The original (X-rated?) Dukes Of Hazzard!

Seeing an advert for the forthcoming "Dukes of Hazzard Vol.1" DVD - soon to be released on R2 over here - prompted me to think of a film I saw on TV some years ago which was without doubt a film which later was used as the basis for the TV series. However, the film I saw was far removed from the fun, all-round-family-entertainment show that graced our TV screens on Saturday evenings in the late 70s and early 80s.

I didn't see the film in its entirety...I stumbled across it during a spot of late-night channel-hopping. IIRC the characters were basically the same as the TV series and the names of the characters were identical, or at least near-identical, to the TV show characters.

However, this film - which appeared to be made in the early or mid 70s (going by the hairstyles and fashions) played more like a toned-town Russ Meyer flick!!! Yep, the 'Daisy' character I remember seeing naked in a lake and there was quite a lot of bad or at least not what I call "family-friendly" language! The characters were a lot harder and meaner than the TV counterparts and the film played much more a like a drama than a comedy.

Now, it's been buggin' me for a few days...I can't remember what this film was. I've tried searching on imdb.com and other sites but can find no reference to this movie. I remember at the time being a little shocked at how different it was to the light-hearted TV series which it obviously inspired - with the obvious exception that this was close to, if not an actual X-rated movie. I mean, "Daisy" in the nude and "Boss Hogg" and "Rosco" really were nasty!

Any film gurus on the forum able to put me out of my misery?

Cheers

 

Moonrunners - 1975

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0071854

 

I've seen Moonrunners and can definitely see where "Dukes" might have been aspired by it. It wouldn't be the first time a straight-faced movie was reworked into a TV comedy; remember when Scorcese's somber Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore became the sitcom "Alice"?

Of course, I always thought the success of Smokey and the Bandit was the biggest inspiration for "Dukes"...

 

This is all news to me....

Thanks

 

For thinking it was X-rated, IMDB showed a "PG" rating. Hmmm....just what HAVE you been watching??

 

Thanks guys....it was frustrating the hell out of me why I couldn't remember the name of the film! Now I've been put out of my misery

Well, looking at reviews of the movie it seems I was right - some of the characters in the "Moonrunners movie" were almost identical to the later TV series...the 'girl' was a runaway though, not a relative of the the Uncle and his two nephews.

As for me thinking "Moonrunners" may have been X-rated, well the film seemed to have quite a lot of swearing (from what I remember) and was much more 'serious' in tone than the obviously watered-down TV series which it inspired and followed some years later. Interesting that Waylon Jennings did the music for both this film and the DOH TV series.

And as I mentioned in the initial post, I do seem to recall some brief/mild female nudity. Well, if it was a PG then so be...I doubt imdb.com's rating is incorrect, then again films like "Airplane" have been graded PG, and that has its share swearing and nudity too!

Cheers,

 

"Moonrunners" WAS where the Dukes came from, and, yeah, Waylon did the music for both. It's a shame a soundtrack was never issued, as he did a fantastic song called "Today Is Mine" that never made it to any record. Great lyrics and just an all-round cool ballad.