how many cars destroyed in smokey and the bandit

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. The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. Just do a search for Crown Victorias on your local CL. 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. It took four evenings to see almost all of the movie in bits and pieces. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. 13 Fast Facts About Smokey and the Bandit - Mental Floss 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. 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 . The dubbed version is awful. 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. I have worked a long time to eradicate the one I had but it still crops up periodically from exposure, like you experienced. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. $30.00 + $11.45 shipping. How "Smokey and the Bandit" was born | Fortune Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. As a publicity stunt, the Trans Ams used in the movie had different decals on the hood scoop. Sheriff Justices son, Junior. 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. Frog not included. 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. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . "Smokey and the Bandit Pursuit Pack" is formatted as a box set that in presented in full color in widescreen. I still regret selling mine almost 30 years ago. Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. The differences between the two are major. One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. Good silly fun. 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?????? That came out in 1981. A segment of the CMT program Reel Eats used a sloppy joe-style recipe consisting of seasoned ground beef, corn, and sour cream. It was something regarding distribution limits. It seems Plymouth was in a distant second for product placement. The third film which had no involvement from either Hal Needham or Sally Field and contained only a short cameo appearance by Burt Reynolds revolved entirely around Jackie Gleason's character, was panned by critics, and was a box office bomb, earning only $7 million against a $9 million budget.[41][42][43]. [9] Though the film Moonrunners (1975) is the precursor to the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (19791985), from the same creator and with many identical settings and concepts, the popularity of Smokey and the Bandit and similar films helped get the Dukes series on the air. Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. As I am finishing this article while Big Truck Week is winding down, here is a Kenworth with a 1973 Dodge Polara patrol car. Whaddya expect outta a guy what drives a conversion van? [22] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it performed badly. And the 400 Pontiac or 403 Olds versions could be made to run well. This gives rise to various continuity errors with Justice's patrol car, which during some chase sequences is shown with a black rear fender, which then reverts to the car's bronze color again in later scenes. 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. 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. Thanks for this, Jason. I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. 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. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. The commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[39]. 14 Little-Known Facts About The Smokey And The Bandit Trans-Am - HotCars That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! Rockford Files also featured Firebird, and was on since 1974, and Fs sold well despite gas crunch I and inflation. I actually remember the construction of that segment of I-75, as it stopped around Tampa prior to that time. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. Of course, it's difficult to asses whether these small decals did something to change buyer perception about the Trans Am, but it's an interesting part of the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am's history. Musicians such as Beegie Adair and George Tidwell[20] played on the soundtrack. 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) . Since mentioning the Kenworth, it must be noted it was a redecorator of the highest fashion. A few other examples of sound effect replacement occur when the Bandit takes off after getting the reluctant Cledus involved in the bet, the Bandit comes to a screeching halt on a roadway moments before picking up Carrie, and when Buford's car top comes off. The 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. 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. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. A paper on Cognitive psychology was published in the 1990 issue of Computers in Human Perception. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. How many cars destroyed Blues Brothers 2000? Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. [24] With an original budget of $5.3 million (cut to $4.3 million two days before initial production),[4] the film eventually grossed $126,737,428 in North America,[25] making it the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 (only Star Wars earned more, with $221.3 million). 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. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. NY 10036. Apparently the engine sounds were lifted from another movie, I think two lane blacktop? Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. 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. 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. Jackie Gleasons Buford T. Justice character is a supposedly an amalgamation of a few characters, including the real Buford T. Justicethere is obviously the Dodge safety sheriff from the 1970s ads, Burt Reynolds father was chief of police of Jupiter Florida, and a friend of his fathers, a Florida Highway Patrol officer was actually the REAL Buford T. Justice. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit is one of the most famous movie cars of all time. As a kid that T/A, the General Lee, and KITT were largely responsible for defining my taste in cars and that carries through to today. I was in the Air Force during this era, stationed in California. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. 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 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. The side vents give it away. Want proof? Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film a good rating (3 stars out of a possible 4) and characterized it as "about as subtle as The Three Stooges, but a classic compared to the sequels and countless rip-offs which followed". Check out the entire video below. I also own a 1:18 scale version of the Bandit Trans Am. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule.[4]. Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. East bound and down, loaded up and truckin Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. . Funny that T/A isnt on the movie poster, considering it was the obvious star of the show. 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. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. I grew up in Illinois, within eyeshot of the banks of the MIssissippi River, and ten miles from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The movies are rated PG with a run time of 282 minutes and released to video by Universal Studios. 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. Weve got a long way to go and a short time to get there I was just tweaking Jason. My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. Despite growing up next to Cape, most of relatives are from the Mid-South. Other than Jackie Gleason upstaging every other cast member, the perceived star of the show is this 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. 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. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job'. Sales jumped even higher in 1979 when Pontiac moved 117,108 Trans Ams. J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . 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. 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. I had a 78 Trigger lookalike for a while in the mid 90s, until a wrist pin went out, ended up selling it to one of my brothers buddys uncles. Ive always loved this movie. Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. Smokey And The Bandit Tribute Jump Goes About As Well As You'd Expect The cashier never batted an eye as she sold us the mass quantities of suds. Your email address will not be published. When it was over, I cried and cried and cried because I didnt want it to end. Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, . Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. Coors wasnt pasteurized. The Bandit Run quickly became a fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special 2017 screening of the film attended by Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by the Bandit and Frog across a river. 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. via iconic premier. I distinctly remember my mother buying Coors and being asked if she lived in Missouri or Illinois by the cashier. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. Always a favorite. In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and I know, Ive owned a 75 for 23 years. ", "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. I am indeed a fan. 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. The sticker read "T/A 6.6," which was a reminder of the engine's 6.6-liter displacement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. Haul my wife and four shelter adoptee mutts in it. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. There definitely was a halo cast around the 2nd gen F-body from its appearance in the movie, which I believe even did extend to the Camaro, which was probably the cheapest way to at least get some of the Bandit vibe, where there other factors too, probably, the 70s, disco, cocaine, mustaches and probably a bunch others.many thought that these car would be the last hurrah for anything performance oriented. In return, Reynolds portrayed Boss Hogg (originally portrayed by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). How Many Police Cars Were Destroyed In Blues Brothers Its amazing, you should watch it. The 1977 Firebird Trans Am once owned by Burt Reynolds was sold at auction Saturday for $495,000 at a sale held by Barrett-Jackson. Needham served as the driver for the stunt (in place of Reynolds), while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (in place of Field). Coors was legal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. Most of the dialogue was improvised on set. The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. Jana, another oddity was that I could go to Carbondale and be asked where down south I was from. One of our favorite movies. What Sports Cars Are In Smokey And The Bandit - OsVehicle 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. If it wasnt for Smokey & the Bandit, the Dukes of Hazzard TV series would not exist. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. Burt Reynolds recently revealed the ridiculous number of Pontiac Trans Ams they went through filming 1977s Smokey and the Bandit. Olds 88. Smokey and the Bandit II - Wikipedia Mines never gone away, especially now that I spend every thee month in Memphis. In the movie . I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. AWESOME! Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. I will confess, however, that it was a fun movie to watch and I have caught it on TV a time or two in recent years with my kids. Gleason probably wanted too much money to provide the dubbing, which is a shame because it ruins the TV version. 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. Another one is, Theres no way youre from my loins.. Thats all true. Earlier DVD releases and the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray of the film have the original soundtrack intact. Dodge pitchman Sheriff Joe Higgins. He had quite a few orders for Coors beer, and when he stopped in Weed, CA, on the way home, he went into the Safeway and asked for twenty-four cases of Coors. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. Although 1977 models also featured 6.6-liter engines, they were rated at only 200 horses. I dont know if Ive ever seen the unedited version though, so I never realized the orignal phrase was sum bitch, I always assumed it was worse. In the Reynolds portion of the interview, he stated the movie prompted Trans Am sales to jump around 700%. While they did jump, from 46,700 in 1976 to 69,000 for 1977 with another 93,300 for 1978, it wasnt exactly 700%. 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. Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . There has never been anything quite like late 1970s fashion in clothing. That is an excellent question. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. 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. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. Let me get the popcorn for this one. 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. ARRGH! During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. Its weird how it works. Will Walker: Independence Return For Season 2 Amid CW Shakeups? Im still trying to get clarification on what a diablo sandwich is though. Please to note I didnt say _I_ didnt like them as I was in my 20s then (early 1970s) so I hustled my self and my Russian girlfriend right on down to the cinema every time Burt Reynolds had a new flick , I personally loved his movies even the chick flicks like The Man Who Loved Women , I just had to hear earfuls from everyone else about how awful he / those movies were.. We even bought one of those Pontiac Police Specials on auction from. [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. One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. Smokey and the Bandit | 4K Ultra HD | The Bandit Takes a 28 Hour Trip Yet when I think of a 70s T/A, thats the one I and Im sure millions of other folks think of. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. The decals were changed to 1977-style units, as evidenced by the engine size callouts on the hood scoop being in liters rather than cubic inches, as had been the case in 1976. I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. 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. [23] It then opened in just the South of the United States over the Memorial Day weekend and grossed $2,689,851 in 386 theaters. There was a true concern (for some minuscule reason) about it going east of the Mississippi River. 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. Depends upon what he converted it from. 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 .

how many cars destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2023