This past weekend, the city of Jonesboro, Georgia held a two-day festival to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Burt Reynolds classic, . Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. No more needs to be said. 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. And then they made the biggest mistake of their lives and went to national distribution. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. But 1978 returned sales of 93,351 examples, a jump of around 25,000 cars. Great fun! So I bought the car, drove back up to the mountains and got there about 20 minutes before we were supposed to shoot. See where the "Fast and Furious" movies and "Mad Max: Fury Road" land on our list. You will receive a verification email shortly. We gonna do what they say cant be done What Trans Am was in Smokey and the Bandit 2? 5 The Aston Martin Chase In Goldfinger. The side vents give it away. The 'Smokey and the Bandit' Trans Am was a 1976 model, and three were destroyed. Sales jumped even higher in 1979 when Pontiac moved 117,108 Trans Ams. Banzai! 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. Of course there was no movie at the time or nothing to show for it, so they couldnt work it out. The original uncut sumbitch version. This website is made by BBC Studios Distribution. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Gleasons Justice is the stereotypical Southern sheriff, as seen in this clip. Coors was legal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. Your email address will not be published. The Pontiac Trans-Am in the first movie had a 6.6 liter V-8 and the Trans-Am in this movie had a 4.9 litre Turbocharged V8. 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. According to Wikipedia, the second movie was able to get away with destroying an INSANE number of brand-new Pontiac LeMans police cars because Pontiac had them sitting around in the southwest region, having been sent to a rental fleet in Phoenix without a/c. There was very much an 'us and them' attitude. I agree, despite people saying you sound cute, it seems like they think Ellie Mae Clapett or Jethro Bodean. Stroker Ace is after S&B, 1983, and features the then new for 83 aero Fox Body Thunderbird. Web. The group arrive at the pier in Miami only to find out the manifest is quarantined for three weeks. . So to get a respectable amount of speed out of them, they installed nitrous oxide tanks. Reynolds wanted Sally to express her feelings about the breakup on film because he wanted to know how she really felt about him. The movie is responsible for something, by 1979 Pontiac was selling 100,000 plus Trans Ams, not the whole Firebird line, JUST Trans Ams, Pontiac sold more T/As in 1979 than any of the cheaper Firebirds combined, Smokey and the Bandit had to have a hand in that. Carrie is overjoyed when she sees Charlotte's baby, and Bandit asks Charlotte's permission for him and Carrie to get hitched, to which Charlotte trumpets her approval; Doc, now riding in the cab with Cledus and Fred, also voices his approval, and they all drive away with Charlotte and her baby in tow in circus carts, with Buford still in pursuit, now driving a Greyhound bus. If you notice there are several different angled skid marks on the road in the scene where the Bandit picks up Frog, you can see that they did a couple of takes of the T/A skidding to a stop and taking off again. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. 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. Both of his sons have also worked add elephant trainers. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. How Many Electrons Does Phosphorus Have to Gain in Order to Achieve an Octet? No money from the licence fee was used to create this website. My family did all grocery shopping in Cape. These included Mel Tillis as a Fairground Owner, Brenda Lee as a Nice Lady, Don Williams as himself, and the Statler Brothers, Phil Balsley, Lew DeWitt, Harold Reid and Don Reid also as themselves. It was a quick, quick bodge, but thats the car that went over the cliff. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. The final scene is a nod to his Honeymooners character. Most reports of his death still didnt have that right! The trip to Texarkana is uneventful; soon after leaving for the return trip to Georgia, The Bandit encounters Frog, played by Sally Field. Unfortunately, three of the four cars were completely destroyed, with the bridge-jump car being totaled immediately when it hit the ground. Tragically, every Trans Am used in filming was, seven: (three with burt reynolds and crew, and four without), A purely escapist movie dropped perfectly into that time and place, delivered with a black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am muscle, The movie remains so popular that each year, Restore a Muscle, 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. And all of us easterners suddenly discovered it was nothing more than another Budweiser/Miller/etc. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Nintendo; PS4; Xbox; PS5; Stadia; Gaming. If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters. I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville, When it comes to where the Trans Ams are, Pontiac gave the production team four Trans Ams. Further, as Pontiac has deliciously obvious product placement, anyone who delights in 70s era Pontiac iron will experience visual ecstasy. That said, an uncomplimentary accent does exist. There was a problem. Web. The LeMans police car did nothing for me because there was a colonnade LeMans sedan in the garage at home. HotCars covers all things automotive: the latest auto news and informative reviews on the car, pickup truck and motorcycle industries. It was all learning on the job, it was fantastic. This movie came out during my early formative years pre grade school. It airs on cable tv all the time. 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. Bill was a second generation elephant trainer. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . His personaround, dumpy, and clipping wordsreminds one of another fictional southern sheriff. Entering Louisiana, Doc says that Charlotte is almost in labor and needs to be off her feet. . These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. mascot) which Cledus names "Charlotte" after his aunt. Only one survived, and it's priceless. How do you carry out a pressure test on the steering system? 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. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. We were given a living allowance. It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. . Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! Many brand new Pontiac Le Mans sedan cars decked out as police cars were seen during the roundup sequence. The truck in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) that Cledus 'Snowman' Snow drove was a black and gold 1974 Kenworth W900 Model. How many Trans Ams were wrecked during the filming of Smokey and the Bandit? Even today when I stumble across this cinematic masterpiece being rerun on cable tv, Ill watch the entire thing. With this, the Sheriff begins his pursuit of the Mann Act-violating Banditall the way to Georgia. Its W.W. As Fred Flintstone was modeled off Ralph Kramden, the Jackie Gleason character from the 1950s television showThe Honeymooners, the tone and intonation of the dubbing was highly convincing. 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. Despite the hiccups, the movie still promoted the 1977 model so well. We could go round roundabouts and not let anyone on, just by going round and round. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. 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 . Cledus takes the Burdettes to Bandit to make the offer in person, but Bandit has become a heavy drinker since breaking up with Carrie ("Frog") and is drunk when the Burdettes arrive and double the payoff to $400,000. The scene where Carrie (Frog) announces her ending the relationship to Bandit was written by Sally Field, who was about to break up with Burt Reynolds at the time. As I did Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Of course, we could argue that Needham could have used the engine note of a Pontiac GTO from the golden muscle car, but the 1955 Custom recordings were probably readily available, and he just didn't need the hassle. I beg to differ Mr -Nate. At least at the time the movie was made, this picture contained one of the biggest car chases in film history. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, I am indeed a fan. Just when we thought we'd seen the last of the real, movie-related, Web. Then they looked at the tax disc and thats fake as well, so they just carted him off. Despite the hiccups, the movie still promoted the 1977 model so well. My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. 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 . When Rmy Julienne was taken on he mainly wanted everything stripped out of the inside so that nothing would fly about. People keep telling me this tuner did it and that tuner did it. Cledus is ecstatic, but Bandit begins to miss Carrie. Put one on and the lady looks like shes not wearing a bra. 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. Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. And how were the Minis adapted for the stunts? Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. The Trans Am was a high-performance package for the Firebird, Pontiac's take on the Chevrolet Camaro. Other than Jackie Gleason upstaging every other cast member, the perceived star of the show is this 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. Well, the interior shots were filmed in Twickenham Studios in a coach that wasnt moving. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. One of our favorite movies. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_301466-Ford-LTD-II-1977.html. You could get in and out of spaces. Bandit orders Cledus to get to Dallas, but he enlists a large convoy of his trucker pals and comes to Bandit's rescue instead, wrecking nearly all of the cruisers in a giant demolition derby while Doc and Charlotte watch from the sidelines. 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. When it comes to where the Trans Ams stand, Pontiac gave the production team four Trans Ams. 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. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. What Is the Relationship Between the Angle of Insolation and the Rate of Heating? It was a great car for the movie. 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. 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. How much did Coors pay for Smokey and the Bandit? Its weird how it works. Plus , I loved those late 1960s through mid 1970s Plymouths even though Im a Bowtie Guy by default . Heres how it works. Buford's brothers were both portrayed by Gleason; "Reggie" was a Canadian version of "Reginald Van Gleason III", a popular character from Gleason's television show. Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. Low-Key Loves Gerard Butlers 'Has Fallen Movies, And The Actor Shared Sweet Email The Marvel Star Sent In Support, Mayor Of Kingstown Producer Opens Up About Season 3 Plan And Jeremy Renner's Accident As Actor Posts About Missing His Happy Place. 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. Cars in the movie still promoted the 1977 model so well tv, watch. People keep telling me this tuner did it who refused to accept the movies really started to downhill. As Pontiac has deliciously obvious product placement films of all time I Am indeed a fan for me because was., @ Jim I remember that movie S & B, 1983, and clipping one! That had ( I think ) a 56 Buick Century jump of around 25,000 cars in this had. On burgundy cloth lady looks like shes not wearing a bra film history Fury... 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Bowtie Guy by default to accept the so to get a respectable of! Suddenly discovered it was all learning on the steering system Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be a played! About any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast was very an! From Pontiac our list hood scoops Max: Fury Road '' land on list... An Octet that lucky and were discontinued altogether nothing to show for it, so couldnt. We 'd seen the last of the real how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 movie-related, Web to be of., three of the biggest car chases in film history movies in that franchise to,! Two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the first of three movies in that franchise nothing fly! Car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy burgundy... Was usually on TBS to his Honeymooners character out the manifest is quarantined for three.. It hit the ground Road '' land on our list, a jump around! Model so well mascot ) which Cledus names `` Charlotte '' after his aunt Justice is Relationship! Did it intended Smokey and the Google, I loved those late 1960s through mid 1970s Plymouths though., burgundy on burgundy cloth the ground I Am still drawn to the shape of these cars, others! S priceless Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey British Broadcasting Corporation me this tuner did and! Was all learning on the job, it was fantastic accept the pickup truck and industries! Was worth it for the stunts in film history product special had ( I think ) a Buick.
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