The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (Movie)
Release Date: 4 March 2007
Directed by: Robert Berlinger
Written by: Shane Morris
Based on Characters Created by: Gy Waldron
Plot Summary
Here's the story of how the Dukes all ended up in Hazzard. Cousins Bo and Luke Duke both have discipline problems, and get into trouble with the law. Their parents manage to convince the judges that a summer on their Uncle Jesse's farm is all that's needed to straighten them out.
Once in Hazzard, the boys get into a fight with each other before Jesse reacquaints them. After a quick meeting with Sheriff Rosco, they go to collect their demure cousin Daisy from church before heading back to the farm. Although the boys are unaccustomed to the hard-working life on the farm, they still find time to sneak out at night, and make their way to the Boar's Nest. Outside, they spot Boss Hogg arriving in his Cadillac, with Uncle Jesse in the passenger seat. With their curiosity piqued, the boys try to gain entry, but have to resort to spying through a skylight. Inside, Boss threatens to foreclose on the farm if Jesse doesn't come up with a larger share of his moonshine money. Up on the roof, the boys disturb Boss' prize boar, who falls off the roof and onto Boss' car.
The next day, Jesse explains the financial situation to the cousins. While Daisy offers to help by getting a job at the Boar's Nest, Bo and Luke volunteer to run the 'shine. All they need is a fast car. Daisy introduces them to "engine whiz" and aspiring mechanic Cooter at the high school shop class. He takes them to the junkyard, but when they find nothing suitable, they head to Hogg's Ravine with some smoothies. Bo pushes Luke into the water, and discovers a submerged '69 Charger when he jumps in to rescue him. They drag it out, and Cooter helps the cousins repair the car. Daisy meets Hughie, the new manager of the Boar's Nest, but he tells her that she's not tough enough or confident enough to become a waitress.
Bo, Luke and Cooter also meet Hughie, who turns up the TV just in time for them to hear Boss Hogg announce that he's going to be arresting moonshiners and making Hazzard a dry county. He's also turning the Boar's Nest into an ice cream parlor. Boss' plan soon drives away all of Jesse's customers, so Jesse takes the boys to Boss' house to see if they can make a deal. While Jesse's negotiations with Boss fail, Boss' wife Lulu tries to seduce the boys, especially Luke.
Regrouping, Jesse and the boys decide to organize a "Shine Mart", where all the local moonshiners can sell their stock, accompanied by music and bull rides. Bo and Luke finally get to meet the two girls they've had their eyes on, but also get their first taste of 'shine, and pass out. Meanwhile, Daisy has ditched her glasses, traded her conservative clothes for her trademark cut off jeans and a short top, got a job at the Boar's Nest and landed a date with Hughie. He gets Daisy drunk, and starts questioning her about Uncle Jesse's moonshine operation. When the boys wake up the next morning, they find that Boss and the police have raided the Shine Mart and arrested everyone.
The three cousins visit Jesse in jail, and he tells them that Boss Hogg must be planning something. Luke wants to break them all out with explosives, but Jesse tells them to check for papers at Boss' house. Lulu's very pleased to see Luke again, and takes him upstairs. This gives Bo a chance to snoop around downstairs. Their visit is interrupted when Boss comes home early with Rosco right behind. The boys manage to escape, but swear they'll never talk about what happened at the house.
Now wanted men, Bo and Luke disguise themselves as female investigators from "the Federal Bureau of Frozen Delights". At the Boar's Nest, Daisy slips them the key to Boss' office, where they overhear Boss telling Hughie that he's going to foreclose on the Duke Farm, take their still and make his ice cream parlor the only place in Hazzard to buy 'shine. Just as Daisy joins them, they also find out that Hughie is Boss' nephew, and he used Daisy to get the information he wanted. Understandably, Daisy wants to kill Hughie, but the boys persuade her that the best way to help Jesse and the others is to follow him.
Hughie spots Bo and Luke behind him, and churns up the dust, making them crash. After a brief argument, Luke storms off. A little later, Luke is passed by one of Boss' ice cream trucks, which he slaps. Discovering that the truck sides aren't cold, he realizes that Boss is using the ice cream truck to move his shine. At that moment, Bo catches up. Luke explains the situation, and they make up for their earlier fight.
Back in Hazzard, Daisy is served with the foreclosure papers, and everyone else is voting in the election. With some help from Cooter, the boys kidnap Boss and get him to admit his moonshining plans. Thanks to Daisy charming her way past Enos to the emergency broadcast system, the whole town hears Boss' confession. Bo then jumps the General across Hogg's Ravine, and stops one of Boss' ice cream shine trucks driven by Hughie. The boys promptly claim Boss' $25,000 reward for catching a 'shiner.
The election is won by old man Abernathy, who dies when he hears the news, so Boss gets the job after all. The 'shiners all get released, Hughie gets blamed for Boss' 'shine operation, Bo finally gets his drivers license, Cooter gets his own garage, and the Dukes use the reward money to buy back the farm.
Commentary
The storyline completely disregards the plot of Happy Birthday, General Lee in season 7 of the original show. In that episode, the Dukes buy the General as a wreck from a junkyard. Here, they find the wreck underwater at the bottom of a ravine.
The way they find the General is just one of many details from the original show which are ignored in this movie. For example, Bo and Luke's parents were supposed to have died in a car crash when they were young, but here they're referenced as still being alive. Also, the ages of several of the main characters have been altered, e.g. the cousins' ages are all close together here (Bo is 16, Luke is 17 and Daisy is 18), while the original show had Luke as the oldest after completing a stint in the Marines.
Another example of the non-canon nature of this movie is when Rosco finds the boys with Lulu in her kitchen. Lulu tells Rosco that he's only staying in her house because his wife threw him out. In Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane, Rosco's mama thinks that he's still too young to be getting married at 48.
Couple all of this movie's plot discrepancies with the bad language and nudity, and it's a long way from the family values of the original show. At least Daisy's back to being a brunette!
Trivia
- Beans Morocco (Old Shiner) appeared as the attendant in the season 1 episode Money to Burn, where he was credited as Dan Barrows.
- The historic town of Piru, CA is used as the filming location for Hazzard. It was previously seen in regular episodes such as Luke's Love Story, Route 7-11 and Officer Daisy Duke.
- Although only Bo and Daisy's ages are given in the dialogue (16 and 18 respectively), Bo mentions spying on the nurses' school six years earlier when he was 10 and Luke was 11. That makes Luke 17 in this movie.
- Boss Hogg's prize boar is called Dainty.
- The suits that Uncle Jesse finds for Bo and Luke to wear when they go to meet Boss Hogg appear to be a nod to the outfits worn by the boys in High Octane.
- Boss Hogg's house was at 890 W Potrero Road, Westlake Village. The house in the movie has since been replaced with a completely different building, and the layout of the grounds has been altered. W Potrero Road was used as a filming location for many episodes of the original series.
- Writer Shane Morris was also one of the writers of the 2013 Disney movie Frozen.
Bloopers
- During the opening scene, an airbag goes off in the 1973 Volvo 145 used by Bo for his driving test. Volvo didn't start fitting airbags until 1987.
- The submerged car that Bo finds has door pillars, so it obviously isn't a 1969 Dodge Charger.
- This movie is supposed to take place before the 2005 movie, but that movie starts with the General being a faded orange color with a crude "01" on the doors. Here, the General is immediately painted in bright, shiny orange with the familiar graphics.
- After the boys empty Rosco's gun, they go to drive away from the Boar's Nest. As Rosco tries to open the driver's door, there's no badge on the grille, but as they reverse away, a Charger badge appears on the grille.
- The wanted poster for the Duke Boys pasted on the Boar's Nest misspells "Blond" as "Blonde" and "Sheriff" as "Sherriff".
Cast
- Randy Wayne as Luke Duke
- Jonathan Bennett as Bo Duke
- April Scott as Daisy Duke
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Randy Wayne as Luke Duke -
Jonathan Bennett as Bo Duke -
April Scott as Daisy Duke
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Joel David Moore as Cooter -
Harland Williams as Rosco -
Sherilyn Fenn as Lulu
- Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse
- Christopher McDonald as Boss Hogg
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Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse -
Christopher McDonald as Boss Hogg
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Todd Grinnell as Hughie -
Adam Shulman as Enos
- Gary Cole as Balladeer (voice)
- Trishelle Cannatella as Ali Handy
- Jennifer Hill as Brooke Handy
- Rufus Dorsey as DMV Examiner
- Joe Gieb as Carnival Midget
- Challen Cates as Psychic
- Bud Mathis as Old Man Abernathy
- Grace C. Gerber as Grace
- Carrie Minter as Sunbathing Girl #1
- Casey Durkin as Sunbathing Girl #2
- Doug Jones as Patron
- Doug Pieschel as Buyer
- Sam Zeller as Shiner #1
- Lance Smith as MC
- Sy Richardson as Shiner #2
- Alex Boling as Father
- Beans Morocco as Old Shiner
- Eve Sigall as Tough Woman
Stunts
- Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth (as Richard "Diamond" Farnsworth)
- Stunt Players:Michael Adams
Brian Avery
Mike Avery
Bruce Paul Barbour (as Bruce Barbour)
Brad Bovee (as Bradley J. Bovee)
Joe Bucaro III (as Joseph Bucaro III)
Jacob Chambers
John Clagett
Vince Deadrick, Sr.
Courtney Farnsworth
George Fisher
Nicola C. Hindshaw
Robert Hoy
Robert Jauregui
Michael B. Johnson (as Michael Johnson)
Steve Kelso (as Steve Kelson)
Chris LaCentra
Steven Lambert (as Steve Lambert)
Dina L. Margolin (as Dina Margolin)
Tom McComas
Darwin Mitchell
Vanessa Motta
Mike Mukatis
Tarah Paige
Peewee Piemonte
Joni Podesta
Austin Priester
Ben Scott
Rick Seaman
Greg Tash
Shaun Vickers
Brian J. Williams
Thom Williams
Steve Wooten (as Steve M. Wooten)
Bob Yerkes
Crew
- Casting by: Scott David
- Costume Designer: Tricia Gray
- Music by: John DeFaria
- Co-Producer: Robert Benjamin
- Editor: Don Brochu
- Production Designer: Kandy Stern
- Director of Photography: Roy H. Wagner (as Roy Wagner, A.S.C.)
- Executive Producer: Alison Semenza
- Produced by: Bill Gerber and Phillip B. Goldfine
- Unit Production Manager: Darren M. Demetre (as Darren Demetre)
- First Assistant Director: Maximillian D. Day (as Max D. Day)
- Second Assistant Directors: Melissa V. Barnes and Stacy Christenson (as Stacy L. Christenson)
- Associate Producer: Taylor Latham
- Art Director: Kandy Stern
- Set Designer: Mindy R. Toback (as Mindi Toback)
- Set Decorators: Brian Kasch and Robin Peyton
- Leadman: James Tsvetkofski (as Jim "JT" Tsvetkofski)
- On-Set Dressers: Greg Lynch and Pete Washburn (as Pete Wasburn)
- Swings:
David T. Durboraw (as Dave Durboraw)
John Hill
Thomas Lewis
Jim Marchese (as Jim Marchesy)
Manuel Martinez
Vartan 'V.T.' Tashjian (as Vartan Tashjian) - Graphic Designer: Stella Starlight
- Storyboard Artists: John McKey and Len Morganti
- "A" Camera Operator: Nate Goodman
- "A" 1st Camera Assistant: Greg Morris
- "A" 2nd Camera Assistant: Darin Krask
- "B" Camera Operator/Stedicam: Kenji Luster
- "B" 1st Camera Assistant: Marcos Lopez
- "B" 2nd Camera Assistant: Cory Gunter (as Corey Gunter)
- "C" Camera Operator: George Loomis (as George A. Loomis)
- "C" 1st Camera Assistants: Mike Bergstrom (as Mike Bergstram) and Jim Thibo
- "C" 2nd Camera Assistants: Tyler Allison and Oliver Ponce
- Camera Loaders: Darryl Herrington, Vessel Kazachka and Jon Lindsay
- Still Photographer: Sam Emerson
- Production Sound Mixer: Matthew Nicolay
- Boom Operator: Stacey A. Washer (as Stacey Washer)
- Utility Sound: Brendan Beebe and James Dehr (as Jim Dehr)
- "C" Camera Production Sound Mixer: Erik H. Magnus (as Eric Magnus)
- Production Accountant: Howard Young (as Howie Young)
- 1st Assistant Accountant: Susan Magee
- Production Coordinator: Wendy Kutzner
- Assistant Production Coordinator: Rob Fegen (as Robert Fegen)
- Production Consultant: David E. Van Houten (as David Van Houten)
- Production Assistants:
Kasey Bell
Logan Burdick
Steven Milosavleski
Thomas Zamora (as Tom Zamora) - Assistant to Bob Berlinger: Carolyn Miller
- Assistant to Bill Gerber: Jay Polidoro
- Assistant to Phil Goldfine and Alison Semenza: Bryan S. Sexton (as Bryan Sexton)
- 2nd 2nd Assistant Director: Richard Gonzales
- Script Supervisor: Melanie Mander
- Gaffer: Brian Crane
- Best Boy Electric: Greg Argarin and David Thielhart
- Rigging Gaffer: David Wood
- Key Grip: Sean Patrick Crowell
- Best Boy Grip: John Koth
- "A" Dolly Grip: Bobby Foster
- "B" Dolly Grip: Richard B. McCormick (as Rich McCormick)
- "C" Camera Key Grip: Jim Saldutti
- "A" Camera Best Boy Grip: Vincent Olague
- Property Master: Paul 'Butch' Kitchen Jr. (as Paul "Butch" Kitchen)
- Assistant Property Master: Michael Panevics (as Mike Panevics)
- Leadman: John Hill
- Construction Coordinator: Greg Hamlin (as Greg "Tiny" Hamlin)
- Construction Foreman: Artie Chavez
- Paint Foreman: Richard Rosario
- Stand By Painters: Martin Espinoza, Charles Peck and Jason Puga
- Key Make-Up: David Atherton
- Make-Up Artist: Peter Montagna
- Additional Make-Up: Silvina Knight and Rick Stratton
- Key Hair: Matt Danon
- Hairstylist: Lori Rozman
- Assistant Hair: Maynard Matthews, Rhonda O'Neal and Maria Sandoval
- Costume Supervisor: Danielle Feller
- Key Set Costumer: Susan Strubel
- Set Costumers: Alyssa Kim and Marcie Olivi (as Marci Olivi)
- Costumer: Amanda McLaughlin
- Livestock Wrangler: Mitchell Livestock
- Animal Handler: Paws for Effect
- Special Effects Supervisor: William H. Schirmer (as Bill Schirmer)
- Special Effects: Paul Vigil and Scott Lingard (as Scott Lyngard)
- Animatronic Effects: Animal Makers
- Location Manager: Robert Lepucki (as Bob Lepucki)
- Location Assistants: Cary Heckman and Aviv Surkin
- Location Scout: Thomas J. Healy IV (as Thomas Healy)
- Set Production Assistants:
Daniel Beals
Heather Drum
Christopher Griffie
Kristofer Kolpek (as Kris Kolpek)
Matti Kluttz (Matti Klutz)
John Lapela
Richard McDonough (as Richard McDonogh) - Set Production Assistants: Marcos Perez, Victoria Rickman and M. Ryan Traylor (as Ryan Traylor)
- Studio Teacher: Stella Pacific
- Extras Casting: Creative Extras Casting
- Casting Associate: Gina Garcia
- Unit Publicist: Vivian Boyer
- Medics:
Jeffrey Arwine (as Jeff Arwine)
Adriana De La Cruz (as Adrianna De La Cruz)
Mark Gerald
Robert Hepburn (as Robert "Sarge" Hepburn)
Thad Hogan
Mike Ryan - Catering by: Bobby Weisman Catering
- Craft Service: Sol Rivera
- Transportation Coordinator: Frank Mejerski
- Transportation Captain: Mike Clark
- Visual Effects by: Eden FX
- Supervising Sound Editors: Mark Lanza (as Mark A. Lanza, MPSE) and Marla McGuire (as Marla McGuire, MPSE)
- Re-Recording Mixers: Stephen Fitzmaurice and Larry Stensvold
- Dialogue Editor: Vic Radulich
- Assistant Dialogue Editor: Peter Zayas Jr.
- Sound Effects Editor: Bob Arons
- ADR Mixer: Paul Drenning
- Foley Mixer: Stacey Michaels
- Music Editor: Will Kaplan
- Additional Music: Nathan Barr
Second Unit
- Director: Danny Bilson
- Director of Photography: George Loomis (as George A. Loomis)
- 1st Assistant Director: Thomas Burke (as Tommy Burke)
- 2nd Assistant Director: Michael Melamed
- 2nd 2nd Assistant Director: Amaranda Soria
- "B" Camera Operator: Christos Bitsakos
- "A" Camera 1st Assistant: Jim Thibo
- "A" Camera 2nd Assistant: Oliver Ponce
- "B" Camera 1st Assistant: Mike Bergstrom (as Mike Bergstram)
- "B" Camera 2nd Assistant: Julie Helton
- Script Supervisor: Louise Demetre
- Costumers: Aaron Millsap (as Aaron Milsap) and Susie Robinson
- Hair Stylist: Maria Sandoval
- Property Master: Ron Licari
- Gaffer: James E. Krattiger (as Jim Krattiger)
- Best Boy Electric: Nicholas Aiello
- Key Grip: Jim Saldutti
- Best Boy Grip: Ivan Gonzales
- Dolly Grip: Ace Dominquez
- Special Effects: Paul Vigil and Scott Lingard (as Scott Lyngard)
- Location Manager: Nathan Polatin
- Medic: Robert Hepburn (as Robert "Sarge" Hepburn)
- Transportation Captain: Rick Sanders
- Production Assistants:
Peter Gomez
Paul Jenson
Juan Carlos Rodriquez
Jake Worden - Post Production Supervisor: Jan Kikumoto
- Post Production Assistant: Eunice Choi
- Assistant Editors: Adam M. Duthie (as Adam Duthie) and Nick Smith
Music
- White Lightning
Written by John Galvin, Robert Ingram and Philip McCormack
Performed by Molly Hatchet - The Awakening
Written by Lukas Autry Nelson
Performed by Harmonic Tribe - Rats Don't Race
Written by Phillip Moore, Ray Scott and Adam Wheeler
Performed by Ray Scott - Sweetheart Woman
Written by Chris Thompson and Mike Slamer
Performed by Chris Thompson - Sweat
Written by Joanna Cotten, Doug Jones and Daryl Burgess
Performed by Joanna Cotten - Leavin' Home
Written and Performed by Bill Perry
Courtesy of Blind Pig Records - Redneck Girl
Written by David Bellamy
Performed by Blake Shelton - Miles
Written and Performed by Willie Nelson - If You Wanna Get To Heaven
Written by Steve Cash and John Dillon
Performed by Josey Scott - Tornadoes
Written by Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell, Brad Morgan and Shonna Tucker
Performed by Drive-By Truckers - Don't Leave Me
Written and Performed by Johnny Childs - Good Ol' Boys
Written by Waylon Jennings
Performed by John Anderson - High Maintenance
Written by Joanna Cotten, Angie Russell and Daryl Burgess
Performed by Joanna Cotten - Duke Boys Swingin'
Written by John Anderson, Lionel Delmore and Troy Coleman
Performed by Cowboy Troy and John Anderson