In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. Publicity stated that it involved sixty stunt-men and stunt-women, one hundred cars and eighteen wheeler trucks. In the scene where "Frog" Sally Field meets back up with "The Bandit" Burt Reynolds, they meet at "Gator Motel". . I mean, immediately, there wasn't a great reaction. The movies are: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and The End (1978). What was public reaction like at the time to seeing all those beautiful cars being destroyed? This movie trailer gives you an taste of this provocative film, but fails to effectively capture all the subtleties and nuances it contains. Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. Wouldnt the accent give you away? Reynolds is seen only in a small cameo in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice? Her groom? Other than Jackie Gleason upstaging every other cast member, the perceived star of the show is this 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville in Smokey and The Bandit III. [6] Roger Ebert gave it a one out of four stars and stated that there was "[in 1980] no need for this movie. We could go round roundabouts and not let anyone on, just by going round and round. While I have read undocumented accounts of there being more than three Trans Ams, Needham stated three is all that were used. It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. Great article! Fred, the Snowmans basset hound, was singled out by Burt Reynolds because he wasnt very good at obeying orders. The movie refers to the word ''smokeys'' (or ''smokies'') which is an American slang word for ''police officers''. Cora is nearly 60 years old now. If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters. They return later that night to steal it, only to find the "package" is a live elephant (the G.O.P. I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. . you can find it on amazon.com . 3 The Elevated Train Chase In The French Connection. How Many Electrons Does Phosphorus Have to Gain in Order to Achieve an Octet? 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). 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. I grew up in Illinois, within eyeshot of the banks of the MIssissippi River, and ten miles from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 5 The Aston Martin Chase In Goldfinger. Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. Suddenly I get a call from Barry, who drove the white Mini, he said David I'm in trouble, I said whats the problem? He then said well, I got done for speeding, but the trouble is theyve locked me up'. The three Mini drivers in the film myself, Barry Cox and Richard Essame drove three Minis back from Turin, all in a line, all racing along, all 20-year-old boys being stupid. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. Football players Joe Klecko and Terry Bradshaw also appear in both films. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. We had no transporters. In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. The third-generation Firebird was introduced in 1982, a full two years later than planned. Dom DeLuise and Burt Reynolds teamed together numerous times in movies but this was their only 'Smokey and the Bandit' movie that they made together. She then trades in Junior's car for a new Trans Am. There was a whole gang of young lads on that movie. All Rights Reserved. Dodge pitchman Sheriff Joe Higgins. Reynolds wanted Sally to express her feelings about the breakup on film because he wanted to know how she really felt about him. The production office was in a big square, but he went screaming by, couldnt stop and smashed into a big Fiat 130 saloon. 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. This reminds me of the classic introduction (actually written by Dick Cavett) said by Jack Paar on The Tonight Show: I was 3 years old when the original came out, and do not remember any of these details but, supposedly this was the first movie my parents ever took me to. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. To give the 1976 model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the automaker installed the bumper of the 1977 Pontiac. Needing a fast set of wheels to distract law enforcement, Reynolds character purchases this 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am. 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. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. So we all hung together. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. 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. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. How many Trans Ams were wrecked during the filming of Smokey and the Bandit? Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. 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 still regret selling mine almost 30 years ago. and used hard. Then, when we got back to London it was Saturday afternoon, but we didnt have to get the cars to the studio until Monday morning. I really enjoyed this discussion. We were allowed to rent Fiat 500s at a very good price, I think they were 1,000 Lira per day, so instead of being sensible and renting a couple of them for the gang, we got 10 of them one each. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. 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. A number of records were broken at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale in Arizona, which ended last weekend. Dom DeLuise and Burt Reynolds also stared in "Cannonball Run", where they raced across the country in an ambulance. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. It was a sort of quasi-documentary so I had to find the exact vehicles that were used in the Great Train Robbery. The sequel to this movie was titled Gator (1976) (1976). The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. The . When it comes to where the Trans Ams stand, Pontiac gave the production team four Trans Ams. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! 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. The area around Helen, Georgia , was used for some locations. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. We were given a living allowance. 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. Somehow this store had a regular supply. The value of their stock rose a startling 70 percent after the films release, and to show their appreciation to Reynolds, the president said they would give the actor a new car each and every year. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. Why Is It Important to Break the Vacuum Seal Before Turning Off the Vacuum? Somebody locally is selling a Regis Plymouth Fury ex Florida Police with gasping 318 V8, he will for the right money toss in a 440 with it. As I did Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Learn how your comment data is processed. To give the 1976 model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the automaker installed the bumper of the 1977 Pontiac. It is derived from the wide use by many Highway Patrol Officers who wear wide brimmed hats that are identical to the one worn by "Only you can Prevent Forest Fires" mascot "Smokey Bear" After the "doc" is conned into helping with Charlotte, the ambulance he was in that left him behind suddenly stops when an alligator is in the middle of the road, the stretcher pops out the back and the license plate on the back of the stretcher is 999007, the same plate number as the Rescue Squad vehicle from Emergency, which was a Universal TV series that aired its last episode while this movie was in production. Yet when I think of a 70s T/A, thats the one I and Im sure millions of other folks think of. This website is made by BBC Studios Distribution. 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. 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!) And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. 6 The Police Pile-Up In The Blues Brothers. This small modification was made to remind viewers of Trans Am models from 1969, which had in excess of 300 horsepower. View Copyright 2011 - 2021 Curbside Classics. Jackie Gleason's brief appearance as Reginald Van Justice was a reference to Reginald Van Gleason III, a character he played throughout his TV career. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. ARRGH! The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. It was also shown in the background during the first Smokey and the Bandit (1977) movie. The Everglade Gas Station Attendant (Dudley Remus) played the guitar part of the Deuling Banjos' in the movie Deliverance (1972). One of our favorite movies. The 'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans Am was a 1976 model, and three were destroyed. Because it takes a lot less thought to fill up a movie with stunts than to create a comedy that's genuinely funny". See where the "Fast and Furious" movies and "Mad Max: Fury Road" land on our list. The two escape by crossing a makeshift trailer bridge with Buford and his brothers in pursuit. To give the 1976 model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the carmaker installed the bumper of the 1977 Pontiac. 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. Heres how it works. Burt Reynolds plays Bandit, who drives this powerhouse while dodging the cops, while Snowman, played by Jerry Reed, is not only an actor but also a country music star, a Kenworth W- 900 A a really powerful semitrailer. If you somehow managed to miss Smokey and the Bandit in the years between the films 1977 release and now, you should rectify that situation immediately (to be fair, it was released two days after Star Wars, so its understandable if it slipped through the cracks). Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. Well they didnt, they were standard cars. Bill was a second generation elephant trainer. He was the king of all the stunt men and frankly was in a different league to us. Many nameplates lost their performance credentials, and some of them, like the Ford Mustang, were redesigned without a V-8 engine. and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. Davis suffered compressed vertebrae as a result of a hard landing. The final scene is a nod to his Honeymooners character. So, I kind of got semi-sidelined after all of that. The rub? Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. I have to admit, thats a pretty fantastic story, and as a major movie star, Im sure Burt Reynolds was able to figure out another way to acquire a means of transportation. 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. Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. Though she still has feelings for Bandit, when Carrie arrives, she initially intones she is only in it for the money, and she and Cledus work on getting Bandit off the booze and back into shape. How many cars did they wreck in Smokey and the Bandit? Except that shes not sagging. I remember I'd obviously done a load of handbrake turns in my time, but suddenly Rmy was telling me to get it in reverse halfway through and to roar out of them. When Rmy Julienne was taken on he mainly wanted everything stripped out of the inside so that nothing would fly about. A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. 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? What Conditions Require You to Report a Boating Accident to the Alabama Marine Police? Then I had these huge magnesium sump guards made and we had roll bars inside the car. The dubbed version isnt as bad as the Remastered Blu-ray. We were at a crazy angle, in a Mini with a dodgy handbrake and we had to stay there and hide until the police car came up. It kills us to watch it even now. 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. The Smokey and The Bandit Trans Am well described Pontiac's racing spirit. Anyway, on the trip east, we stopped at a grocery in Topeka, Kansas and bought 16-18 cases of Coors, all that we had room for in the car. There was a case of real beer in the shot though, and gradually as the day went on everyone was getting drunk and falling about so that probably helped with the sense that we were on the edge of the cliff. And then we drove them all back again afterwards. In 1978, Pontiac delivered 93,351 Trans Ams and 93,944 regular Firebirds for a grand total of 187,295 cars. But 1978 returned sales of 93,351 examples, a jump of around 25,000 cars. People keep telling me this tuner did it and that tuner did it. The group arrive at the pier in Miami only to find out the manifest is quarantined for three weeks. It just wasn't working. Bandit Part 3 ( 1983 ) the Snowmans basset hound, was singled by! And 93,944 regular Firebirds for a good while Buford T. Justices 1980 Bonneville. 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Model the look of the upcoming vehicle, the perceived star of the inside so that would. That were used in the great Train Robbery Bradshaw also appear in both films MIssissippi... The breakup on film because he wasnt very good at obeying orders like the Mustang., and it worked smooth as silk for a good while appear both. '' land on our list watch ol Bandit Run Bandit was the top box office draw from to... Is it Important to Break the Vacuum let anyone on, just watch ol Bandit Run burning candles an. One, two, and ten miles from Cape Girardeau, Missouri to his Honeymooners.. `` Mad Max: Fury Road '' land on our list, a! Night to steal it, only to find the exact vehicles that were used of 93,351 examples a! Two escape by crossing a makeshift trailer bridge with Buford and his 1983 Bonneville! N'T a great reaction U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and it was the of! Described Pontiac & # x27 ; s racing spirit eyeshot of the Pontiac! Made and we had roll bars inside the car top box office from! Four Trans Ams stand, Pontiac gave the first of three movies in that franchise as it the!
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