However, Reynolds only makes a small cameo in the second sequel. As Frog leaves, we are introduced to Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason. Cora was owned by Bill and Cindy Morris of Elephant Encounter. 4 Max Takes On The Raiders In Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. That was a nightmare. I also own a Etrl replica of the Pontiac Bonneville Buford T. Justice drove in Smokey and The Bandit II. 10. What happens if your car is stolen and never found? Are there any other stories from filming that have stuck in your brain all this time? Gotta love that guy! The truck at the shell station is actually a 75 or 76 Toyota Hilux. 1500 gallons each of both day-glo orange paint and cow manure was dropped by five vintage World War II planes during the aerial battle sequence. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. It had the Modello cam kit, ported 69(I think) heads with upsized valves, headers, aftermarket intake, 3.21 gears (Up from 2.41 stock!) Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. The sequel to this movie was titled Gator (1976) (1976). Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. I didn't do the river crossing, which I was pleased about because I cant swim. https://getjerry.com/insights/fun-facts-smokey-bandit-trans, https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0081529/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv, https://www.leithcars.com/blogs/1421/events/a-classic-pontiac-trans-am-worth-six-figures-classic-car-values-skyrocket/, https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/burt-reynolds-smokey-bandit-firebird-trans-am-sells-nearly-500k/4AG3ZHXMQJHMDO47HIFBEZ4JMU/, https://www.motorious.com/articles/features-3/heres-6-6-facts-about-smokey-bandit/, https://www.fox43.com/article/entertainment/arts/theatre/center-stage/iconic-scene-from-smokey-and-the-bandit-is-re-enacted-by-stunt-driver-in-carlisle/521-f27a443d-baeb-4b15-a944-afb6c9e7debf, https://www.hotcars.com/smokey-and-the-bandit-trans-am/, https://horsepowermemories.com/2018/07/17/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-smokey-and-the-bandit/, https://www.hotcars.com/this-truck-from-smokey-and-the-bandit-was-the-perfect-costar/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086325/trivia/, https://www.guideautoweb.com/en/articles/64294/, https://www.truckersnews.com/trucks/article/15059342/california-truck-driver-climbs-aboard-movie-star-bandit-rig, https://blacktailnyc.com/when-could-you-buy-coors-beer-east-of-the-mississippi/, https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/burt-reynolds-smokey-bandit-firebird-trans-am-sells-nearly-500k/4AG3ZHXMQJHMDO47HIFBEZ4JMU/. In every movie they made together, Field played Reynolds' girlfriend. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The redesign was originally planned for 1980, but 1978 and 1979 became record years for GM's division, so the new model was pushed back. There was a whole gang of young lads on that movie. Although 1977 models also featured 6.6-liter engines, they were rated at only 200 horses. Later that night, a drunken Bandit makes his drawing a reality, and Doc agrees that his idea will work. Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. So we've got them in our homes this is mad. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. That is why there are not any left. Of course, it's difficult to asses whether these small decals did something to change buyer perception about the Trans Am, but it's an interesting part of the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am's history. A diablo sammich from my understanding is a like a Sloppy Joe but with taco seasoning added in for spice. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. What was public reaction like at the time to seeing all those beautiful cars being destroyed? Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. There was very much an 'us and them' attitude. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. The pregnant elephant that Bandit & Cledus were trying to deliver from Miami to Dallas finally gives birth at Lion Country Safari wildlife refuge. Unfortunately he passed away a few months ago or that would have been a great question to ask. As Fred Flintstone was modeled off Ralph Kramden, the Jackie Gleason character from the 1950s television showThe Honeymooners, the tone and intonation of the dubbing was highly convincing. On top of Burt Reynold's top-notch acting, Smokey and the Bandit is also famous for the Pontiac Trans Am that the actor drove throughout the film. Probably the most famous TV edit of all time is I have had it with these monkey-fightin snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane!. The problem was that when they opened the boot it was full of gold bars. The "Turbo Trans-Am" model featured a early example of turbocharging to its 4.9litre (301ci) engine. The rub? The assumption is that his favorite country singer is Jerry Reed. Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American road action comedy film . There was obviously no internet or mobile phones back then, so I jumped in a car and drove around Turin and Milan all night searching garages to find an Aston Martin. After the success of the Smokey and the Bandit Part 2, Universal Pictures ordered a third installment in the popular Bandit car chase franchise. On the DVD, there is a brief interview with both Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham, who directed this film. Suddenly I get a call from Barry, who drove the white Mini, he said David I'm in trouble, I said whats the problem? He then said well, I got done for speeding, but the trouble is theyve locked me up'. Well they didnt, they were standard cars. My family did all grocery shopping in Cape. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. Im gonna barbecue your ass in molasses., Re: The picture with 4 ladies and the wagon and van. Burt Reynolds was promised a car if the movie was successful. And I certainly didn't do the main jump Rmy did that with his team. I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. The final scene, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is driving a bus in pursuit of the Bandit. This past weekend, the city of Jonesboro, Georgia held a two-day festival to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Burt Reynolds classic, . The original uncut sumbitch version. In the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, a Basset Hound called Flash served as a companion to Sheriff Rosco P. "Smokey and the Bandit" was so successful that it saw sales of the Pontiac Trans Am jump by 25,000 in . Burt Reynolds plays truck driver Bo Bandit Darville. The 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. Launched on the big screen in 1977, Smokey and the Bandit revolves around two bootleggers as they attempt to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. Great fun! The truck was loaded onto a flat bed trailer and pulled by another 18 wheeler. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, CC Cinema: The Cars of Smokey & The Bandit What We Have Here Is a Total Lack of Respect for the Law, CC TV Outtake: This Used Car Commercial Didnt Make It On The Air, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, Vintage R&T Road Test: 1959 Studebaker Lark Six Slower Than The 1939 Champion, COAL: 1995 Saturn SW2 My Brief Fling With The Enemy. 3-Smokey and the Bandit 3-A crime against humanity, not even LSD can make it watchable since you spend the whole night fighting imaginary flying cobras with Jackie Gleasons head on them. That's true of most sequels, but it's especially true of Smokey and the Bandit II, which is basically just the original movie done again, not as well how can I say it's lazy when it has 50 trucks doing stunts in it? Her groom? You might think that seeing their cars routinely destroyed on movie screens across the country would give the manufacturer pause, but that is not the case at all. According to the organizers of the event, its a stunt never done before in the region. Blues Brothers held the record for the most cars smashed until its own sequel deliberately destroyed just one more. and used hard. I am indeed a fan. Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. Can I move monarch caterpillars from one milkweed plant to another? I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. View The . It was something regarding distribution limits. Web. This website is made by BBC Studios Distribution. Check out the entire video below. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. I still couldnt resist lighting up the Pontiacs tires while executing my T-turns. Whaddya expect outta a guy what drives a conversion van? As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. The Pontiac Trans-Am in the first movie had a 6.6 liter V-8 and the Trans-Am in this movie had a 4.9 litre Turbocharged V8. Dom DeLuise and Burt Reynolds also stared in "Cannonball Run", where they raced across the country in an ambulance. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. . Jackie Gleason played Ralph Kramden in the Honeymooners, Ralph worked as a bus driver. How many protons and electrons are in a nitrogen atom? When I was a kid I thought they were the same person. These questions all need to be answered. I was a little disappointed, but they gave me the part in the movie instead because I was already under contract. That was a car we abandoned on the side of the road. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominated Smokey & The Bandit. Burt Reynolds himself drove the car on stage to the song "East Bound and Down" and signed it. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. Great write up. A world-record automobile jump was captured on film during the "roundup sequence", when stuntman Gary Davis jumped a 1974 Dodge Monaco over 150 feet. We were up a mountain and had to filmthe three cars being wrecked and thrown over the cliff. Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Yet when I think of a 70s T/A, thats the one I and Im sure millions of other folks think of. 6 The Police Pile-Up In The Blues Brothers. The boys swapped the headlamps over and sprayed bits with more silver paint. Banzai! She then trades in Junior's car for a new Trans Am. Tragically, every Trans Am used in filming was, seven: (three with burt reynolds and crew, and four without), A purely escapist movie dropped perfectly into that time and place, delivered with a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am muscle, The movie remains so popular that each year, Restore a Muscle, Il bandito e la madama (Italy) Mistrz kierownicy ucieka (Poland) 1971 AMC Ambassador Avco 1972 Buick Electra 225 1968 Buick Riviera 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado 1975 Cadillac Funeral Coach Chevrolet Advance - Design 1977 Chevrolet Bison 1971 Chevrolet Blazer. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. It was a powerful car, and I was glad to be issued it as my range car instead of one of the new but already disintegrating 1985 Oldsmobiles supplied by a local dealer that most people had. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. But would the black and gold T/As be as desirable today without the movie? Some people have ripped this film as being thin on plot; others have called it a documentary about life south of the Mason-Dixon Line.. I thought weve gotta get out of here, and we just made it. A strike at General Motors in 1972 limited the production of the Trans Am to less than 1,300 units that year, and Pontiac almost canceled the nameplate. It airs on cable tv all the time. The Everglade Gas Station Attendant (Dudley Remus) played the guitar part of the Deuling Banjos' in the movie Deliverance (1972). The movie refers to the word ''smokeys'' (or ''smokies'') which is an American slang word for ''police officers''. Hustlers' (1976), which features the term, was first released the year before. The sticker read "T/A 6.6," which was a reminder of the engine's 6.6-liter displacement. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. It had an AM transmitter and you would tune in the sound on your AM car radio, or on my case, on a transistor radio. This reminds me of the classic introduction (actually written by Dick Cavett) said by Jack Paar on The Tonight Show: I was 3 years old when the original came out, and do not remember any of these details but, supposedly this was the first movie my parents ever took me to. How much did Coors pay for Smokey and the Bandit? Now then you mentionned Sheriff JW Pepper, I decided to post some Youtube clips of him. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. Did Burt Reynolds do any driving in Smokey and the Bandit? Just before we got to the Swiss border some guy was annoying us in a big Citroen, and I thinkwe might have edged him off the road a little bit. It is derived from the wide use by many Highway Patrol Officers who wear wide brimmed hats that are identical to the one worn by "Only you can Prevent Forest Fires" mascot "Smokey Bear" After the "doc" is conned into helping with Charlotte, the ambulance he was in that left him behind suddenly stops when an alligator is in the middle of the road, the stretcher pops out the back and the license plate on the back of the stretcher is 999007, the same plate number as the Rescue Squad vehicle from Emergency, which was a Universal TV series that aired its last episode while this movie was in production. Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! What is the oxidation number of Sn in tin IV sulfate? I really enjoyed this discussion. Until that is, when we went to get our living allowance from the production office and Barry decided he had to win. Always a favorite. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. The Real King Richard Breaks Silence On Will Smiths Oscars Slap Nearly A Year Later, Stranger Things Finn Wolfhard Responds To Millie Bobby Browns Claim That Hes A Lousy Kisser, After Slamming Trolls, Baywatchs Donna DErrico Goes Full Fifty Shades Of Grey In New Bondage Post, Robert Downey Jr. Director Hal Needham convinced Pontiac to feature the Pontiac Trans Am in the movie. Frog not included. How many cars did they wreck in the Blues Brothers movie? The differences between the two are major. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you Only one survived, and it's priceless. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. And theres beer in Texarkana.. Good silly fun. To give the 1976 model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the automaker installed the bumper of the 1977 Pontiac. When it comes to where the Trans Ams stand, Pontiac gave the production team four Trans Ams. "I think with all of these films, you read the . I was just tweaking Jason. Nice job, I know its cheesy as heck but I love this movie and still tend to watch it when I see its on TV. Smokey and the Bandit Bridge Jump. He had quite a few orders for Coors beer, and when he stopped in Weed, CA, on the way home, he went into the Safeway and asked for twenty-four cases of Coors. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. What Is the Best Advice for Writing the Body of a Routine Request Message? Yet, the set used a 1976 model, as the 1977 vehicle was not ready. Please refresh the page and try again. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the delivery when they discovered the cars were not equipped with air conditioning. No, the T/A was selling fine before the movie, and the black/gold package dates to 1976, a full year before the movie was out in summer 77. The Trans Am was already pretty popular in the mid-1970s, with sales hitting 68,745 units in 1977. There was, however, one "promotion" car that traveled hither and thither to plug the movie, which had an initial budget of $1,000,000 and ended up . This movie just showed how much an urban legend the supposed unobtainability had become. Reynolds replied: We went through 12. But that doesnt make for an interesting movie premise. by 1980 Pontiac had dropped all of its big engine options for the Firebird. Davis suffered compressed vertebrae as a result of a hard landing. Misconception by casual novice car fans is that the Trams Am didnt sell well until S&B. Heres how it works. When I was a kid, there was an old record from the 50s around the house that was a collection of radio and tv bloopers. One was a radio ad for a movie that went something like: . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. They were the most fun little car to drive. Then, when we get into the office we realise the man who owns the 130 saloon also owns all of our Fiat 500s and has come to complain about us. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. Mines never gone away, especially now that I spend every thee month in Memphis. Jackie Gleason (Sheriff Buford) was the first to pass away in 1987, followed by Pat McCormick (Big Enos) in 2005, then Jerry Reed (Snowman) in 2008, Dom DeLuise (Doc) in 2009, Burt Reynolds in 2018, and lastly Mike Henry (Junior) in 2021. I drive a conversion van. When Rmy Julienne was taken on he mainly wanted everything stripped out of the inside so that nothing would fly about. The film was written and produced before it was announced that the 1980 Republican National Convention would be held in Detroit rather than Dallas. complete answer on villains.fandom.com, View That was pretty scary. The car was not used in the making of Smokey and the Bandit but was given to the actor as a thank you for his role in the film, the company said. Reynolds is seen only in a small cameo in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. It follows the adventures of a couple of truck drivers bootlegging Coors, which couldnt legally be sold East of the Mississippi River at the time. To give the 1976 model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the automaker installed the bumper of the 1977 Pontiac. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? There was still a market for bras in the 1970s. AWESOME! In the original screenplay, Bandit's last name is LaRoue (first name never mentioned), Carrie's name was Kate, Cledus' handle was simply just Bandit II, Big Enos and Little Enos' names were Kyle and Dickey, Junior was not a character, Buford's name was different, Bandit's car was not a Trans Am, and the reward for making the run was a new truck . To the chagrin of the stunt crew, the Turbo Trans Ams didn't have quite the performance they were hoping for. Smokey and the Bandit II was filmed simultaneously with The Cannonball Run, in which Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise also starred. So, I kind of got semi-sidelined after all of that. Chevy brought back the Z28, and cant say S&B was reason. The character Cletus Snow (Jerry Reed) mentions that Don Williams is his second favorite country singer. Let us dissect this flick to better examine it. Later, as Bandit and Cledus enter Texas, Buford lures the Bandit into a trap: a mass of 40 Texas Patrol and Mountie cruisers pursuing him across a desert basin.