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. While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. 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. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. It was a powerful car, and I was glad to be issued it as my range car instead of one of the new but already disintegrating 1985 Oldsmobiles supplied by a local dealer that most people had. S&TB was filmed primarily off Route 400 in Georgia. The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Producers of Smokey and the Bandit wrecked 26 cars while filming the movie in 1977. [22] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it performed badly. I have only seen pieces of the second and none of the third; I plan to keep it that way. 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. I've heard . 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 . In response, Needham told Reed that he liked the song so much that if Reed changed even a word or a note, Needham would "choke him". 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. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. When I was a kid I thought they were the same person. Smokey and the Bandit Pursuit Pack 1 2 3 DVD Burt Reynolds Cult Car Except for Gleason, the original actors mostly redubbed their lines for the television version. Heres how it works. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/john-fedack-my-days-as-a-dekalb-county-police-officer/. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. The Smokey and the Bandit Car - Carsforsale.com As I am finishing this article while Big Truck Week is winding down, here is a Kenworth with a 1973 Dodge Polara patrol car. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. Because of the popularity of the film and the sales success of the Trans Am, the president of Pontiac Alex Mair promised to supply Reynolds with a Trans Am each year. When Smokey & The Bandit first aired on television in the early 1980s, the Gleason phrase "sum bitch"-a regional butchering of "son of a bitch"-had to be dubbed out. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. 20 Surprising Facts About The Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit - HotCars Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. 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. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. How much did the Smokey and the Bandit car sell for? Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. 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. While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. 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. HotCars covers all things automotive: the latest auto news and informative reviews on the car, pickup truck and motorcycle industries. The new Hot Pants scene had to quickly be refilmed as a part of a second unit in the San Fernando Valley and was shot at a drive-in restaurant near Hansen Dam named Baby Beef Burgers, which has since been demolished. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1975 Plymouth Fury Police Pursuit Arkansas State Police "Smokey and The Bandit" at the best online prices at eBay! The theatrical release has a few lines deleted, including an edit in which Sheriff Justice tells a state trooper to "fuck off" after the sheriff called his vehicle "a piece of crap". Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job' - Top Gear and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. Somehow this store had a regular supply. [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. Two units were 1974 models, as evidenced by standard silver Kenworth emblems on the truck grille, and one unit was a 1973 model, as evidenced by the gold-painted Kenworth emblem on the truck's grille, signifying Kenworth's 50 years in business. Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. 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. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. Plus , I loved those late 1960s through mid 1970s Plymouths even though Im a Bowtie Guy by default . My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. Mines never gone away, especially now that I spend every thee month in Memphis. 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. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. While the Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement (called blocking) and keep the attention off the Snowman. [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. During this time, the Firebird also surpassed sales figures of the Chevrolet Camaro. The site's consensus states: "Not much in the head but plenty beneath the hood, Smokey and the Bandit is infectious fun with plenty of car wrecks to keep your eyes glued". 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). I did help a friend rebuild a late 60s 400 to replace the anemic 301 in his 79, Trans Am. They find local legend Bo "Bandit" Darville at a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds and offer him US$80,000 (equivalent to $357,738 in 2021) to haul 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest place it could be legally sold at that time) to Atlanta in 28 hours. In the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, a high-speed chase ensues between the police and the Bandit (Burt Reynolds). These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. Duarte or maybe ir was Arcadia , it was white with a red & blue pinstripe , we dropped $400 (an ungodly sum back then) on a re paint and pin striping but could _not_ sell that wretched POC , it took us two years IIRC . 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. I certainly hope the guy hired to drive that 74 Ford Torino wagon was paid well for his work. 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. Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. The T/A is just as quick as my present Challenger is, but the Challenger doesnt have anything close to the throttle response it had, and I miss it. Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. At the drive-in of all places. 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. Check out the entire video below. These new models were built off the same Camaro platform, came with the Pontiac arrowhead, flaming bird, and Bandit logos, and the instrument panels, center consoles, and hood scoops emulating their 1977 counterparts, and were signed by Reynolds. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. Let me get the popcorn for this one. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. 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. Whaddya expect outta a guy what drives a conversion van? That came out in 1981. Smokey & The Bandit Police Cars. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . Of course, it wasnt hard to wake them up. Jackie Gleason ad libbed a lot of his lines too. 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. Neither Buford nor any other lawmen know of Snowman's illegal manifest, while Bandit is likewise unaware that Buford is chasing him because of Carrie, whose jumpiness inspires Bandit to give her the CB handle "Frog". The Bandit takes the bet on the risky and unprecedented task, and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought in advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo. 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. That is an excellent question. 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. Sonny Shroyer (Enos) was the motorcycle cop who was given the 1-finger salute by Sally Field. 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. 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). [34] In 2015 a Florida-based automobile customization company built 77 Trans Ams modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the film. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. 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. 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. (it did taste a lot better than Bud as I recall). Additionally, he can give you several reasons why theres still no replacement for displacement. After the movie came out, Firebird sales increased even more, but the Trans Am was now the most popular one. Many nameplates lost their performance credentials, and some of them, like the Ford Mustang, were redesigned without a V-8 engine. Director Hal Needham convinced Pontiac to feature the Pontiac Trans Am in the movie. The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. 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. Despite growing up next to Cape, most of relatives are from the Mid-South. I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job'. They return one minute after their time limit, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a double-or-nothing offer from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. Will Walker: Independence Return For Season 2 Amid CW Shakeups? Always a favorite. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? 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. In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). There's one black Trans Am left from 'Smokey and The Bandit.' It's I own all three films on a dvd called the Smokey and The Bandit Pursuit Pack. 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. And Burt may be from GA originally, but he calls Florida home, which is another reason I heard the movie was filmed here. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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.