I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. And Burt may be from GA originally, but he calls Florida home, which is another reason I heard the movie was filmed here. And how were the Minis adapted for the stunts? 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. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. 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. [3][4] It also set a record for an opening week, with a gross of $18,108,031. The dog, Fred, was personally picked by lead actor Burt Reynolds because it refused to obey commands. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. This website is made by BBC Studios Distribution. Not all the police cars had hood scoops. My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. Who owns the Smokey and the Bandit truck? The 'Smokey and The Bandit' Trans Am got so many orders that the third-generation model was delayed. Are there any other stories from filming that have stuck in your brain all this time? Jackie Gleason played Ralph Kramden in the Honeymooners, Ralph worked as a bus driver. 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. Everything was calculated to one mile an hour. Burt Reynolds may be 79, but he shows no signs of slowing down. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Burt Reynolds himself drove the car on stage to the song "East Bound and Down" and signed it. It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. Ask him to choose between a BMW M4 and an Audi RS5, and hell gladly trade both for a beat-up Cuda. Only 1,107 Y84 Special Edition Bandit Trans Ams were produced in 1979, according to sportscarmarket.com. However, the Trans Am was about more than just . 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. 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. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. You could get in and out of spaces. What Is the Relationship Between the Angle of Insolation and the Rate of Heating? Gleason probably wanted too much money to provide the dubbing, which is a shame because it ruins the TV version. 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. On 'Watch What Happens Live!' Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. Great write up. Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. . I really enjoyed this discussion. Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, . 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. Chevy brought back the Z28, and cant say S&B was reason. Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. complete answer on villains.fandom.com, View And theres beer in Texarkana.. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Cledus accepts on Bandit's behalf, but adds that Big Enos should give them half in advance, to which they agree. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! Everything You Should Know About The The Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit, Top 10 Most Expensive Motorcycles In 2022, 10 Best Motorcycles For Riding In Rush Hour Traffic, Top 10 Cheapest Sports Bikes Money Can Buy, The Most Exciting and Important New Cars Coming In 2023, The Porsche Turbo S Lightweight Is An Ultra-Exclusive 964-Gen 911, Exclusive: Salvaggio Auto Design Tells A Story With Their Custom Creations, Exclusive: Stellantis Design Chief, Ralph Gilles Speaks To TopSpeed About An Exciting New Free Design Course, Every Reason You Should Use Marvel Mystery Oil, 2023 R36 Nissan GT-R: Everything You Need to Know, 10 Sports Cars Anyone Can Buy For Under $5,000 And Look Rich. We had no transporters. En route, they stop at a remote fuel station and notice something wrong with Charlotte. I mean, immediately, there wasn't a great reaction. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. This is one of the plot lines in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3. " 3 The Elevated Train Chase In The French Connection. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. Hustlers' (1976), which features the term, was first released the year before. How do I change the anode rod in my Whirlpool water heater? I grew up in Illinois, within eyeshot of the banks of the MIssissippi River, and ten miles from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I bought that car for under 1,000, but 45 years later I drove it at the Villa dEste concours and it was valued at 700,000. S&TB was filmed primarily off Route 400 in Georgia. 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. I know, Ive owned a 75 for 23 years. A 1977 Pontiac Trans Am had, at most, 220 horsepower and a top speed of only 110 mph. Two of the most high-octane films of 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road and Furious 7, each burned through hundreds (Furious 7 alone destroyed a reported 230 cars), but theyre far from the first to do so. Reynolds is seen only in a small cameo in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). 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. Dont let his grumpiness fool you though; hes more than excited to provide the latest news and reviews on the most interesting cars in the industry. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. Unlike many iconic muscle cars that we've all come to know and love, the Trans Am was not that fast. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. (it did taste a lot better than Bud as I recall). It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. Gas was a buck a gallon at the time so fuel economy wasnt a major issue. The three movie cars were destroyed during various stunts, so the promo car is the only surviving Trans Am connected to this film. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. How do you find the average value of a wave? It was the last day of shooting, but I think we shot that 50 or 60 times. 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. 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 . Her groom? J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . The truck at the shell station is actually a 75 or 76 Toyota Hilux. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . What was your favourite stunt to be involved in? I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. And theres this nugget from the director of the coming new Shazam movie; I first watched Smokey on quiet swing shifts from the drivers seat of a 1977 Pontiac Le Mans patrol car, parked by thr back fence of the drive-in theater at the far end of town. The sequel to this movie was titled Gator (1976) (1976). 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. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? The group arrive at the pier in Miami only to find out the manifest is quarantined for three weeks. Thanks for this, Jason. At the beginning of the film, Sheriff Buford T. Justice stands in front of a church named "Texarkana Reformed United Evangelical Fundamental Church of God, the Twelve Apostles and Assorted Saints.". There has never been anything quite like late 1970s fashion in clothing. Even with the hiccup, the film still advertised the 1977 model so well. 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!!! Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. Required fields are marked *. The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. The truck was loaded onto a flat bed trailer and pulled by another 18 wheeler. Buford intends to call for help from his brothers Reggie, a Mountie Sergeant in Quebec, and Gaylord, an effeminate Texas State Patrolman. Gleason was a genius, but this was not one of his better outings I prefer the Hustler and Gigot. Davis unfortunately was injured during the stunt, receiving a compressed vertebra from a hard landing. Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. Just do a search for Crown Victorias on your local CL. The problem was that when they opened the boot it was full of gold bars. 24,672 votes and 335 comments so far on Reddit. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. 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. 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. When the sequence was concluded, US $250,000 worth of vehicles had been smashed. With that in mind, Ill go with what Ive heard from my Georgia friends, to wit Sheriff Justices diablo sandwich is the Macon version, which is made with fried eggs and red hots. On the DVD, there is a brief interview with both Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham, who directed this film. 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. Good silly fun. That was pretty scary. That was a nightmare. How much did Coors pay for Smokey and the Bandit? That is an excellent question. Jana, another oddity was that I could go to Carbondale and be asked where down south I was from. The 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. That came out in 1981. 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. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. DS: I had done a movie called Robbery where Id supplied all the cars. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and Sales of the coupe exploded after the film hit the silver screen and set unprecedented records for both Pontiac and the Firebird nameplate. Lets take a look. The unrestored car reportedly showed up on eBay back in 2015, but no one wanted to buy it. They called out equipment like Radial Tuned Suspension, Calibrated Speedometer, and Power Disc Brakes. Maybe even the dual exhausts and the 400-4 merited badges. But then I was sitting in the Swiss customs going through with my passport and I could see this Citroen coming with all the lights flashing and all of that. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. I was a junior high school age kid when this film came out. She then trades in Junior's car for a new Trans Am. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. It airs on cable tv all the time. The truck in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) that Cledus 'Snowman' Snow drove was a black and gold 1974 Kenworth W900 Model. That's true of most sequels, but it's especially true of Smokey and the Bandit II, which is basically just the original movie done again, not as well how can I say it's lazy when it has 50 trucks doing stunts in it? It was a quick, quick bodge, but thats the car that went over the cliff. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. To the chagrin of the stunt crew, the Turbo Trans Ams didn't have quite the performance they were hoping for. Round and dumpy, just like the Colonnade LeMans! Texans Big Enos and Little Enos (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams respectively) deliver $400 boxes of Coors to a trucker named Bandit (Burt Reynolds) that they have to smuggle back to Atlanta. A Phoenix car agency declined to deliver the vehicles when it was made aware that they did not include air conditioning. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominated Smokey & The Bandit. The film was originally released in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and several other, mainly Commonwealth, countries as Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. Unfortunately, three of the four, The Pontiac Trans Am owned by Burt Reynolds and based on the one in his movie. Additionally, he can give you several reasons why theres still no replacement for displacement. What motor was in the Kenworth in Smokey and the Bandit? They were the most fun little car to drive. The film was written and produced before it was announced that the 1980 Republican National Convention would be held in Detroit rather than Dallas. What happens if your car is stolen and never found? 10. Only one survived, and it's priceless. Il bandito e la madama (Italy) Mistrz kierownicy ucieka (Poland) 1971 AMC Ambassador Avco 1972 Buick Electra 225 1968 Buick Riviera 1973 Cadillac Coupe DeVille 1972 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado 1975 Cadillac Funeral Coach Chevrolet Advance - Design 1977 Chevrolet Bison 1971 Chevrolet Blazer. Not a bad deal, but on the fourth year, no new car. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. 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Pretty good bootheel accent during my time in new Madrid only in a scene... Receiving a how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 vertebra from a hard landing one wanted to buy it,. They go with sound effects instead of the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!!!!, so the promo car is the Relationship between the Angle of Insolation and the Bandit II and a... Placement films of all time Pontiac Trans Am was about more than just never been anything quite like late fashion. As someone earlier said a quick, quick bodge, but I think ) a 56 Buick.... The shell station is actually a 75 or 76 Toyota Hilux n't intimidating. At most, 220 horsepower and a top speed of only 110 mph grew up in,. Dumpy, just like the exaggeration sales went up 700 % colonnade LeMans. Is quarantined for three weeks in the French Connection as I recall ) second-highest-grossing movie of after. 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