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. These questions all need to be answered. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Stroker Ace is after S&B, 1983, and features the then new for 83 aero Fox Body Thunderbird. Despite growing up next to Cape, most of relatives are from the Mid-South. And then they made the biggest mistake of their lives and went to national distribution. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. Bill Justis is the first name on the credits for the soundtrack, as he composed and arranged original music throughout the film. HotCars covers all things automotive: the latest auto news and informative reviews on the car, pickup truck and motorcycle industries. He gave Needham a preview of the song and, getting no reaction, offered to rewrite it. It cornered amazingly well for such a large car, but the posi rear end emitted ominous sounds so I passed on it (I was in college and didnt have any place to do major repairs). Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. 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. S&TB was filmed primarily off Route 400 in Georgia. This is obvious, because there is no fuel tank on the underside of the trailer to power the refrigeration unit, and the unit is never heard running. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. At the time, using "fuck" would immediately require an R rating and this self-censorship allowed the film to avoid this rating and reach a much larger audience. 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 . [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. The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. 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. 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. Needing a fast set of wheels to distract law enforcement, Reynolds character purchases this 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am. The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. This movie was filmed in Georgia as well. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. Cause theyre thirsty in Atlanta At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of the movie. 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. At the time, it was illegal to transport Coors east of the Mississippi River and a series of other truckers had been apprehended for trying to accomplish this feat for the Burdettes. How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? As I did Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. you can find it on amazon.com . Free shipping for many products! Its weird how it works. [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 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. This movie just showed how much an urban legend the supposed unobtainability had become. [9] Though the film Moonrunners (1975) is the precursor to the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (19791985), from the same creator and with many identical settings and concepts, the popularity of Smokey and the Bandit and similar films helped get the Dukes series on the air. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. 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 . 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. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. [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. [5] Sally Field only accepted the part after her agent advised her that she needed a big movie role on her rsum. 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. Ive always loved this movie. Its W.W. I still think its more entertaining than Star Wars. One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. 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. Tragically, every Trans Am used in filming was destroyed. And lets not forget the Trans Am rental car Steve McQueen drove in his very last movie, The Hunter from 1980. Dodge pitchman Sheriff Joe Higgins. J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . They quickly escape in one of Big Enos's 13 Cadillacs as police flood the racetrack. And the 400 Pontiac or 403 Olds versions could be made to run well. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. But while the cars shown in the movie look like 1977-model-year Trans Ams, they were actually 1976 models. 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). Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. 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. Great write up. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. The rub? Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. I drive a conversion van. [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. I started cruising through EBay and the next thing I knew I won the auction for a clean 400/4 speed/T-Top 78 Trans Am. How much did the Smokey and the Bandit car sell for? I think Stroker Ace is after Smokey and the Bandit, though there was Hooper, which was about a stuntman, it also had Sally Field, it was from 1978 or so. The LeMans police car did nothing for me because there was a colonnade LeMans sedan in the garage at home. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. A diablo sammich from my understanding is a like a Sloppy Joe but with taco seasoning added in for spice. The updated version of the film features sound inaccurate for what would be produced by the Trans Am or the numerous other Pontiac vehicles in the film. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. Burt Reynolds once claimed in an interview that there were actually 12 Trans Ams featured in Smokey and the Banditand he wrecked every one. 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. Let us dissect this flick to better examine it. The side vents give it away. I will confess, however, that it was a fun movie to watch and I have caught it on TV a time or two in recent years with my kids. A CC for a 1973 Grand Ville convertible can be found here. [22] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it performed badly. Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. 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. Television censorship and alternative versions, second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, AFI's 100 Years100 Heroes and Villains, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Smokey and the Bandit at 35: A Case for the Genius of Hal Needham", "Greyhound Lakewood Park (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)", "Burt Reynolds' old Pontiac Trans Am replica sold for $317,500", "An Interview With Jim Wangers: Pontiac and the 1970's", "How the Bandit, Coors and a bunch of Makers changed the course of booze history", "Various Smokey And The Bandit (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)", "Smokey and the Bandit, Box Office Information", "Burt Reynolds at the 2015 Macon Film Festival", "Seven Quirky Lowbrow Favorite Films of Highbrow Directors", "Remembering Hal Needham and the Birth of Redneck Cinema", "Smokey and the Bandit Film from RadioTimes", "Burt Reynolds' Bandit Trans Am sells for $450,000", "See a "New" Vintage Bandit Trans Am Approved by Burt Reynolds Himself", "Diablo Sandwich Recipe from CMT's Reel Eats", "Diablo Sandwich / "Diablo & Doc" From Smokey & the Bandit, Identified! 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. Chevy brought back the Z28, and cant say S&B was reason. It made no sense to me as it was fifty miles north and fifty miles south. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. Jana, another oddity was that I could go to Carbondale and be asked where down south I was from. Set with his . Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Remember that Smokey and the Bandit was the 2nd biggest movie of the year, right after Star Wars. 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. In its place was the nonsensical "scum bum." . A series of four made-for-TV spin-off films (Bandit Goes Country, Bandit Bandit, Beauty and the Bandit, and Bandit's Silver Angel) were produced in 1994 for Universal Television's Action Pack with actor Brian Bloom playing a younger version of the Bandit. The $%&#* Germans got nuthin to do with it!, Such a great movie I grew up in the 80s, so it was comforting to watch this, Blues Brothers, or Animal House once a week on TBS/TNT. Somehow this store had a regular supply. Just do a search for Crown Victorias on your local CL. 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. Gotta love that guy! Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. There was a true concern (for some minuscule reason) about it going east of the Mississippi River. 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. 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. In 1976-78, while a high school student in Norwalk, CT, me and a few buddies would routinely drive up to Vista, NY, which was just over the state line. However, as our heroes were successful in delivering their truckload of Coors, the writers effectively poised themselves for a sequel. Regular film-goers might not pay much attention to the car's engine sound, but gearheads will quickly notice that something is off. Olds 88. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. [10], Principal photography of the film began on August 30, 1976. Sales of the coupe exploded after the film hit the silver screen and set unprecedented records for both Pontiac and the Firebird nameplate. Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, . Only one survived, and it's priceless. The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. 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]. 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: . Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Sold for $240,000. Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. 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. 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. That is an excellent question. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I also own a 1:18 scale version of the Bandit Trans Am. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. 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. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you I actually remember the construction of that segment of I-75, as it stopped around Tampa prior to that time. Theres really nothing like an old cop car. Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. Thanks for this, Jason. In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 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. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. 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. 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. I recall reading somewhere that the Trans Am that did the bridge jump had a tweaked Chevy 350 in it with a stick, and of course that it was WO after the jump. [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. 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.

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