Naturally, it fetched the highest price with a . I certainly hope the guy hired to drive that 74 Ford Torino wagon was paid well for his work. (first posted 2/28/2014) The fourth highest grossing film in the United States in 1977 was the Academy Award nominatedSmokey & The Bandit. That came out in 1981. As the 1969 classic 'The Italian Job' turns 50 years old, TG.com caught up with David Salamone, the man who piloted the red Mini in . radio to help him out. From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was common practice. Its amazing, you should watch it. 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 commercials were produced after Stewart mentioned that the movie was one of his favorites.[39]. 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. I own all three films on a dvd called the Smokey and The Bandit Pursuit Pack. At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. I know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. Alan Reed was the original voice of Fred Flintstone; Henry Corden only took over after Reeds death in 1977. How Many Police Cars Were Destroyed In Blues Brothers Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. However, the U.S. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. Set with his . 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. 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.. From what I have read the artist did the poster rendering from some blown up stills that he was shown from the movie, and none of them for some mysterious reason included the Trans Am, the truck, Reynolds, Gleason, Sally Field, crashing police cars, but no T/A. No, the T/A was selling fine before the movie, and the black/gold package dates to 1976, a full year before the movie was out in summer 77. A dastardly scoundrel? I beg to differ Mr -Nate. Gleason was a genius, but this was not one of his better outings I prefer the Hustler and Gigot. He has no less than four movies listed as coming out, and they run the gamut from romantic drama to family comedy to horror mystery to action thriller. I know that Trans Am that . I was just tweaking Jason. Called Smoke is the Bandit and playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite commentators Darrell Waltrip as the Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. I dunno about the Foley sounds, I have a T/A with a 400 and an open/no catalytic true dual exhaust, and it sounds really close to how the Bandit car sounds at idle during some scenes from the movie. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The advertisements lampoon the film and feature a Pontiac Trans Am and a cover version of the song East Bound and Down. I am indeed a fan. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. Although 1977 models also featured 6.6-liter engines, they were rated at only 200 horses. Were they dummies? One guy did a while ago a fan-made trailer of Smokey & the Bandit 4. [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. Other sources in East Texas (from whence Sheriff Justice hails) are familiar with the popular regional delicacy known as the Diablo Sandwich. The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. (Still). Learn how your comment data is processed. I was a junior high school age kid when this film came out. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. As if GM owes them something. In my area, nearly every one listed is an ex cop car. Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. 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. 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. I loved the fact that Jackie Gleasons brown Lemans had a blue vinyl interior and it even had the luxury cushion steering wheel! The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. The cop cars with the hood scoops were ex-DeKalb County (Georgia) cruisers. 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. However, in more recent years, the original version has been shown (on ITV, a commercial channel), usually with the stronger language edited out, often quite awkwardly. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. Even today when I stumble across this cinematic masterpiece being rerun on cable tv, Ill watch the entire thing. Jesus, did you just call Carmine a car novice? [4] Just two days before production was to begin, Universal sent a "hatchet man" to Atlanta to inform Needham that the budget was being trimmed by $1 million. 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. Your email address will not be published. Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. I remember reading somewhere that one of the cars was equipped with a 455 for some of the higher speed scenes. Im gonna barbecue your ass in molasses., Re: The picture with 4 ladies and the wagon and van. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. 1980 ERTL SMOKEY & THE BANDIT PONTIAC FIREBIRD DIECAST CAR police car Jason, Using the words nuance, subtlety, complexity and intellect to describe this movie, is, as they say, trs amusant! [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. [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. Reynolds and Field began dating during the filming.[13]. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 78% rating based on 32 reviews. The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Mrs Jason wont let me sell the sumbitch. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. 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 something regarding distribution limits. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! 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. The story replaced the Coors beer with Mobil 1 products. It was a powerful car, and I was glad to be issued it as my range car instead of one of the new but already disintegrating 1985 Oldsmobiles supplied by a local dealer that most people had. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans four-door sedans would be provided for the movie. [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. In the original script, Carrie was called Kate while Big Enos and Little Enos were called Kyle and Dickey. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 Great write up. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. The 403 Olds T/A was a dog, stock, but with some easily obtained parts, could be turned into a very nice low 13 second tire melter. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! Not a bad deal, but on the fourth year, no new car. Much of the surrounding scene comes from that immediate vicinity. The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. The redesign was originally planned for 1980, but 1978 and 1979 became record years for GM's division, so the new model was pushed back. New York, And theres beer in Texarkana.. Oh, and a hooker girlfriend that looked like Annie Potts. 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 .