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. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville in Smokey and The Bandit III. Back in 1984, I went to look at a late 1970s Plymouth cop car as well. The man does get around. Burt Reynolds once claimed in an interview that there were actually 12 Trans Ams featured in Smokey and the Banditand he wrecked every one. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. Not a bad deal, but on the fourth year, no new car. 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. Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? And back then what I wanted most of all was a highly customized Vette with exposed headlights. 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! 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. 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 . Its W.W. 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. The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. 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. [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. 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. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. [34] In 2015 a Florida-based automobile customization company built 77 Trans Ams modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the film. Many people believed beforehand that the film was not right for . It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. [38], In 2014, petroleum company Mobil 1 produced television commercials, featuring then-NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, closely based on the film. and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. Ironically I never really cared all that much for Coors, I dont think it has much flavor, but it was well received when we got to Kentucky. [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. Just after re-entering Georgia, Snowman is rescued by Bandit after being stopped by a Georgia State Patrol motorcycle trooper, and state and local police intensely pursue Bandit with roadblocks and a helicopter to track his movement. We gonna do what they say cant be done Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. 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. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. 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. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. 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. 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. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. That is why there are not any left. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. When it was over, I cried and cried and cried because I didnt want it to end. The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. The T/A is just as quick as my present Challenger is, but the Challenger doesnt have anything close to the throttle response it had, and I miss it. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/john-fedack-my-days-as-a-dekalb-county-police-officer/. 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. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. I was to be paid a salary plus own 7% of the profits. Reed would eventually play the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, in which Reynolds only appeared in a cameo near the end. While the initial concern was it having a regional appeal, it would ultimately play as well in New York City and Chicago as it did Atlanta, Georgia, or Biloxi, Mississippi. 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. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. 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. radio to help him out. 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. I fondly remember lots and lots of terrible B grade movies @ the drive in in the early to mid 1970s all featuring cars racing , smashing and so on . 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. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. So these kind of represented a rebellion attitude to the government mandated diesel econo hatches everyone thought we were going to be forced to drive in the 80sinterestingly 1979 was also the best year for the Corvette too. These new models were built off the same Camaro platform, came with the Pontiac arrowhead, flaming bird, and Bandit logos, and the instrument panels, center consoles, and hood scoops emulating their 1977 counterparts, and were signed by Reynolds. Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. Let me get the popcorn for this one. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. I think more of Smokey and the Bandit II and the awful part 3 were filmed largely in Florida, I dont know if I-75 construction was started by 1976-77, at least the section down to Miami part, when they filmed. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "sumbitch" (a contraction of "son of a bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the phrase "scum bum". 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. The Bandit Run quickly became a fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special 2017 screening of the film attended by Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by the Bandit and Frog across a river. The original uncut sumbitch version. 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!) Sales almost doubled in two years, which is a very big deal given that the Trans Ams 1978 facelift was rather minor save for the front fascia. Please refresh the page and try again. [original research?] That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of the movie. Sally Field and Burt Reynolds began a relationship after meeting on set. 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. A black Trans Am is parked in my garage because of this movie. While I have read undocumented accounts of there being more than three Trans Ams, Needham stated three is all that were used. 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. 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). For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. I remember that it had a bunch of trim badges on the center of the dashboard. He gave Needham a preview of the song and, getting no reaction, offered to rewrite it. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. It opened in other Northern states at the end of July. The paint code for each truck was coffee brown with gold trims and the 48-foot (15m) mural trailer used was manufactured by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. That is why there are not any left. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. 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 . While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. 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 had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. One of our favorite movies. 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. Heres how it works. 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. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. S&B is one of my all-time favorite movies and Im not apologizing. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. The Bandit takes the bet on the risky and unprecedented task, and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought in advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo. Learn how your comment data is processed. For a little visual variety of sorts, and possibly an indicator of what car was about to be wrecked, the producers did branch out to use the 1975-era Plymouth Fury as another police car. Free shipping for many products! 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. 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. Id been driving for years by the time I was 15, so I just wanted to complete the course with as little static as possible. Banzai! 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 just dont like car novices that assume the Pontiac T/A was soley a movie tie in car and the it started in 1977.. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. This movie just showed how much an urban legend the supposed unobtainability had become. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. 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. Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . But that doesnt make for an interesting movie premise. Back then if Ida wanted an ex Police Car its be a CHP salvage Dodge or Plymouth ~ BIG roomy and _comfy_ , handled well and went like stink . Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film a good rating (3 stars out of a possible 4) and characterized it as "about as subtle as The Three Stooges, but a classic compared to the sequels and countless rip-offs which followed". It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. 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. As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). 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. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. How did any bra manufacturers survive the 70s? And then they made the biggest mistake of their lives and went to national distribution. Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. The sound came from a 1955 Chevrolet Custom, the same car that was used in Two-Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti, films launched in 1971 and 1973, respectively. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. When I was a kid I thought they were the same person. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. 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. I really enjoyed this discussion. My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. The 1978 Trans Am is an exact duplicate of the "Smokey and the Bandit" movie car, finished in black and gold with a screaming chicken on the hood. It made no sense to me as it was fifty miles north and fifty miles south. As Frog leaves, we are introduced to Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason. The trip to Texarkana is uneventful; soon after leaving for the return trip to Georgia, The Bandit encounters Frog, played by Sally Field. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. [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. I also own a Etrl replica of the Pontiac Bonneville Buford T. Justice drove in Smokey and The Bandit II. So many classic quotes in this movie. When Smokey and the Bandit first aired on American network television in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of toning down the raw language of the original film. 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. According to director Hal Needham in the DVD documentary, Pontiac gave them three Trans-Ams and two LeMans (Sheriff Justice's patrol car) for the film. 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. Some differences included the use of a supercharged 454-CID (7.4-liter) Chevrolet-sourced engine that put out 840 HP, and four round headlights, which appeared on the 196769 Firebirds/Trans Ams only; the actual 197781 models had rectangular headlights. Jackie Gleason ad libbed a lot of his lines too. In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. The scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing semi-truck was shot on Georgia State Route 75, 3 miles (4.8km) north of Helen. Over many viewings I noticed some scenes the car would skate around and take off like an animal while in others there were one-tire-fires and it would struggle to get going. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. East bound and down, loaded up and truckin 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. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. Except for Gleason, the original actors mostly redubbed their lines for the television version. Except that shes not sagging. ", "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. I think thats another line theyve edited out for the television version. 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. 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. 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. If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters.
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