Here is the LeMans; Gleason literally drives the wheels off: As an aside, heres a curious bit of trivia. That is an excellent question. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! Bill Justis is the first name on the credits for the soundtrack, as he composed and arranged original music throughout the film. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. 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. and used hard. S/E T/A with the round headlights. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. The movie had an even bigger impact on the Trans Am. 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. Its amazing, you should watch it. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. Tragically, every Trans Am used in filming was destroyed. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. The unrestored car reportedly showed up on eBay back in 2015, but no one wanted to buy it. Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. Nothing annoys him more than car electronics, and he just hates it when performance cars lack a third pedal. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. 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. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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 loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. In Smokey and the Bandit, there were eight 1977 Trans-Am cars and approximately the same number of police cars (but some said ten). 5. 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. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. 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. As if GM owes them something. [21], Smokey and the Bandit was a sleeper hit. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . I was just tweaking Jason. Probably the most interesting thing about this movie and Burt Reynolds is that he is not originally a Southern boy at all he was actually born in the Wolverine State Lansing, Michigan to be precise. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. 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. Anyway, on the trip east, we stopped at a grocery in Topeka, Kansas and bought 16-18 cases of Coors, all that we had room for in the car. 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. Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. Some fellow classmates were extras on the film set, and it was a big deal around here at the time. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Thank you for signing up to CinemaBlend. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. The sticker read "T/A 6.6," which was a reminder of the engine's 6.6-liter displacement. Gleason was given free rein to ad-lib dialogue and make suggestions. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. via iconic premier. Much of the surrounding scene comes from that immediate vicinity. My drivers ed driving range car was an ex-patrol colonnade Pontiac LeMans Enforcer. The movie, in fact, caused sales of the . Remember that Smokey and the Bandit was the 2nd biggest movie of the year, right after Star Wars. The theme music "East Bound and Down" was sung and co-written by Reed (credited under his birth name, Jerry Hubbard) and Dick Feller. This was the lull between Gas Crisis I and II, 1976-78, and Boomers were wanting stylish cars. Except that shes not sagging. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. This movie was filmed in Georgia as well. Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. 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 . 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. The worldwide gross is estimated at over $300 million. East bound and down, loaded up and truckin In return, Reynolds portrayed Boss Hogg (originally portrayed by Sorrell Booke) in the film adaptation The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? How many smokey and the bandit movies are there? I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. Although he's into just about any type of vehicle, Ciprian is not your typical car enthusiast. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was common practice. How many police cars were wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. Even today when I stumble across this cinematic masterpiece being rerun on cable tv, Ill watch the entire thing. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. January 24, 2019 100 comments. ", "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 know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. It outsold its Chevrolet Camaro counterpart for the first time. Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. Sales of the coupe exploded after the film hit the silver screen and set unprecedented records for both Pontiac and the Firebird nameplate. That came out in 1981. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. [36] Another proposal, based more closely on images from the film and the shooting location of the scene (at an Old Hickory House restaurant in Georgia), is pulled pork and hot sauce on a hamburger bun. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. you can find it on amazon.com . 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!!! 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 scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing . The film was a sleeper hit, and following a poor initial performance, it went on to gross $126.7 million in North America, versus a budget of only $4.3 million. Thanks for this, Jason. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! Sonny Shroyer (Enos) was the motorcycle cop who was given the 1-finger salute by Sally Field. New York, Some of the original sound effects (such as Cledus's dog Fred barking) and music (such as the final chase to the Southern Classic) were removed and not replaced. 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. Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the film. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. For Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), Needham asked for and received 10 Trans Ams and 55 Bonnevilles with no trouble. 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. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. 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. AWESOME! For instance, the diesel engine start and run-up sequence in the opening sequence of the film were completely dubbed over with a new sound. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. 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 . 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. Mr. Reynolds made a bunch of low budget films before this , all had wild chase scenes with cop cars crashing & going into swamps . Also up for auction was a go-kart replica of the car, which sold for nearly $14,000. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. Sales jumped even higher in 1979 when Pontiac moved 117,108 Trans Ams. Of the many cars saved from the fire was the only surviving Knight Rider KITT Super Pursuit Mode car created by Jay Orberg. . Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. Sheriff Justices son, Junior. 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). One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! Plus , I loved those late 1960s through mid 1970s Plymouths even though Im a Bowtie Guy by default . Its weird how it works. Regular film-goers might not pay much attention to the car's engine sound, but gearheads will quickly notice that something is off. 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. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. 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.