits adds vividly to the way life and events did exist and were perceived in the Fifties era.
    10preppy-3

    Huge drive-in hit

    Despite what previous posters have been saying this movie was a big hit when it came out. There was even a sequel a few years later. But it was only a hit at drive-ins and (like other drive-in hits) has been largely forgotten. That's a shame because it's a really great movie.

    It's not based on a true story (despite what they say at the beginning and end). It's bloody, violent and made on virtually no budget. It all works though because you get four believable characters--the two brothers (real life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint), the hitchhiker (Cheryl Waters) and the sheriff (Max Baer Jr.). They all give natural, unforced performances and through the dialogue you get to know them and understand them. The script is very well-written. Still, this IS a drive-in movie so it opens with a sex scene including flashes of male and female nudity. And the last half hour is frightening and includes a neat twist at the end.

    A very good film that deserves to be rediscovered. See it!
    10TelevisionJunkie

    Clever, stylish, and unique -- a forgotten classic

    I had heard of this film, but never had the chance to see it. Knowing that Max Baer wrote and starred in it really didn't mean much to me either way. Although I often identify actors with their TV roles, I've seen a lot of them who got famous by playing goofy characters in phenomenal roles, so I don't usually judge them by their other work. And in this case, that's a good thing. Stumbled onto the Anchor Bay release of this at Wal-Mart for $3, so I figured I'd check it out. Not my usual style of movie, I prefer comedy, horror or camp, but I'm a movie buff and for the price, I figured what-the-hell. And I wasn't disappointed.

    The acting is solid. Usually in low budget films there's at least one actor who simply can't act, but not here. Everyone in the film is believable enough to hold your attention and make you forget how unlikely the string of coincidences that happen near the end would be. Baer, who in his first scene seems reminiscent of Jethro Clampett, soon shows that he does have acting abilities. And the other three leads are exceptional. Although it seems like it takes forever for something to happen (it's an hour into the 90 min film before the "shocking" part begins to unfold), the beginning is enjoyable. You forget for a while that there's a point and get swept up in the antics of these (real-life) brothers who are joyriding when their car breaks down in Macon County. Back in the good old days when character development was more important than special fx, a lot of time was spent on doing just that, developing the characters. You start to care about the three leads, which makes it much more disturbing when Baer goes after them near the end for a crime they didn't commit. And what's revealed at the end is a total mind blower that slaps you across the face and shoots you between the eyes. Just for the twist ending, the film is well worth your time. Too bad the videos didn't sell well and are now in the bargain bins, but it's a bargain-bin-classic that I'd recommend to anyone.
    10telegonus

    Tense, Tragic, Highly Watchable

    Macon County Line was apparently a huge hit at the drive-ins when it came out in the seventies but since I seldom went to drive-ins I missed it. A few years ago I caught it on television, and was very impressed, not so much by the story but by the way it's told. The film concerns a couple of out-of-town brothers caught up in violent crime and mistaken identity in the Deep South, where, in movie terms anyway, it's never a good place to be a Yankee without a road map, or worse, have your car break down. The story unfolds at a decent clip, and the actors are all good, some much better than than that. It's interesting seeing an old-timer like Emile Meyer in a movie with an up-and-comer like Leif Garret. The real surprise in the film is the strong, silent performance of Max Baer, Jr. in the key role of the deputy sheriff. Like most viewers, I tend to think of Baer as the gentle, simple giant, Jethro, on the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies. As the lawman in this movie Baer actually gives a serious performance. As a dramatic actor he comes off a little like James Garner, a little like Clint Eastwood, but he has a distinctive style of his own. There's something rock solid about Baer. He has real screen presence, and he comes off as alternately heroic and frightening, depending on what he's up to at the moment. Baer also produced the movie, and made a fortune from it. Baer may in real life be a gentle giant, but he sure ain't a simple one.

    This is at times a very dark movie, violent and forbidding, and at times almost painfully tense. It may be a product of the Burt Reynolds good old boy era of movie-making, but it plays very differently from the kinds of films Reynolds made, closer in style to Sam Fuller or Phil Karlson.
    8SmileysWorld

    An overlooked classic

    Some movies just don't get the attention they deserve,and "Macon County Line" is certainly one of those.It could quite possibly have to do with the fact that Max Baer appears in it,because we so closely identify him with his "Jethro Bodine" persona,that we have a hard time picturing him as anyone else.If that is the case,it is a shame,because he really gives a top notch acting performance as the not-so-perfect deputy sheriff.This film was very different from any other made in the era.There are bad guys here,but no real hero to speak of.Basically,without giving the story away,it starts out very basic,taking a violent turn toward the end,with an explosively violent ending stemming from a tragic misunderstanding.A very well done and well acted film, that tragically got overlooked.If you are one to reach for the classics in your local video store from time to time,I suggest this one,though it sadly will never be listed as a classic.I think once you see it,you may be impressed enough to add it to your collection.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This $225,000 film reportedly became the single most profitable film of 1974 (in cost-to-gross ratio), earning $18.8 million in North America and over $30 million worldwide.
    • Goofs
      Hamp tells Reed that the car needs a new water pump. It actually needs a new fuel pump.
    • Quotes

      Deputy Reed Morgan: Hurry up on the car there. Don't want to keep these nice folk here any longer than we have to. I'm not going to like it. I wouldn't like that at all.

    • Connections
      Featured in Macon County Line: 25 Years Down the Road (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Keep On Keepin' On
      Vocal by Vermettya

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    FAQ

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 28, 1975 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Killing Time
    • Filming locations
      • Sacramento, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • American International Pictures (AIP)
      • Max Baer Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $225,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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    Jesse Vint, Alan Vint, and Cheryl Waters in Macon County Line (1974)
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