[3] Dot refuses to sell out her inheritance—a stockpile of whiskey—when her moonshiner father is murdered by Sweetwater (Morgan Woodward) and his gang by order of Jack Starkey (William Conrad), the local kingpin.

Maureen McCormick recalled drug use was rife on set, writing in her memoirs that "Our crew was more like a pharmaceutical convention than a movie.

[4] The Los Angeles Times called it "an unpretentious and engaging exploitation film... with a subtle and endearing love story.

"[5] Roger Corman, head of production at New World, always thought one of the reasons the film was so popular was because it did not put down Southern people.

"There's a tendency very often for people coming out of Hollywood and New York to consciously or unconsciously insult the sensibilities of the southerners, and I think Moonshine County Express was a success partially because it’s a low-budget film that’s quite well made and that presents a very fair viewpoint.