Even when the 2nd gen was already coasting on fumes, and defanged, and after the reasonably shitty Smokey and the Bandit sequel, Pontiac managed to pump out 107,000 Trans Ams in 1980 and 70,000 for the 2nd gen Trans Ams swan song in 1981. 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. He is hired by Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos to transport a truck load of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Georgia in 28 hours. 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. [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. Burt Reynolds himself drove the car on stage to the song "East Bound and Down" and signed it. [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. 1-Smokey and the Bandit-The classic, the original, and the best one by FAR. 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. Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. [30] Upon meeting Reynolds, Billy Bob Thornton told him that the South considers the film to be less cinema and more documentary. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. radio to help him out. Let us dissect this flick to better examine it. 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. Most reports of his death still didnt have that right! (Still). 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! Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. Heres how it works. 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. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. If it wasnt for Smokey & the Bandit, the Dukes of Hazzard TV series would not exist. 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). UNIVERSAL CUT THE BUDGET JUST AS PRODUCTION WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. . The 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. On top of Burt Reynold's top-notch acting, Smokey and the Bandit is also famous for the Pontiac Trans Am that the actor drove throughout the film. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. Likely this isnt any rare engine venting package, but I could be wrong. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. They retained the white steering wheels until 72 or so , just the thing to preveny burned fingers in the Desert sun . 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. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. These were the cans with the two circular push buttons on top instead of pull tabs. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. 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. 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. Here is the LeMans; Gleason literally drives the wheels off: As an aside, heres a curious bit of trivia. If they werent burning candles to an image of a cowboy hatted Burt Reynolds at Pontiac headquarters. Your email address will not be published. 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.. 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. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. Chevy almost did the same with its counterpart, the Camaro. Id be surprised. Wouldnt the accent give you away? Thank you for signing up to CinemaBlend. Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice? Of the many cars saved from the fire was the only surviving Knight Rider KITT Super Pursuit Mode car created by Jay Orberg. Here are 20 facts about the Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit. 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). 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. Somewhere along the line, the company acquired a new president who told Reynolds: Im the new president, and I dont like your movies. The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). ", "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 movie, in fact, caused sales of the . 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. NY 10036. 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 . Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. 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!. Somehow this store had a regular supply. [10], Principal photography of the film began on August 30, 1976. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. There are an abundance of cars in this movie. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. I loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! Stroker Ace is after S&B, 1983, and features the then new for 83 aero Fox Body Thunderbird. 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%. It airs on cable tv all the time. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. WildI watched this for the first time in years after watching the latest Archer.the whole thing is an homage to S&B. Misconception by casual novice car fans is that the Trams Am didnt sell well until S&B. How many smokey and the bandit movies are there? 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. It was something regarding distribution limits. It consists of any of the various Louisiana-style hot sauces on Texas toast-style bread alongside the fourth most famous product of Pittsburg, Texas (behind Pilgrim's Pride, Cavender's, and Carroll Shelby)Pittsburg Hot Links. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. 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. 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. One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. We also learn that every launched satellite will eventually fall back to Earth, such as this 1972 Plymouth Satellite (CC here). I also own a Etrl replica of the Pontiac Bonneville Buford T. Justice drove in Smokey and The Bandit II. $30.00 + $11.45 shipping. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. 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". Banzai! It became Reed's signature song and is on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed "Live!"

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