Of course, it wasnt hard to wake them up. Smokey And The Bandit Tribute Jump Goes About As Well As You'd Expect 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. 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 cop cars with the hood scoops were ex-DeKalb County (Georgia) cruisers. I have since moved on from them, mainly because in stock form, they were not particularly great cars (though good enough for the times). 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. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. The movie had an even bigger impact on the Trans Am. 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. Except for Gleason, the original actors mostly redubbed their lines for the television version. While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. 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. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. I still think its more entertaining than Star Wars. [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. A dastardly scoundrel? [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. The original uncut sumbitch version. At the drive-in of all places. Director Hal Needham convinced Pontiac to feature the Pontiac Trans Am in the movie. Sheriff Justices son, Junior. His expletive is obscured when a passing big rig sounds its horn. Put one on and the lady looks like shes not wearing a bra. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. Smokey and the Bandit | 4K Ultra HD | The Bandit Takes a 28 Hour Trip 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. Of the many cars saved from the fire was the only surviving Knight Rider KITT Super Pursuit Mode car created by Jay Orberg. Coors is still brewed just outside Denver, Colorado. We also learn that every launched satellite will eventually fall back to Earth, such as this 1972 Plymouth Satellite (CC here). (it did taste a lot better than Bud as I recall). Have the movie, cheesy as hell, but does have appearances by several NASCAR drivers of the day, including Dale Earnhardt (Senior, not Jr) Kyle Petty, Harry Gant, and one of my favorites of the era, Tim Richmond. Frog not included. [31] Smokey and the Bandit was released in the United Kingdom on August 28 and was a success there, garnering positive reviews. It is now sold in all states as Coors ships it in refrigerated train cars and bottled locally and sold in different parts of the country including the eastern US states. Needham stated that by the end of production, there really wasnt much left of any of the three. Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. There was still a market for bras in the 1970s. The LeMans police car did nothing for me because there was a colonnade LeMans sedan in the garage at home. 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. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. The DVD set meets NTSC standards. Burt Reynolds' 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Sold for $240,000. Haul my wife and four shelter adoptee mutts in it. According to an interview with Susie McIver Ewing on The RetroZest Podcast, she was picked to play the role of Hot Pants Hilliard after the dailies footage (shot in the Atlanta area) of the original actress playing the role was inadvertently destroyed on its way from Atlanta to Los Angeles. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. But would the black and gold T/As be as desirable today without the movie? It airs on cable tv all the time. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. Set with his . However, the scene and the obscured expletive were played for comedy value and written as such, with the passing truck being the gag of the scene more than a way to avoid the censors. 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. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. 5. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. The Ridiculous Number Of Cars Burt Reynolds Burned - CINEMABLEND If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters. We gonna do what they say cant be done 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. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. How Many Police Cars Were Destroyed In Blues Brothers Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. He claimed that the Bandit is never made aware of Frog's leaving Junior at the altar, which is why the Bandit continually asks why a Texas sheriff is chasing him. Somehow this store had a regular supply. 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. Needham originally planned the film as a low-budget B movie with a production cost of $1 million,[4] with Reed as the Bandit. 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. 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. The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. 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. One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. Coors was legal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. The side vents give it away. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. 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). Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . Smokey and the Bandit - Wikipedia 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. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. 1979 was equally successful for the brand, joining 1978 to create Pontiac's best sales years ever. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. Misconception by casual novice car fans is that the Trams Am didnt sell well until S&B. The movie, in fact, caused sales of the . The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. 20 Surprising Facts About The Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit - HotCars The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. Stroker Ace is after S&B, 1983, and features the then new for 83 aero Fox Body Thunderbird. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. Today, Smokey and the Bandit remains one of the most popular car action films ever made, and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am will forever be wed to the movie. Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. This same restaurant was used for a scene in the 1983 Stephen King Movie Christine, which was ultimately cut in the final film (it can be viewed as a deleted scene on the DVD release of the film). 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. It was the second highest-grossing film of the year, trailing only Star Wars: A New Hope, and it made Burt Reynolds into a certifiable superstar. Thanks for this, Jason. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. 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. Check out the entire video below. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. [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. I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. I am indeed a fan. At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. Yet when I think of a 70s T/A, thats the one I and Im sure millions of other folks think of. 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. 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. Three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, driven by Reed, were each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. Good silly fun. Gleasons Justice is the stereotypical Southern sheriff, as seen in this clip. While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze. On the DVD, there is a brief interview with both Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham, who directed this film. Apparently the engine sounds were lifted from another movie, I think two lane blacktop? However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. 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. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. Smokey & The Bandit Police Cars. It had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. It seems Plymouth was in a distant second for product placement. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 (No Ratings Yet) . 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. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. Nothing annoys him more than car electronics, and he just hates it when performance cars lack a third pedal. 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. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. 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. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers attempting to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_301466-Ford-LTD-II-1977.html. So these kind of represented a rebellion attitude to the government mandated diesel econo hatches everyone thought we were going to be forced to drive in the 80sinterestingly 1979 was also the best year for the Corvette too. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. I have always loved this movie, watched it dozens and dozens of times on TV, video, DVD, laserdisc, almost any form of media. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 - onlytows.com.au Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. The man does get around. Now, having only three Trans Ams to wreck for a movie is minimalist, to say the least. 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 was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. [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. Future President Gerald Ford, after a trip to Colorado, hid it in his luggage to take it back to Washington, D.C. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a steady supply airlifted by the Air Force to Washington. They quickly escape in one of Big Enos's 13 Cadillacs as police flood the racetrack. The Trans Am was a high-performance package for the Firebird, Pontiac's take on the Chevrolet Camaro. ", "The Bandit Run Brought to you by Restore A Muscle Car", "Stewart plays off 'Smokey and the Bandit in Mobil 1 ad", "Smokey and the Bandit: 40th Anniversary Edition", "Smokey and the Bandit II, Box Office Information", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smokey_and_the_Bandit&oldid=1142751918, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from April 2022, Articles needing additional references from September 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] , "Incidental CB Dialogue" (Voice ["Bandit"] Burt Reynolds, Voice ["Smokey"] Jackie Gleason), George Reynolds as Sheriff George Branford, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 04:45.

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