Im gonna barbecue your ass in molasses., Re: The picture with 4 ladies and the wagon and van. Frog not included. Smokey and the Bandit was all realistic and non fictional, and it still was a big hit that brought a lot of money to Hal Needham and the actors, to pay Pontiac back. The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. Although 1977 models also featured 6.6-liter engines, they were rated at only 200 horses. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. It outsold its Chevrolet Camaro counterpart for the first time. 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!) Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. Let us dissect this flick to better examine it. MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. A blackguard? Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. ", "The Bandit Run Brought to you by Restore A Muscle Car", "Stewart plays off 'Smokey and the Bandit in Mobil 1 ad", "Smokey and the Bandit: 40th Anniversary Edition", "Smokey and the Bandit II, Box Office Information", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smokey_and_the_Bandit&oldid=1142751918, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from April 2022, Articles needing additional references from September 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] Jackie Gleason), George Reynolds as Sheriff George Branford, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 04:45. Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. Justice. I only got one of them LOL. He has no less than four movies listed as coming out, and they run the gamut from romantic drama to family comedy to horror mystery to action thriller. Many of the film's original sounds were replaced. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. 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. The three original films introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am and the Dodge Stealth in the television movies. I looked at a Bluesmobile worthy 1977 Plymouth Grand Fury, the big ones, it was an ex Florida Highway Patrol car, but it had a pretty good amount of rust and it was pretty beat. It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the film. Here's What We Know So Far, Jonathan Majors On Getting Jacked To Play Kang The Conqueror: Hes In The Avenger (Weight) Class, How 90 Day Fianc: The Other Way's Kris And Jeymi Might Have Already Spoiled Their Storyline, Why Creed IIIs Michael B. Jordan Avoided Saying Action Or Cut On The Set, Young Sheldon's Iain Armitage Reacting To Surprise Video From Survivor's Jeff Probst Is Like Sheldon Cooper Meeting Leonard Nimoy. The scenes set in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas on Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Jonesboro for a majority of the driving scenes, Mundy's Mill Road, Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia State Route 400, I-85 (Pleasant Hill exit) and in McDonough. In 1978, Pontiac delivered 93,351 Trans Ams and 93,944 regular Firebirds for a grand total of 187,295 cars. Nuts about any form of classic motorsport and muscle cars, Ciprian's currently working on a time machine that would take him back to the 1960s for a long vacation alongside Dan Gurney and Jim Hall. And back then what I wanted most of all was a highly customized Vette with exposed headlights. Reed also penned and performed the song for the opening credits, entitled "The Legend", which tells of some of the Bandit's escapades before the events of the film, and the ballad "The Bandit", which is in several versions in the movie and on the soundtrack. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . I distinctly remember my mother buying Coors and being asked if she lived in Missouri or Illinois by the cashier. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Burt Reynolds himself drove the car on stage to the song "East Bound and Down" and signed it. Always a favorite. J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . The theme music "East Bound and Down" was sung and co-written by Reed (credited under his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. AWESOME! He obtained the attention of studios and aimed the film at a more mainstream release after his friend Reynolds read the script and agreed to portray the Bandit, with Reed now portraying the Bandit's friend the Snowman. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. [37], The first run in 2007 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the movie, The Bandit Run was the brainchild of Dave Hall, owner of Restore A Muscle Car. Along the way they tussle with tough as nails Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), pick up a runaway bride nicknamed Frog (Sally Field), and have all kinds of awesome times on the highway. So many classic quotes in this movie. So lets explore this car (and truck) heavy flick, all while giving those who have not seen it a glimpse into a movie whose complexity and intellect remains unparalleled within the history of cinema. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. They return one minute after their time limit, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a double-or-nothing offer from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. These questions all need to be answered. Sheriff Justices son, Junior. Wanting to promote the aesthetically modified 1977 model, but lacking cars owing to delays in production start-up, GM modified four 1976 Trans Ams with '77 spec bodywork and decals for the film. The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. Movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and Furious 7 may ruin a lot of cars, but they were far from the first. The dubbed version isnt as bad as the Remastered Blu-ray. I had a 78 Trigger lookalike for a while in the mid 90s, until a wrist pin went out, ended up selling it to one of my brothers buddys uncles. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. Free shipping for many products! I loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of the movie. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. The worldwide gross is estimated at over $300 million. But would the black and gold T/As be as desirable today without the movie? The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. As a feature-length car chase, the car was as much of a star as Burt Reynolds, and the film gave birth to the cult of the Trans Am. Free shipping for many products! The gag with the overpass being blown up was actually a bridge built for the movie on the unfinished highway, and AFAIK, the truck driver who jumps the void ended up breaking his back in the stunt. In October 2020, a Smokey and the Bandit TV series was revealed to be in development, with a pilot written by David Gordon Green and Brian Sides and also executive produced with his Rough House confederates Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Brandon James, as well as Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins of Fuzzy Door.[44]. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. The Bandit's car was a second-generation Trans Am and the prize for completing the run was a new truck rather than $80,000. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. I was in the Air Force during this era, stationed in California. Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million,[4] with Reed as the Bandit. 2-Smokey and the Bandit II-Pretty bad, still has some funny campy crap, the Dom DeLuise Italian Dr. bit is ok, Gleason is still pretty funny, the Turbo T/A is pretty weak, but still cool to see. With the Smokey and the Bandit actor gone, and the impact the actor had on the Trans Am community, having one of the few connections to him destroyed is too much. I recall a big smokey burnout right after they left Snowmans house that looked 455-worthy and also after Bandit picked up Fields he left two strips after nailing second (right before the tire thieves crossed the road), which makes me think there was also a 4 speed car used. Olds 88. Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. I was just tweaking Jason. News . I also own a 1:18 scale version of the Bandit Trans Am. Only one survived, and it's priceless. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. New York, . I just dont like car novices that assume the Pontiac T/A was soley a movie tie in car and the it started in 1977.. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. The differences between the two are major. The sticker read "T/A 6.6," which was a reminder of the engine's 6.6-liter displacement. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. There definitely was a halo cast around the 2nd gen F-body from its appearance in the movie, which I believe even did extend to the Camaro, which was probably the cheapest way to at least get some of the Bandit vibe, where there other factors too, probably, the 70s, disco, cocaine, mustaches and probably a bunch others.many thought that these car would be the last hurrah for anything performance oriented. They called out equipment like Radial Tuned Suspension, Calibrated Speedometer, and Power Disc Brakes. Maybe even the dual exhausts and the 400-4 merited badges. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. And Burt may be from GA originally, but he calls Florida home, which is another reason I heard the movie was filmed here. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. The decals were changed to 1977-style units, as evidenced by the engine size callouts on the hood scoop being in liters rather than cubic inches, as had been the case in 1976. [4] Just two days before production was to begin, Universal sent a "hatchet man" to Atlanta to inform Needham that the budget was being trimmed by $1 million. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? Please refresh the page and try again. Actor Henry Corden, who voiced Fred Flintstone after original performer Alan Reed died the same year the film was released, was used to replace a considerable amount of Sheriff Justice's dialogue. Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice? Burt Reynolds may be 79, but he shows no signs of slowing down. The third film which had no involvement from either Hal Needham or Sally Field and contained only a short cameo appearance by Burt Reynolds revolved entirely around Jackie Gleason's character, was panned by critics, and was a box office bomb, earning only $7 million against a $9 million budget.[41][42][43]. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you The movie had an even bigger impact on the Trans Am. Behind Sheriff Justices Pontiac, there is a nice looking 1965 or 1966 Ford Mustang fastback and a Toyota pickup. You can see in some shots in the movie that the Bandit Trans Am has 1976 style gold honeycomb wheels instead of the gold snowflake wheels from the 1977, I think at least one of the cars used in filming was a 1976 converted with a 1977 front clip. During this time, the Firebird also surpassed sales figures of the Chevrolet Camaro. S/E T/A with the round headlights. Comments The Trans Am was already pretty popular in the mid-1970s, with sales hitting 68,745 units in 1977. The 1977 features rectangular quad headlamps instead of only two round lights, a unique slanted and V-shaped nose, and a center-mounted hood scoop. That's because the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit didn't sound like a Trans Am. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. The next movie, Smokey and the Bandit II, featured the same cast and an updated version of the Trans Am.The second version of the Smokey and the Bandit car was a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that had a similar paint job, the updated front end, and gold "Turbine" style wheels.The 1980 models featured a turbocharged 4.9L Pontiac V8, but that still wasn't enough power for the stunt personnel. I have to admit, thats a pretty fantastic story, and as a major movie star, Im sure Burt Reynolds was able to figure out another way to acquire a means of transportation. Several other groups, such as the U.S. rock band Tonic and U.K.-based country cover band We Be Ploughin' have also covered it. Lets take a look at some more cars found in the movie. Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. Burt Reynolds plays truck driver Bo Bandit Darville. I think even the 2nd gen Camaro enjoyed some of the blast wave from Smokey and the Bandit, 1979 was the best year ever for Camaros as well, with over 280,000 Camaros being sold. Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. Even when the 2nd gen was already coasting on fumes, and defanged, and after the reasonably shitty Smokey and the Bandit sequel, Pontiac managed to pump out 107,000 Trans Ams in 1980 and 70,000 for the 2nd gen Trans Ams swan song in 1981. High estimates for the car were up to $80,000, but the actual sale price was $450,000. They find local legend Bo "Bandit" Darville at a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds and offer him US$80,000 (equivalent to $357,738 in 2021) to haul 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest place it could be legally sold at that time) to Atlanta in 28 hours. Have the movie, cheesy as hell, but does have appearances by several NASCAR drivers of the day, including Dale Earnhardt (Senior, not Jr) Kyle Petty, Harry Gant, and one of my favorites of the era, Tim Richmond. [30] Upon meeting Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the South considers the film to be less cinema and more documentary. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell[20] played on the soundtrack. My favorite would have been an ex-WSP 1970 Plymouth they were all Fury IIIs, white on blue with factory air and 440s under the hood; but none ever turned up when I was buying. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. In the original script, Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. Sales jumped even higher in 1979 when Pontiac moved 117,108 Trans Ams. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. Now then you mentionned Sheriff JW Pepper, I decided to post some Youtube clips of him. I dont know if Ive ever seen the unedited version though, so I never realized the orignal phrase was sum bitch, I always assumed it was worse. It seems Plymouth was in a distant second for product placement. When Smokey & The Bandit first aired on television in the early 1980s, the Gleason phrase "sum bitch"-a regional butchering of "son of a bitch"-had to be dubbed out. I really enjoyed this discussion. Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. Her groom? I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. Chevy almost did the same with its counterpart, the Camaro. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, CC Outtake: The CC House, and With a New Recent Exotic Addition, CC TV Outtake: This Used Car Commercial Didn't Make It On The Air, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE.
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