Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema [Paperback]

Scott von Doviak (Author), Chris Gore (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0786419970 | ISBN-13: 978-0786419975

While the pimps and players of blaxploitation movies dominated inner-city theaters, good old boys with muscle under their hoods and moonshine in their trunks roared onto drive-in screens throughout rural America. The popularity of these "hick flicks" grew throughout the '70s, and they attained mass acceptance with the 1977 release of Smokey and the Bandit. It marked the heyday of these regional favorites, but within a few short years, changing economic realities within the movie business and the collapse of the drive-in market would effectively spell the end of the so-called hixploitation genre.

This comprehensive study of the hixploitation genre is the first of its kind. Chapters are divided into three major topics. Part One deals with "good ol' boys," from redneck sheriffs, to moonshiners, to honky-tonk heroes and beyond. Part Two explores road movies, featuring back-road racers, truckers and everything in between. Part Three, "In the Woods," covers movies about all manner of beasts—some of them human—populating the swamps and woodlands of rural America. Film stills are included, and an afterword examines both the decline and metamorphosis of the genre. A filmography, bibliography and index accompany the text.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Von Doviak is a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a freelance writer focusing on the film industry. His articles have appeared in Hollywood Reporter, Dallas Morning News and many other publications. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786419970
• ISBN-13: 978-0786419975
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than A Bottle Full Of Bootleg Shine March 24, 2005

By Hayden Childs

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'll say it loud and drunkenly: Hick Flicks is a brilliant analysis, defining the genre and subgenres of movies by and about Redneck-Americans, or, as we prefer, "Sons of the Soil."

Von Doviak starts us with an Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow (www.drafthouse.com), as Scott canoes downriver, encountering hillbillies both planted and au naturale (that means "nekkid" or, in this case, "not planted"), to a riverside viewing of Deliverance. This experience sets Mr. Von D to wondering: "Is that banjo kid available for weddings? Failing that, should I write an in-depth analysis of redneck movies?" The answer, as Scott reveals in a surprising twist, is (brace yourselves for maximum shock value) yes.

Somewhat in the tradition of Jackass, Von D subjected himself to more movies about and by rednecks than is legal in 27 states. Von Doviak divides these into subgenres: trucker movies, stunt driver movies, chicks seeking revenge for what was done to them movies, hillbilly horror movies, documentaries about rural folk, and the like. In fact, in one of the more astounding segments of masochistic horror ever to emerge from scholarly film criticism, Von Doviak undertakes 24 hours of hillbilly horror flicks, starting with the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which shortly emerges as one of the more intelligent and sensitive movies on the line-up. The guy deserves a Purple Heart.

Anyway, it's fun to laugh at rednecks, especially if, like me, redneck blood courses through your veins (and only occasionally coats your rage-filled hands of justice), but thinking about rednecks and the mysterious ways of redneck culture is hard work and usually limited to slightly contemptuous, brilliantly smart-assed novelists like Harry Crews. Von Doviak leads the way in thinking about an underappreciated segment of film history, one that mostly exists only in documentaries and on the USA Network now. This book's a hoot and a holler and has been scientifically proven to be more fun than a semi full of monkey sidekicks. Go buy it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff February 7, 2005

By Alyssa Boehm

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Hick Flicks is a fantastic and fun read. It's a bit like a walk down memory lane - summers of bad movies at the drive-in. God do I miss a good drive-in.

I did have some disturbing dreams about Bigfoot and the dude from The Hills Have Eyes, but I blame that as much on my cold medicine as I do on the book.

Scott Von Doviak's voice is clear and true, with enough astute observations to border on an entry for the Cahier du Cinema. I would have liked more Maury stories, but that's me. I'm a sucker for a dog.

Now you may question the relevance of a book like Hick Flicks. Hillbilly exploitation films died out with gas rationing (more or less). But I'd argue that with all this Red State/Blue State nonsense they're probably more relevant than ever.

Hollywood marketed 30 years ahead of where politics moved in the past two elections. Put that in yer corncob pipe and smoke it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Damn good book and fun too July 5, 2005

By John Seven

Format:Paperback

You don't actually have to care much about redneck movies to like this book - I didn't, at least not much, but Von Doviak drew me into it, largely due to his amiable writing style and sharp sense of humor - he performed the impossible task of making a history of redneck cinema actually very personable. This must be what it's like to sit down and have a beer with Von Doviak and talk hixploitation. But the book is not some vanity piece meant to spotlight the author's personality at the expense of the subject - quite the opposite. Von Doviak covers his subject with a mix of knowledge and humor that reveals his understanding of the ridiculous nature of the films he has set about to cover, while at the same time treating their history with respect and providing context that deflects the possible cliched insults that could be lobbed at these movies..

We need more people like Mr. Von Doviak writing about popular culture - he presents an unusual take on a subject that is never over the top. The book is fresh, lively, unstudied in the best possible meaning of the term, and laced with a self-deprecating sarcasm that many more critics could take cues from as they get to know their subject.