The three original films introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am and the Dodge Stealth in the television movies. [18] A 1974 Time magazine article explains that Coors was so coveted for its lack of stabilizers and preservatives, and Coors Banquet Beer had a brief renaissance. Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. As the 1969 classic 'The Italian Job' turns 50 years old, TG.com caught up with David Salamone, the man who piloted the red Mini in . I beg to differ Mr -Nate. Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. The man does get around. Called Smoke is the Bandit and playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite commentators Darrell Waltrip as the Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. And lets not forget the Trans Am rental car Steve McQueen drove in his very last movie, The Hunter from 1980. 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]. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? 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 other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. However, as our heroes were successful in delivering their truckload of Coors, the writers effectively poised themselves for a sequel. Thank you for signing up to CinemaBlend. 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. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. By the end of June, it had played in major Southern markets, including Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, and Oklahoma City, grossing $11.9 million. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. Additionally, he can give you several reasons why theres still no replacement for displacement. The cars were wrecked on purpose to create the illusion of a high-speed chase. 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. Check out the entire video below. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. [28] However, this is inaccurate; within seconds of Bandit picking her up, Frog tells him "there is a wedding in search of a bride" and goes on to explain her ill-advised romance with Junior, as the Bandit holds up the CB mic for the Snowman to hear. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . The side vents give it away. 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. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. Duarte or maybe ir was Arcadia , it was white with a red & blue pinstripe , we dropped $400 (an ungodly sum back then) on a re paint and pin striping but could _not_ sell that wretched POC , it took us two years IIRC . Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. I have always loved this movie, watched it dozens and dozens of times on TV, video, DVD, laserdisc, almost any form of media. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. Many hardcore fans of Burt Reynolds' most iconic movie, 1977's "Smokey and The Bandit," know that none of those cool black Pontiac Trans Ams with gold trim survived the stunts in the film. I know that Trans Am that . 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. An effort to recreate a jump from Smokey and the Bandit doesn't go perfectly when the car takes a rough course off the ramp. Except that shes not sagging. 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. I really enjoyed this discussion. Revisit this scene featuring "East Bound and. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. Misconception by casual novice car fans is that the Trams Am didnt sell well until S&B. Since mentioning the Kenworth, it must be noted it was a redecorator of the highest fashion. Cause theyre thirsty in Atlanta Mines never gone away, especially now that I spend every thee month in Memphis. 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. The movies are rated PG with a run time of 282 minutes and released to video by Universal Studios. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1980 ERTL SMOKEY & THE BANDIT PONTIAC FIREBIRD DIECAST CAR police car set at the best online prices at eBay! Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. Future President Gerald Ford, after a trip to Colorado, hid it in his luggage to take it back to Washington, D.C. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a steady supply airlifted by the Air Force to Washington. Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . 5. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. . As a publicity stunt, the Trans Ams used in the movie had different decals on the hood scoop. His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" that, according to Reynolds, he uttered quite often. The three movie cars were destroyed during various stunts, so the promo car is the only surviving Trans Am connected to this film. Its amazing, you should watch it. [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. From what I have read the artist did the poster rendering from some blown up stills that he was shown from the movie, and none of them for some mysterious reason included the Trans Am, the truck, Reynolds, Gleason, Sally Field, crashing police cars, but no T/A. In the original script, Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. Haul my wife and four shelter adoptee mutts in it. 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. Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. High estimates for the car were up to $80,000, but the actual sale price was $450,000. Funny that T/A isnt on the movie poster, considering it was the obvious star of the show. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. 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. Heres how it works. Required fields are marked *. and used hard. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was common practice. Please to note I didnt say _I_ didnt like them as I was in my 20s then (early 1970s) so I hustled my self and my Russian girlfriend right on down to the cinema every time Burt Reynolds had a new flick , I personally loved his movies even the chick flicks like The Man Who Loved Women , I just had to hear earfuls from everyone else about how awful he / those movies were.. We even bought one of those Pontiac Police Specials on auction from. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. Remember that Smokey and the Bandit was the 2nd biggest movie of the year, right after Star Wars. Get ready to tear up the highway with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a fun-loving, fast-talking trucker who takes on his craziest haul yet - delivering 400 case. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. Unfortunately he passed away a few months ago or that would have been a great question to ask. The new Hot Pants scene had to quickly be refilmed as a part of a second unit in the San Fernando Valley and was shot at a drive-in restaurant near Hansen Dam named Baby Beef Burgers, which has since been demolished. I also own a 1:18 scale version of the Bandit Trans Am. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1975 Plymouth Fury Police Pursuit Arkansas State Police "Smokey and The Bandit" at the best online prices at eBay! The pair arrive in Texarkana one hour early and load up the truck, but just as they head back, Carrie, a runaway bride, intercepts Bandit and jumps in his car, unwittingly making him an indirect target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a career Texas lawman whose witless son Junior was to have married Carrie. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. Only one survived, and it's priceless. It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. 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. News . The original Blues Brothers movie from 1980 is a classic, and fans were excited when a sequel was announced in 1998. . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. I think thats another line theyve edited out for the television version. Needham served as the driver for the stunt (in place of Reynolds), while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (in place of Field). The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. [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. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. Somewhere along the line, the company acquired a new president who told Reynolds: Im the new president, and I dont like your movies. ", "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. [30] Upon meeting Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the South considers the film to be less cinema and more documentary. It became Reed's signature song and is on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed "Live!" The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers attempting to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. Many nameplates lost their performance credentials, and some of them, like the Ford Mustang, were redesigned without a V-8 engine. Most of the shots that show Reynolds and Field in the car talking were filmed with the T/A being towed along on a lowboy trailer. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. "Smokey and the Bandit Pursuit Pack" is formatted as a box set that in presented in full color in widescreen. That's because Pontiac almost canceled the Firebird in the early 1970s. [35], The "diablo sandwich" ordered by Sheriff Justice in the Arkansas barbecue restaurant scene has entered popular culture as a minor reference to the film. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. 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. And theres beer in Texarkana.. It was his idea to have Junior alongside him throughout the film. While I have read undocumented accounts of there being more than three Trans Ams, Needham stated three is all that were used. Five-string banjo player Bobby Thompson is prominent toward the end of "East Bound and Down". In its place was the nonsensical "scum bum." . Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. These questions all need to be answered. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. [original research?] The movie had an even bigger impact on the Trans Am. 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. I drive a conversion van. As a kid that T/A, the General Lee, and KITT were largely responsible for defining my taste in cars and that carries through to today. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. Needham stated that by the end of production, there really wasnt much left of any of the three. Gleasons Justice is the stereotypical Southern sheriff, as seen in this clip. However, the scene and the obscured expletive were played for comedy value and written as such, with the passing truck being the gag of the scene more than a way to avoid the censors. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[39]. That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! The cars were 1976 models, the engines fitted to them were 455ci powerplants, the last year these engines were offered for sale before withdrawal. 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. 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. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Here is the LeMans; Gleason literally drives the wheels off: As an aside, heres a curious bit of trivia. 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.
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