how many cars destroyed in smokey and the bandit

I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). 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). The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. Sonny Shroyer (Enos) was the motorcycle cop who was given the 1-finger salute by Sally Field. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . Her groom? and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] 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!!! Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. I own all three films on a dvd called the Smokey and The Bandit Pursuit Pack. I have since moved on from them, mainly because in stock form, they were not particularly great cars (though good enough for the times). In the movie . And lets not forget the Trans Am rental car Steve McQueen drove in his very last movie, The Hunter from 1980. The cashier never batted an eye as she sold us the mass quantities of suds. S&B is one of my all-time favorite movies and Im not apologizing. Ask him to choose between a BMW M4 and an Audi RS5, and hell gladly trade both for a beat-up Cuda. 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. During their run, they are pursued by Texas county sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason). Also up for auction was a go-kart replica of the car, which sold for nearly $14,000. A CC for a 1973 Grand Ville convertible can be found here. Always loved this movie growing up. 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%. Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977 in the United States. Conversely, I could go to Paducah and be asked where up north I was from. It seems Plymouth was in a distant second for product placement. And all of us easterners suddenly discovered it was nothing more than another Budweiser/Miller/etc. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. 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. As deals were made for the actors and producers, the studio wanted to renegotiate my deal. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. 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. That's because Pontiac almost canceled the Firebird in the early 1970s. These were the cans with the two circular push buttons on top instead of pull tabs. Stroker Ace is after S&B, 1983, and features the then new for 83 aero Fox Body Thunderbird. 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. Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. 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. Great write up. Burt Reynolds is originally a Georgia boy. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. The movie, in fact, caused sales of the . That said, an uncomplimentary accent does exist. 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. Back in 1984, I went to look at a late 1970s Plymouth cop car as well. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. While it is doubtful Pontiac sold very many LeMans police packages, if one views this show as realistic, it would seem nearly every county and highway patrol in five states purchased one of Pontiacs heavy duty offerings. Somewhere along the line, the company acquired a new president who told Reynolds: Im the new president, and I dont like your movies. As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. New York, Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. 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. During a Q&A session on Saturday, filmed by ComicBook.com, a fan asked how many Trans Ams they burned through during production. By the film's ending, the final surviving Trans Am and LeMans were both barely running and the other cars had become parts donors to keep them running. Ive since read on the internet that it wasnt illegal so much as a practical thing with it being shipped in refrigerated trucks. 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. 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. February 27, 2023 . 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. A paper on Cognitive psychology was published in the 1990 issue of Computers in Human Perception. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. While watching the movie (yes, I did have to diligently research this article), one shot seemed to indicate this may be a dummy scoop. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. That's because the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit didn't sound like a Trans Am. I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. Over many viewings I noticed some scenes the car would skate around and take off like an animal while in others there were one-tire-fires and it would struggle to get going. It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. 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. In the original script, Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. Thank you for signing up to CinemaBlend. 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. 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. I have worked a long time to eradicate the one I had but it still crops up periodically from exposure, like you experienced. Despite growing up next to Cape, most of relatives are from the Mid-South. 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]. The pair arrive in Texarkana one hour early and load up the truck, but just as they head back, Carrie, a runaway bride, intercepts Bandit and jumps in his car, unwittingly making him an indirect target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a career Texas lawman whose witless son Junior was to have married Carrie. The side vents give it away. Buford, with Junior along, ignores his jurisdiction and doggedly chases Bandit all the way to Georgia to retrieve Carrie while various mishaps cause his cruiser to disintegrate on the way. It made no sense to me as it was fifty miles north and fifty miles south. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. The secrets behind the cars and stunts in 'The Italian Job'. I fondly remember lots and lots of terrible B grade movies @ the drive in in the early to mid 1970s all featuring cars racing , smashing and so on . With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. and used hard. . Now then you mentionned Sheriff JW Pepper, I decided to post some Youtube clips of him. 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 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. 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 know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. Of course, it wasnt hard to wake them up. I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. The uncut version is the best. 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. [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. Let me get the popcorn for this one. The Trans Am was a high-performance package for the Firebird, Pontiac's take on the Chevrolet Camaro. As Frog leaves, we are introduced to Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason. 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. Trigger had a big impact on my taste in cars with the Trans Ams of the late 70s being my favorite. Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. 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!. 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. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Justice. The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. The rub? If it wasnt for Smokey & the Bandit, the Dukes of Hazzard TV series would not exist. The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. 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. . 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. Will Walker: Independence Return For Season 2 Amid CW Shakeups? Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. 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. Heres how it works. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. In its place was the nonsensical scum bum. The voice over actor? His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" that, according to Reynolds, he uttered quite often. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The third-generation Firebird was introduced in 1982, a full two years later than planned. The scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing . 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. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. Even today when I stumble across this cinematic masterpiece being rerun on cable tv, Ill watch the entire thing. 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. Smokey & The Bandit is the greatest movie of the 20th Century! 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. 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. 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". Cinemablend is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The little packy there had Coors and even though it was horribly expensive, we thought it was the elixer of the Gods. 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?????? [31] Smokey and the Bandit was released in the United Kingdom on August 28 and was a success there, garnering positive reviews. It had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. I really enjoyed this discussion. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. 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. 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. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. I guess the Trans Am proved to have more staying power than the hot 71 Ford in the earlier movie. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. Sally Field and Burt Reynolds began a relationship after meeting on set. 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. For a little visual variety of sorts, and possibly an indicator of what car was about to be wrecked, the producers did branch out to use the 1975-era Plymouth Fury as another police car. . A 1975 Pontiac Grand Ville, seen toward the end of the movie. After the movie came out, Firebird sales increased even more, but the Trans Am was now the most popular one. 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! 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. Want proof? 1979 was equally successful for the brand, joining 1978 to create Pontiac's best sales years ever. 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. In fact, after Smokey and the Bandit became a box office hit, Pontiac saw a marked increase in their stock prices. At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. A blackguard? Banzai! Frog not included. Comments Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. The movie had an even bigger impact on the Trans Am. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. How did any bra manufacturers survive the 70s? I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. Depends upon what he converted it from. 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. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. 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. 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. [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. Wouldnt the accent give you away? 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. [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. Nothing annoys him more than car electronics, and he just hates it when performance cars lack a third pedal. The checker, not batting an eye, Do you want that chilled?. Sales of the coupe exploded after the film hit the silver screen and set unprecedented records for both Pontiac and the Firebird nameplate. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. That is why there are not any left. Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. Always a favorite. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. via iconic premier. They quickly escape in one of Big Enos's 13 Cadillacs as police flood the racetrack. The man does get around. Nah, they survived by coming up with bras with very thin cups. Funny that T/A isnt on the movie poster, considering it was the obvious star of the show.

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