I know that Trans Am that . [40] Major portions of the audio background have been modified with different engine sounds or tire squeals from the original film. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. 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. Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! Except that shes not sagging. Behind Sheriff Justices Pontiac, there is a nice looking 1965 or 1966 Ford Mustang fastback and a Toyota pickup. This movie trailer gives you an taste of this provocative film, but fails to effectively capture all the subtleties and nuances it contains. . 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. The dubbed version is awful. It had an AM transmitter and you would tune in the sound on your AM car radio, or on my case, on a transistor radio. But would the black and gold T/As be as desirable today without the movie? (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. As deals were made for the actors and producers, the studio wanted to renegotiate my deal. As if GM owes them something. These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. Trigger had a big impact on my taste in cars with the Trans Ams of the late 70s being my favorite. Lets take a look at some more cars found in the movie. 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. 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. There was a problem. 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. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1980 ERTL SMOKEY & THE BANDIT PONTIAC FIREBIRD DIECAST CAR police car set at the best online prices at eBay! 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. Most of the dialogue was improvised on set. 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. This small modification was made to remind viewers of Trans Am models from 1969, which had in excess of 300 horsepower. Reynolds and Field began dating during the filming.[13]. 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. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. About two seconds after this picture was taken, these motorcycles were doing their best imitation of a stack of pancakes. I enjoyed the hell out of my 1976 Dart Pursuit. I grew up in Illinois, within eyeshot of the banks of the MIssissippi River, and ten miles from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A black Trans Am is parked in my garage because of this movie. Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) drives the truck while his good buddy Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) serves as the "blocker," a fast car used to divert police attention away from payload. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. thebandit77transam 2009-04-14 14:04. andre1969 wrote Pontiac supplied 5 brand-new cars for "Smokey and the Bandit". So many classic quotes in this movie. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! I was to be paid a salary plus own 7% of the profits. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. 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. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. 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. In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. Theres really nothing like an old cop car. I know, Ive owned a 75 for 23 years. [29] Alfred Hitchcock claimed that the film was one of his favorites. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. 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. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. Of the many cars saved from the fire was the only surviving Knight Rider KITT Super Pursuit Mode car created by Jay Orberg. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. 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). Most reports of his death still didnt have that right! Along the way they tussle with tough as nails Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), pick up a runaway bride nicknamed Frog (Sally Field), and have all kinds of awesome times on the highway. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). 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. Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. 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. 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 . A diablo sammich from my understanding is a like a Sloppy Joe but with taco seasoning added in for spice. Gleason has a treasure trove of hilarious lines and it was this movie that started my love affair of cars back in the early 1980s. [12] The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. . 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. I was a junior high school age kid when this film came out. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. A blackguard? While Sheriff Justice doesnt deal well with the pressures of high speed pursuit, as seen above, his Pontiac LeMans (CC here) withstands the most abuse of any car in this entire movie. That is why there are not any left. I have worked a long time to eradicate the one I had but it still crops up periodically from exposure, like you experienced. The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. I know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. Wanting to promote the aesthetically modified 1977 model, but lacking cars owing to delays in production start-up, GM modified four 1976 Trans Ams with '77 spec bodywork and decals for the film. Nuts about any form of classic motorsport and muscle cars, Ciprian's currently working on a time machine that would take him back to the 1960s for a long vacation alongside Dan Gurney and Jim Hall. His expletive is obscured when a passing big rig sounds its horn. 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. 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!) ", "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. The third-generation Firebird was introduced in 1982, a full two years later than planned. Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . Regular film-goers might not pay much attention to the car's engine sound, but gearheads will quickly notice that something is off. Three actors from the main cast of The Dukes of Hazzard appear in small uncredited roles in Smokey and the Bandit: Ben Jones, John Schneider, and Sonny Shroyer (who played a police officer in both). Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. Learn how your comment data is processed. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. At the time, it was illegal to transport Coors east of the Mississippi River and a series of other truckers had been apprehended for trying to accomplish this feat for the Burdettes. Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. 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. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of 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. Heres how it works. If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters. Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. A dastardly scoundrel? I dont know whose idea was to replace the wicked Two Lane Blacktop Chevy sourced engine sound effects with an authentic 200 horsepower muffled smogger 400, but that sumbitch is a scumbum!!! 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. 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. Since mentioning the Kenworth, it must be noted it was a redecorator of the highest fashion. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. The uncut version is the best. Burt Reynolds as the Bandit can always count on the truckers on the other end of his C.B. . If it wasnt for Smokey & the Bandit, the Dukes of Hazzard TV series would not exist. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. Dont let his grumpiness fool you though; hes more than excited to provide the latest news and reviews on the most interesting cars in the industry. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. Its amazing, you should watch it. That is why there are not any left. The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. [34] In 2015 a Florida-based automobile customization company built 77 Trans Ams modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the film. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. I am indeed a fan. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. 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. I drive a conversion van. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. I recall a big smokey burnout right after they left Snowmans house that looked 455-worthy and also after Bandit picked up Fields he left two strips after nailing second (right before the tire thieves crossed the road), which makes me think there was also a 4 speed car used. A series of four made-for-TV spin-off films (Bandit Goes Country, Bandit Bandit, Beauty and the Bandit, and Bandit's Silver Angel) were produced in 1994 for Universal Television's Action Pack with actor Brian Bloom playing a younger version of the Bandit. As a publicity stunt, the Trans Ams used in the movie had different decals on the hood scoop. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. We stopped in that same Safeway later on the way back home from southern Cal, and they had a huge display of cases of Coors out on the floor near the checkstands. Burt Reynolds may be 79, but he shows no signs of slowing down. A segment of the CMT program Reel Eats used a sloppy joe-style recipe consisting of seasoned ground beef, corn, and sour cream. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. Gotta love that guy! Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule.[4]. [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. MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. Weve got a long way to go and a short time to get there It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the film. 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 . 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. The gag with the overpass being blown up was actually a bridge built for the movie on the unfinished highway, and AFAIK, the truck driver who jumps the void ended up breaking his back in the stunt. 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. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. The change was somewhat strange as most automakers were using cubic-inch numerals to advertise engines. Funny that T/A isnt on the movie poster, considering it was the obvious star of the show. Great fun! That is an excellent question. Other than Jackie Gleason upstaging every other cast member, the perceived star of the show is this 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. S/E T/A with the round headlights. Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. Lets take a look. Plus , I loved those late 1960s through mid 1970s Plymouths even though Im a Bowtie Guy by default . 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. The movie, in fact, caused sales of the . Of course, it wasnt hard to wake them up. 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 remember that it had a bunch of trim badges on the center of the dashboard. Comments With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make 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. [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. Smokey and the Bandit was one of the most iconic movies of the 1970s. 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. 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! 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. 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.

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