Aptly described by the other reviews here as "Thunder Road" meets "The Dirty Dozen", "The Devil's 8" is just pure fun. The filmmakers have a good time with the premise and deliver an acceptable amount of thrills, spills, and titillation in 99 straightforward minutes. Capably produced and directed by Burt Topper ("The Strangler", "The Hard Ride"),it features some enjoyable location work - it was filmed partly in the Big Bear Lake area - and a peppy music score by Mike Curb and Michael Lloyd. (Trust me, you'll be humming that theme song long after the movie is finished.) The cast is stocked with familiar faces and the story leads to a pretty good action-packed finish.

Christopher George delivers a very engaging performance as Ray Faulkner, a federal agent who busts several prisoners - part of the "Devil's 8" of the title - out of a work camp so that they can be made to work for the government. Their mission will be to make life miserable for various moonshiners led by Burl (Ralph Meeker),and ultimately, to take Burl alive so he can be pumped for information. Along the way the scrappy young bunch take time out to pursue members of the fairer sex and indulge in what is a good old fashioned barroom brawl.

Other members of the cast include singer Fabian as Sonny, Tom Nardini ("Cat Ballou") as Billy Joe, Cliff Osmond ("Invasion of the Bee Girls") as Bubba, biker flick veteran Larry Bishop ("The Savage Seven") as Chandler, Robert DoQui (Sgt. Reed in the "RoboCop" series) as Henry, Kubrick regular Joe Turkel ("The Shining") as Sam, and Ron Rifkin ("L.A. Confidential") as timid federal agent Stewart Martin. Ross Hagen ("The Hellcats") is particularly good as Frank, whose involvement in the mission is personal, and sexy Leslie Parrish ("The Giant Spider Invasion") is delightful eye candy as Franks' lady friend Cissy. Look for Georges' wife Lynda Day George in an uncredited bit as Faulkners' girlfriend.

Overall, this is routine but it still delivers the goods for lovers of this sort of thing.

Screenplay by James Gordon White and future directors John Milius ("Red Dawn") and Willard Huyck ("Messiah of Evil"),based on a story by Larry Gordon.

Seven out of 10.

There's not much to this other than the varying relationships of the prisoners who has been aided in their escape by federal agent Christopher George to help break up on moonshine racket In the mountains of presumably somewhere in the Appalachians (although it was filmed in the mountains near San Bernardino),and the real reason why George wants to take over this racket. As if a nod to "Li'l Abner", Leslie Parrish from the movie version of that Broadway musical is cast as, what else, a girl who lives in the backwoods, basically Elly May Clampett without the funny accent. Fabian is the only well-known actor among the prisoners while Ralph Meeker is the man who controls the moonshine. There's a bit of a racist subplot involving escapee Robert DoQui, although the story is done in his favor to show him in a favorable light. For the most part, he gets along with the other prisoners forced at gunpoint by George to board the helicopter arranging their escape.

It's made clear that these prisoners are lifers, and that George has an agenda of taking over the racket, so it's George vs. Meeker, and it's never clear if George is truly on the side of the law or out to take over the racket and continue to run it illegally although it is mentioned that he's seeking revenge for other agents who had been killed in dealing with Meeker. I enjoyed the comical elements of the script, not quite out of place as the prisoners are basically trying to get through this without losing their sanity or killing each other or being killed, and humor is the way to go in trying to achieve that. It's well photographed, but it's very clear that this was made for the drive-in crowd who didn't really require a lot of quality when going to the movies. Just lots of action, some pretty ladies up with a couple of others outside of Parrish & Lynda Day George in a brief role, with two of those women seen swimming in the nude. I also liked the bluegrass theme music which aides in keeping this moving.

Rugged no-nonsense federal agent Ray Faulkner (played with delightfully growly macho gusto by Christopher George) recruits a motley bunch of chain gang convicts to assist him on his war against a nefarious moonshine ring run by the formidable Burl (Ralph Meeker in top slimy form). Director Burt Topper relates the entertaining story at a snappy pace, maintains an engaging breezy'n'easy tone throughout, and stages a wild barroom brawl, several car chases, and the energetic climactic shoot-out with aplomb. The neat script by William Huyck, John Milius, and James Gordon White presents a cool and colorful array of characters as well as a nifty premise that's impossible to resist. The lively acting by the stellar cast of familiar B-pic faces helps a whole lot: Fabian as the moody Sonny, Larry Bishop as reluctant peacenik Chandler, Tom Nardini as scruffy mechanic Billy Joe, Ross Hagen as the gruff Frank Davis, Leslie Parrish as the sweet Cissy, Robert DoQui as merry hipster Henry Reed, Joe Turkel as the weaselly Sam, Ron Rifkin as eager rookie agent Stewart Martin, and Cliff Osmond as dim-witted lackey Bubba. Lynda Day George pops up briefly in a small uncredited role. Richard C. Glouner's sharp cinematography makes snazzy use of fades and dissolves. The jaunty and flavorsome score by Michael Lloyd and Jerry Styner hits the rousing spot. A really fun flick.