These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Lets take a look. We stopped in that same Safeway later on the way back home from southern Cal, and they had a huge display of cases of Coors out on the floor near the checkstands. The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. At the drive-in of all places. There was still a market for bras in the 1970s. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. 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. There was a problem. Learn how your comment data is processed. Gas was a buck a gallon at the time so fuel economy wasnt a major issue. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. I think thats another line theyve edited out for the television version. In response, Needham told Reed that he liked the song so much that if Reed changed even a word or a note, Needham would "choke him". The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. The site's consensus states: "Not much in the head but plenty beneath the hood, Smokey and the Bandit is infectious fun with plenty of car wrecks to keep your eyes glued". Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. That said, an uncomplimentary accent does exist. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. Your email address will not be published. The original film had correct sounds that were usually recorded live as the action took place. Regular film-goers might not pay much attention to the car's engine sound, but gearheads will quickly notice that something is off. That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job'. The original uncut sumbitch version. Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . But 1978 returned sales of 93,351 examples, a jump of around 25,000 cars. Today, Smokey and the Bandit remains one of the most popular car action films ever made, and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am will forever be wed to the movie. In 1991, it was arranged for orchestra by Crafton Beck and recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for their album Down on the Farm. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. 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). This phrase achieved a level of popularity with children and the 2007 Hot Wheels release of the 1970s Firebird Trans Am has "scum bum" emblazoned on its tail. Sales jumped even higher in 1979 when Pontiac moved 117,108 Trans Ams. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. A 1977 special-edition model once owned by the late actor Burt Reynolds recently wound up on the car auction website Bring a Trailer. Now then you mentionned Sheriff JW Pepper, I decided to post some Youtube clips of him. S/E T/A with the round headlights. radio to help him out. It became Reed's signature song and is on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed "Live!" A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos have sponsored a racer in Atlanta's Southern Classic and want to celebrate in style when he wins, so they are seeking a trucker willing to bootleg Coors Beer to Atlanta for their refreshment. 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. The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. 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. [24] With an original budget of $5.3 million (cut to $4.3 million two days before initial production),[4] the film eventually grossed $126,737,428 in North America,[25] making it the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 (only Star Wars earned more, with $221.3 million). In 2006, a DVD re-release was issued of Smokey and the Bandit featuring a digitally remastered audio track with 5.1 Dolby-compatible surround sound. That's because Pontiac almost canceled the Firebird in the early 1970s. How many smokey and the bandit movies are there? [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. Want proof? The rub? I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. Ive always loved this movie. 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. If you notice there are several different angled skid marks on the road in the scene where the Bandit picks up Frog, you can see that they did a couple of takes of the T/A skidding to a stop and taking off again. The tow truck driver was a local garage owner, Berlin Wike. The three movie cars were destroyed during various stunts, so the promo car is the only surviving Trans Am connected to this film. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Always loved this movie growing up. I beg to differ Mr -Nate. 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. Now, having only three Trans Ams to wreck for a movie is minimalist, to say the least. 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. [29] Alfred Hitchcock claimed that the film was one of his favorites. Two units were 1974 models, as evidenced by standard silver Kenworth emblems on the truck grille, and one unit was a 1973 model, as evidenced by the gold-painted Kenworth emblem on the truck's grille, signifying Kenworth's 50 years in business. Great fun! Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. 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. Starring Bob Hope, that comedic star of the screen, and the lovely Jane Russell boy what a pair! I never forgot that one. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. 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. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. The Pontiac Trans Am seems like a natural choice for Smokey and the Bandit, but the car was only a few inches close to not being used in the movie. The third-generation Firebird was introduced in 1982, a full two years later than planned. As a publicity stunt, the Trans Ams used in the movie had different decals on the hood scoop. We also learn that every launched satellite will eventually fall back to Earth, such as this 1972 Plymouth Satellite (CC here). 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. Burt Reynolds may be 79, but he shows no signs of slowing down. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977 in the United States. I dont know whose idea was to replace the wicked Two Lane Blacktop Chevy sourced engine sound effects with an authentic 200 horsepower muffled smogger 400, but that sumbitch is a scumbum!!! [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. Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. Bill Justis is the first name on the credits for the soundtrack, as he composed and arranged original music throughout the film. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . A blackguard? 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]. The hood scoop on these cars says "6.6 LITRE", which, in 1977, would have denoted an Oldsmobile 403-equipped car or a non-W-72, 180 hp version of the 400 Pontiac engine. According to Wikipedia, the second movie was able to get away with destroying an INSANE number of brand-new Pontiac LeMans police cars because Pontiac had them sitting around in the southwest region, having been sent to a rental fleet in Phoenix without a/c. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. Sheriff Justices son, Junior. There are an abundance of cars in this movie. Since mentioning the Kenworth, it must be noted it was a redecorator of the highest fashion. Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. I have always loved this movie, watched it dozens and dozens of times on TV, video, DVD, laserdisc, almost any form of media. I was in the Air Force during this era, stationed in California. A paper on Cognitive psychology was published in the 1990 issue of Computers in Human Perception. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. Apparently the engine sounds were lifted from another movie, I think two lane blacktop? Put one on and the lady looks like shes not wearing a bra. Free shipping for many products! Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. Somehow this store had a regular supply. Great article! Reynolds replied: We went through 12. And all of us easterners suddenly discovered it was nothing more than another Budweiser/Miller/etc. He claimed that the Bandit is never made aware of Frog's leaving Junior at the altar, which is why the Bandit continually asks why a Texas sheriff is chasing him. I am indeed a fan. The man does get around. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. Three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, driven by Reed, were each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. and used hard. When it is finally torn off along with the car's roof in the impact with the girder, the missing fender still reappears later on in the film. Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) drives the truck while his good buddy Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) serves as the "blocker," a fast car used to divert police attention away from payload. 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. The 1977 model wasn't out yet when filming began, so General Motors provided 1976 cars with front clips from the soon-to-be-released 1977 update. [27] In his review in the Chicago Tribune, Gene Siskel gave the film two stars and complained that the film failed to tell the audience when the clock started on the beer run, thus reducing suspense. 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. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . Let me get the popcorn for this one. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. [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. Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice? via iconic premier. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Three actors from the main cast of The Dukes of Hazzard appear in small uncredited roles in Smokey and the Bandit: Ben Jones, John Schneider, and Sonny Shroyer (who played a police officer in both). I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. The 403 Olds T/A was a dog, stock, but with some easily obtained parts, could be turned into a very nice low 13 second tire melter. Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of the movie. 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. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell[20] played on the soundtrack. Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Sold for $240,000. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Let us dissect this flick to better examine it. Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. I also own a Etrl replica of the Pontiac Bonneville Buford T. Justice drove in Smokey and The Bandit II. 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 know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. HotCars covers all things automotive: the latest auto news and informative reviews on the car, pickup truck and motorcycle industries. While it's sad that the other two cars were destroyed . [15] All four of the cars were badly damaged during production,[16] one of which was all but destroyed during the jump over the dismantled Mulberry bridge. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? Most of the dialogue was improvised on set. One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. Director Hal Needham convinced Pontiac to feature the Pontiac Trans Am in the movie. [original research?] Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. Upon showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read, but that he would still make the movie. 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. 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. 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. [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. 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. Olds 88. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. The Trans Am was already pretty popular in the mid-1970s, with sales hitting 68,745 units in 1977. I've heard . Its W.W. I still regret selling mine almost 30 years ago. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. 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. The film was a sleeper hit, and following a poor initial performance, it went on to gross $126.7 million in North America, versus a budget of only $4.3 million. [23] It then opened in just the South of the United States over the Memorial Day weekend and grossed $2,689,851 in 386 theaters. Not a bad deal, but on the fourth year, no new car. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. AWESOME! In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story but was rather Gleason's idea. As deals were made for the actors and producers, the studio wanted to renegotiate my deal. 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. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. He is hired by Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos to transport a truck load of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Georgia in 28 hours. WildI watched this for the first time in years after watching the latest Archer.the whole thing is an homage to S&B. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. The Burdettes' car is a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible painted in a "Candy Red" color scheme and is seen briefly at the beginning of the movie and in the final scene as the Bandit, the Snowman, Fred the dog, and Frog use it to make their escape. According to an interview with Susie McIver Ewing on The RetroZest Podcast, she was picked to play the role of Hot Pants Hilliard after the dailies footage (shot in the Atlanta area) of the original actress playing the role was inadvertently destroyed on its way from Atlanta to Los Angeles. 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: . 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. Burt Reynolds recently revealed the ridiculous number of Pontiac Trans Ams they went through filming 1977s Smokey and the Bandit. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. The dubbed version isnt as bad as the Remastered Blu-ray. Her groom? Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. 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. 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. I imagine that they borrowed some of the character from Sheriff JW Pepper from the 1973 and 1974 James Bond movies, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. Also up for auction was a go-kart replica of the car, which sold for nearly $14,000. I really enjoyed this discussion. Theres really nothing like an old cop car. 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. 1-Smokey and the Bandit-The classic, the original, and the best one by FAR. Needing a fast set of wheels to distract law enforcement, Reynolds character purchases this 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am. [33] Reynolds was given the 1977 vehicle used during promotion of the film as a gift, though the car itself never actually appeared in the film. Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. 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. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. At the time, Reynolds was the top box office star in the world. Great write up. Two cars were reportedly badly damaged in early stunts in the film, while a third car was completely destroyed during the famous bridge jump scene. I'm afraid I was responsible for a good few of those. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was common practice. East bound and down, loaded up and truckin Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox would bring several cases after playing on the West Coast, by stashing them in the equipment trunks on the team's plane. There was a true concern (for some minuscule reason) about it going east of the Mississippi River. Not everything was Pontiac, as evidenced by this 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe (CC here). Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/john-fedack-my-days-as-a-dekalb-county-police-officer/. His automotive adventure started reporting on various motorsport events as a sports writer before moving onto a full-time auto career with various sites, including This Week In Motors and Autoevolution. Reynolds and Field began dating during the filming.[13]. Nice article Jason I was a fan of this movie when it came out I look back now and think, wow, did I really think this was entertainment?????? Haul my wife and four shelter adoptee mutts in it. A group of Trans Am owners and fans of the movie take part in an annual road trip from Texarkana to Jonesboro, recreating the route taken by the characters in the film. Smokey and the Bandit was one of the most iconic movies of the 1970s. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. thebandit77transam 2009-04-14 14:04. andre1969 wrote Pontiac supplied 5 brand-new cars for "Smokey and the Bandit". Always a favorite. If you watched any of these clips, you heard a goodly number of phrases that still cannot be used on television in the United States. The advertisements lampoon the film and feature a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song East Bound and Down. How did any bra manufacturers survive the 70s? During this time, the Firebird also surpassed sales figures of the Chevrolet Camaro. you can find it on amazon.com . Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes.

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