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I was just tweaking Jason. In the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit, a high-speed chase ensues between the police and the Bandit (Burt Reynolds). The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. I was to be paid a salary plus own 7% of the profits. The LeMans police car did nothing for me because there was a colonnade LeMans sedan in the garage at home. Reed also penned and performed the song for the opening credits, entitled "The Legend", which tells of some of the Bandit's escapades before the events of the film, and the ballad "The Bandit", which is in several versions in the movie and on the soundtrack. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. Burt Reynolds may be 79, but he shows no signs of slowing down. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. A 1977 special-edition model once owned by the late actor Burt Reynolds recently wound up on the car auction website Bring a Trailer. Upon showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read, but that he would still make the movie. Burt Reynolds recently revealed the ridiculous number of Pontiac Trans Ams they went through filming 1977s Smokey and the Bandit. The next movie, Smokey and the Bandit II, featured the same cast and an updated version of the Trans Am.The second version of the Smokey and the Bandit car was a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that had a similar paint job, the updated front end, and gold "Turbine" style wheels.The 1980 models featured a turbocharged 4.9L Pontiac V8, but that still wasn't enough power for the stunt personnel. 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. Your email address will not be published. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. In 2006, a DVD re-release was issued of Smokey and the Bandit featuring a digitally remastered audio track with 5.1 Dolby-compatible surround sound. Bandit attracts more police attention across Dixie as Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer, but they are helped en route by many colorful characters via CB radio. 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). Good silly fun. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. January 24, 2019 100 comments. 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. However, in more recent years, the original version has been shown (on ITV, a commercial channel), usually with the stronger language edited out, often quite awkwardly. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . It airs on cable tv all the time. I still couldnt resist lighting up the Pontiacs tires while executing my T-turns. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. In October 2020, a Smokey and the Bandit TV series was revealed to be in development, with a pilot written by David Gordon Green and Brian Sides and also executive produced with his Rough House confederates Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Brandon James, as well as Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins of Fuzzy Door.[44]. . Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. 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. Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. 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. That is why there are not any left. 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. The movies are rated PG with a run time of 282 minutes and released to video by Universal Studios. . Some fellow classmates were extras on the film set, and it was a big deal around here at the time. These were the cans with the two circular push buttons on top instead of pull tabs. A dastardly scoundrel? NY 10036. In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story but was rather Gleason's idea. While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox would bring several cases after playing on the West Coast, by stashing them in the equipment trunks on the team's plane. Was it a heathen? Coors is still brewed just outside Denver, Colorado. The Burdettes' car is a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible painted in a "Candy Red" color scheme and is seen briefly at the beginning of the movie and in the final scene as the Bandit, the Snowman, Fred the dog, and Frog use it to make their escape. And back then what I wanted most of all was a highly customized Vette with exposed headlights. 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. At the time, using "fuck" would immediately require an R rating and this self-censorship allowed the film to avoid this rating and reach a much larger audience. 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. During this time, the Firebird also surpassed sales figures of the Chevrolet Camaro. The theme music "East Bound and Down" was sung and co-written by Reed (credited under his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. You can see in some shots in the movie that the Bandit Trans Am has 1976 style gold honeycomb wheels instead of the gold snowflake wheels from the 1977, I think at least one of the cars used in filming was a 1976 converted with a 1977 front clip. [18] A 1974 Time magazine article explains that Coors was so coveted for its lack of stabilizers and preservatives, and Coors Banquet Beer had a brief renaissance. Many hardcore fans of Burt Reynolds' most iconic movie, 1977's "Smokey and The Bandit," know that none of those cool black Pontiac Trans Ams with gold trim survived the stunts in the film. The uncut version is the best. The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. 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. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. But the true standout of Smokey and the Bandit is the car driven by The Bandit, the iconic black and gold 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. I have since moved on from them, mainly because in stock form, they were not particularly great cars (though good enough for the times). Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. Thanks for this, Jason. A strike at General Motors in 1972 limited the production of the Trans Am to less than 1,300 units that year, and Pontiac almost canceled the nameplate. If it wasnt for Smokey & the Bandit, the Dukes of Hazzard TV series would not exist. Further, as Pontiac has deliciously obvious product placement, anyone who delights in 70s era Pontiac iron will experience visual ecstasy. The Trans Am used for said jump was equipped with a booster rocket, the same type that was used by Evel Knievel during his failed Snake River Canyon jump. The dubbed version is awful. Five-string banjo player Bobby Thompson is prominent toward the end of "East Bound and Down". [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. $30.00 + $11.45 shipping. I loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. 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. 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). I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville in Smokey and The Bandit III. With four miles left, Bandit, discouraged by the unexpected mounting attention, is ready to give up, but Snowman, who initially thought they would fail, takes the lead and smashes through the roadblock at the fairgrounds' main entrance. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. The roundup sequence in the desert shows many new Pontiac Le Mans sedans decorated as police cars being destroyed. It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. Funny that T/A isnt on the movie poster, considering it was the obvious star of the show. [8] Niver provided much of the western attire worn in the film, as well as the custom-made sheriff's uniforms (waist size 64") that Gleason wore throughout the film. One of our favorite movies. I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. 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. [31] Smokey and the Bandit was released in the United Kingdom on August 28 and was a success there, garnering positive reviews. 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. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. 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. Remember that Smokey and the Bandit was the 2nd biggest movie of the year, right after Star Wars. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/john-fedack-my-days-as-a-dekalb-county-police-officer/. Justice. 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. Coors was legal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. When it is finally torn off along with the car's roof in the impact with the girder, the missing fender still reappears later on in the film. Nice article Jason I was a fan of this movie when it came out I look back now and think, wow, did I really think this was entertainment?????? Set with his . [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. 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. Many people believed beforehand that the film was not right for . How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? Only one survived, and it's priceless. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Weve got a long way to go and a short time to get there Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. Many of the film's original sounds were replaced. While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze. Now, having only three Trans Ams to wreck for a movie is minimalist, to say the least. Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. The Pontiac Trans Am seems like a natural choice for Smokey and the Bandit, but the car was only a few inches close to not being used in the movie. Chevy almost did the same with its counterpart, the Camaro. A paper on Cognitive psychology was published in the 1990 issue of Computers in Human Perception. I just dont like car novices that assume the Pontiac T/A was soley a movie tie in car and the it started in 1977.. And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. However, as our heroes were successful in delivering their truckload of Coors, the writers effectively poised themselves for a sequel. The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job'. Its weird how it works. The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell[20] played on the soundtrack. A black Trans Am is parked in my garage because of this movie. Well, at least that's what you saw in the movie. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. Mines never gone away, especially now that I spend every thee month in Memphis. Seven: (Three with Burt Reynolds and Crew, and Four without) Smokey and the Bandit - 1977 Smokey and the Bandit II - 1980 Smokey and the Bandit III . I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. February 27, 2023 . Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. [29] Alfred Hitchcock claimed that the film was one of his favorites. The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. The Bandit's car was a second-generation Trans Am and the prize for completing the run was a new truck rather than $80,000. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. As if GM owes them something. The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "sumbitch" (a contraction of "son of a bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the phrase "scum bum". Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. His personaround, dumpy, and clipping wordsreminds one of another fictional southern sheriff. So why did they go with sound effects instead of the Trans Am's actually exhaust noise? The advertisements lampoon the film and feature a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song East Bound and Down. Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. you can find it on amazon.com . American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, CC Outtake: The CC House, and With a New Recent Exotic Addition, CC TV Outtake: This Used Car Commercial Didn't Make It On The Air, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. But while the cars shown in the movie look like 1977-model-year Trans Ams, they were actually 1976 models. 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. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). With the Smokey and the Bandit actor gone, and the impact the actor had on the Trans Am community, having one of the few connections to him destroyed is too much. 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. Some differences included the use of a supercharged 454-CID (7.4-liter) Chevrolet-sourced engine that put out 840 HP, and four round headlights, which appeared on the 196769 Firebirds/Trans Ams only; the actual 197781 models had rectangular headlights. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. [22] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it performed badly. 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. It had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. Always a favorite. Olds 88. Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. Not everything was Pontiac, as evidenced by this 1973 Plymouth Satellite coupe (CC here). 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. Burt Reynolds plays truck driver Bo Bandit Darville. via iconic premier. 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. From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. After the movie did well, Pontiac gave Burt a free Trans Am to drive for a few years. The movie, in fact, caused sales of the . Reynolds and Needham owned the Skoal Bandit team at the time, so getting these other drivers to appear probably would not taken much more than a six pack of beer and a hug from co-star Loni Anderson . The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. Smokey & The Bandit is the greatest movie of the 20th Century! I started cruising through EBay and the next thing I knew I won the auction for a clean 400/4 speed/T-Top 78 Trans Am. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! 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. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. A group of Trans Am owners and fans of the movie take part in an annual road trip from Texarkana to Jonesboro, recreating the route taken by the characters in the film. In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. Probably the most famous TV edit of all time is I have had it with these monkey-fightin snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane!. The 1977 features rectangular quad headlamps instead of only two round lights, a unique slanted and V-shaped nose, and a center-mounted hood scoop. I think thats another line theyve edited out for the television version. If I recall correctly, Firebirds in general (along with Camaros) were selling well prior to 1977, but the Trans Am was not the best-selling one. Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! . They retained the white steering wheels until 72 or so , just the thing to preveny burned fingers in the Desert sun . 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. 5. Everything You Should Know About The The Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit, 10 Most Potentially Unreliable Electric Vehicles According To Consumer Reports, 10 Reasons Why It's Time You Should Buy A Bagger, Here's How Solid-State Batteries Will Change EVs Forever. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. This is obvious, because there is no fuel tank on the underside of the trailer to power the refrigeration unit, and the unit is never heard running. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! Her groom? 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. [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. And all of us easterners suddenly discovered it was nothing more than another Budweiser/Miller/etc. The cars were wrecked on purpose to create the illusion of a high-speed chase. "Buford T. Justice" was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Reynolds' father, who was once Police Chief of Riviera Beach, Florida. But that doesnt make for an interesting movie premise. 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. Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. When it was over, I cried and cried and cried because I didnt want it to end. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. [33] Reynolds was given the 1977 vehicle used during promotion of the film as a gift, though the car itself never actually appeared in the film. 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. Wouldnt the accent give you away? Sally Field and Burt Reynolds began a relationship after meeting on set. This phrase achieved a level of popularity with children and the 2007 Hot Wheels release of the 1970s Firebird Trans Am has "scum bum" emblazoned on its tail. Here is the LeMans; Gleason literally drives the wheels off: As an aside, heres a curious bit of trivia. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. My favorite would have been an ex-WSP 1970 Plymouth they were all Fury IIIs, white on blue with factory air and 440s under the hood; but none ever turned up when I was buying. [30] Upon meeting Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the South considers the film to be less cinema and more documentary. I have worked a long time to eradicate the one I had but it still crops up periodically from exposure, like you experienced. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. Smokey and the Bandit was all realistic and non fictional, and it still was a big hit that brought a lot of money to Hal Needham and the actors, to pay Pontiac back. I looked at a Bluesmobile worthy 1977 Plymouth Grand Fury, the big ones, it was an ex Florida Highway Patrol car, but it had a pretty good amount of rust and it was pretty beat. Nah, they survived by coming up with bras with very thin cups. The scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing semi-truck was shot on Georgia State Route 75, 3 miles (4.8km) north of Helen. His expletive is obscured when a passing big rig sounds its horn. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. [10], Principal photography of the film began on August 30, 1976. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? Three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, driven by Reed, were each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. Check out the entire video below. Even today when I stumble across this cinematic masterpiece being rerun on cable tv, Ill watch the entire thing. 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. 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!) Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit is one of the most famous movie cars of all time. I'm afraid I was responsible for a good few of those. We gonna do what they say cant be done Great fun! It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. Mrs Jason wont let me sell the sumbitch. The rub? Burt Reynolds once claimed in an interview that there were actually 12 Trans Ams featured in Smokey and the Banditand he wrecked every one. This movie was filmed in Georgia as well. I still think its more entertaining than Star Wars. Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice?