Olds 88. Additionally, he can give you several reasons why theres still no replacement for displacement. Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . 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. The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. But while the cars shown in the movie look like 1977-model-year Trans Ams, they were actually 1976 models. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. The trip to Texarkana is uneventful; soon after leaving for the return trip to Georgia, The Bandit encounters Frog, played by Sally Field. Misconception by casual novice car fans is that the Trams Am didnt sell well until S&B. The rub? 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?????? There was still a market for bras in the 1970s. Burt Reynolds plays truck driver Bo Bandit Darville. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! [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. Somehow this store had a regular supply. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. One time a friend and I drove back to Kentucky on leave rather than flying; no particular reason, we had plenty of time and wanted to see some of the country. I dunno about the Foley sounds, I have a T/A with a 400 and an open/no catalytic true dual exhaust, and it sounds really close to how the Bandit car sounds at idle during some scenes from the movie. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell[20] played on the soundtrack. Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? Yet when I think of a 70s T/A, thats the one I and Im sure millions of other folks think of. 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. Back in 1984, I went to look at a late 1970s Plymouth cop car as well. The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. That's because the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit didn't sound like a Trans Am. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. About two seconds after this picture was taken, these motorcycles were doing their best imitation of a stack of pancakes. Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. Further, as Pontiac has deliciously obvious product placement, anyone who delights in 70s era Pontiac iron will experience visual ecstasy. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. Except for Gleason, the original actors mostly redubbed their lines for the television version. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. 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. 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. 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. Set with his . 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. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. 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 really enjoyed this discussion. However, as our heroes were successful in delivering their truckload of Coors, the writers effectively poised themselves for a sequel. 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. [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. The movies are rated PG with a run time of 282 minutes and released to video by Universal Studios. 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 . The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. The DVD set meets NTSC standards. The cashier never batted an eye as she sold us the mass quantities of suds. However, the scene where they drive through the Shell gas station was filmed in Ojai, California, on the corner of Ojai Avenue and El Paseo Road. It consists of any of the various Louisiana-style hot sauces on Texas toast-style bread alongside the fourth most famous product of Pittsburg, Texas (behind Pilgrim's Pride, Cavender's, and Carroll Shelby)Pittsburg Hot Links. . 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. Regular film-goers might not pay much attention to the car's engine sound, but gearheads will quickly notice that something is off. 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. Reed would eventually play the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, in which Reynolds only appeared in a cameo near the end. 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. 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. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. Always a favorite. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. The change was somewhat strange as most automakers were using cubic-inch numerals to advertise engines. How much did the Smokey and the Bandit car sell for? In the original script, Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. a custom mandrel bent dual exhaust, and the Mondello bottom end plate to stabilize the windowed mains. 1-Smokey and the Bandit-The classic, the original, and the best one by FAR. 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. But the true standout of Smokey and the Bandit is the car driven by The Bandit, the iconic black and gold 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. 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. This gives rise to various continuity errors with Justice's patrol car, which during some chase sequences is shown with a black rear fender, which then reverts to the car's bronze color again in later scenes. 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. I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. 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. Will Walker: Independence Return For Season 2 Amid CW Shakeups? Gleason was given free rein to ad-lib dialogue and make suggestions. Frog not included. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. While the Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement (called blocking) and keep the attention off the Snowman. Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. The LeMans police car did nothing for me because there was a colonnade LeMans sedan in the garage at home. 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. 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. Seven: (Three with Burt Reynolds and Crew, and Four without) Smokey and the Bandit - 1977 Smokey and the Bandit II - 1980 Smokey and the Bandit III . Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. The dubbed version is awful. MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. Gleason was a genius, but this was not one of his better outings I prefer the Hustler and Gigot. [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. 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. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. New York, This movie trailer gives you an taste of this provocative film, but fails to effectively capture all the subtleties and nuances it contains. Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. 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. The original film had correct sounds that were usually recorded live as the action took place. Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. 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. 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. Only one survived, and it's priceless. By the film's ending, the final surviving Trans Am and LeMans were both barely running and the other cars had become parts donors to keep them running. 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. The cars were 1976 models, the engines fitted to them were 455ci powerplants, the last year these engines were offered for sale before withdrawal. Great article! Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. How did any bra manufacturers survive the 70s? 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. His personaround, dumpy, and clipping wordsreminds one of another fictional southern sheriff. UNIVERSAL CUT THE BUDGET JUST AS PRODUCTION WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. A black Trans Am is parked in my garage because of this movie. 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. I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. I know, Ive owned a 75 for 23 years. [31] Smokey and the Bandit was released in the United Kingdom on August 28 and was a success there, garnering positive reviews. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. 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. When Smokey & The Banditfirst aired on television in the early 1980s, the Gleason phrase sum bitcha regional butchering of son of a bitchhad to be dubbed out. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. Gleason has a treasure trove of hilarious lines and it was this movie that started my love affair of cars back in the early 1980s. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. 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. The theatrical release has a few lines deleted, including an edit in which Sheriff Justice tells a state trooper to "fuck off" after the sheriff called his vehicle "a piece of crap". He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans four-door sedans would be provided for the movie. Some of the more recent DVD releases of it redid all of the engine sounds and it sounds much more mellow than the original(not happy about that).

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