Smokey and the Bandit

Smokey and the Bandit
Promotional poster for Smokey and the Bandit
Directed by	Hal Needham
Written by	Hal Needham Robert L. Levy (story) James Lee Barrett Charles Shyer Alan Mandel (screenplay)
Produced by	Mort Engelberg
Starring	Burt Reynolds Sally Field Jackie Gleason Jerry Reed Mike Henry
Cinematography	Bobby Byrne
Edited by	Walter Hannemann Angelo Ross
Music by	Bill Justis Jerry Reed
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	May 19, 1977 (New York City) May 27, 1977 (USA) August 25, 1977 (Australia) December 21, 1977 (France) January 20, 1978 (Finland) February 10, 1978 (West Germany) February 13, 1978 (Sweden)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$126,737,428 (USA)

Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 movie starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. It inspired several other trucking films, including two sequels, Smokey and the Bandit II (originally known as Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again in the U.K.), and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3. There were also a series of 1994 television movies (Bandit Goes Country, Bandit Bandit, Beauty and the Bandit and Bandit's Silver Angel) from original director/writer Hal Needham loosely based on the earlier version, with Emmy-winning actor Brian Bloom now playing Bandit [1]. The three original movies introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am. The film was the second highest grossing film of 1977, beaten only by Star Wars.

The movie was filmed primarily in Georgia in the cities of McDonough, GA and Jonesboro, GA. The scenes in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area, and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas and in McDonough, GA. The scene at the race track was filmed at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on the south side of Atlanta. The roller coaster seen in the movie was the Greyhound. It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the first Smokey and the Bandit film. It was destroyed in the second film and a flash back scene used in the third.

The film made use of five modified 1977 Pontiac Trans Ams that were each built according to the required stuntwork. All were damaged during the rigors of filming the stunts. The particular car used to jump over the river towards the middle of the movie was reportedly totalled doing the stunt.

Plot

Most of the movie is centered upon truck drivers Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds), and his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), with his Basset Hound named Fred, taking a shipment of 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia. ("Bandit" and "Snowman" are the two men's CB radio handles, respectively). At the time, Coors wasn't available in the eastern U.S.; due to the arcane nature of state liquor taxes, it was illegal to ship it east of Texas. (In fact, Texarkana, Texas lies in Bowie County, Texas, which is a dry county. Texarkana, Arkansas is "wet", but Coors could not be shipped east of Texas. There was no Coors in Texarkana; the closest Coors would have been found in the small Cass County, Texas community of Domino.) Coors being illegal, it was necessary for the Snowman to drive the semi full of beer, while the Bandit drove the "blocker" (decoy) car, designed to take the attention of the police away from the truck and its illegal cargo. The term "Smokey" refers to the state troopers, whose hats are similar to those worn by park rangers and thus the character of Smokey Bear -- state troopers also being known as "Bears", as in the rebellious truck-themed song Convoy.

Bandit, in semi-retirement, is found at a trucking rodeo by Big and Little Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams, respectively). They offer to pay Bandit and his partner Snowman $80,000 (roughly $270,000 in 2007 dollars) if they could make the beer run in 28 hours. Along the way, Bandit picks up Carrie (Field), whom he nicknames "Frog" because "you're always hopping around," because she's "cute, like a frog," and he'd "like to jump [her]," and finds himself being pursued by Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason). Carrie had run away from her wedding to Justice's simple-minded son, Junior (Henry), and so the plot gets going when Buford is told Carrie/Frog got into a Trans-Am.

The movie then depicts a high-speed chase, with Justice's police car (a '77 Pontiac LeMans) steadily falling to pieces due to various accidents as he and a cast of many police in several states attempts to chase down and arrest Bandit and Snowman and retrieve his prospective daughter-in-law. Bandit and Snowman are greatly assisted by a number of colourful characters met along the way, many of whom they contact through their CB radios. Interestingly, neither Justice, or any of the county police officers are ever aware of Snowman's illegal cargo of Coors.

The film ends with Bandit, Snowman, Frog and Fred arriving back at the trucking rodeo they started at, with minutes to spare, to collect the bet. Instead, they accept Big & Little Enos' offer to drive to Boston and bring back clam chowder, in 18 hours, double or nothing. On their way to Boston in one of Big Enos' Cadillacs (leaving him an even 12), they see Justice's badly damaged car on the roadside, his son getting information on another car that sideswiped him. They stop and reveal themselves to Justice over the CB radio ("Look over your left shoulder.") as they drive off. Justice, shouting defiantly that he isn't finished yet, drives off to chase them in his rapidly disintegrating car, as his son runs behind him, begging his father not to leave him behind.

Production

"Buford T. Justice" was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Burt Reynolds' father, who himself was once Chief of Police of Jupiter, Florida. His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the movie, a phrase he reportedly uttered quite often, according to Reynolds.

Jackie Gleason was given quite free reign over ad-libbing dialogue and making suggestions. In particular, the cafe scene with himself and Burt Reynolds was not in the original story, it was Gleason's idea.

Reportedly, director Hal Needham had great difficulty in getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously (He was better known in the film industry as a stuntman). He managed to get studio attention after his friend, Burt Reynolds, agreed to star in the film.

The movie made use of three black Trans Ams, and two Pontiac LeMans cars, all donated by Pontiac. All five cars were more or less destroyed by the end of shooting, with only one model of each car barely running by then, mostly due to cannibalizing the other three cars.

Soundtrack

The theme music "Eastbound and Down" is sung by Jerry Reed (who plays Snowman). It became his signature song and is found on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his new live album Jerry Reed: Live Still.

Television censorship and alternate versions

• When Smokey and the Bandit first aired on American network television in the early 1980s, censors were faced with the challenge of toning down the raw language of the original film. For this purpose, they overdubbed dialogue deemed offensive, which was (and remains, to an extent) common practice. The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "Som'Bitch" (a contraction of "Son of a Bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the nonsense phrase "Scum Bum". This phrase achieved a level of popularity with children, and the 2007 Hot Wheels release of the 1970 Firebird Trans Am has "Scum Bum" emblazoned on its tail. The TV prints of the first two Bandit films are still shown regularly on television, although a few TV stations aired the unedited version in recent years as some of the phraseology (ie. "(son of a) bitch", "ass", etc.) became more acceptable on TV.

• The original actors mostly redubbed their own lines for the television version except for Jackie Gleason. Actor Henry Corden, who voiced Fred Flintstone after original performer Alan Reed died, was used to replace a considerable amount of Sheriff Justice's dialogue. This creates an interesting series of connections, as The Flintstones was very much based upon the 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason, with Fred Flintstone being based upon Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden.

• In the United Kingdom, the heavily dubbed version was shown for a number of years, particularly by the BBC. However, in more recent years, for pre-watershed broadcasts, particularly by ITV channels, the original version, with the strong language simply edited out (sometimes awkwardly), has been used more.

• The theatrical release of the movie itself had a few lines deleted, including a creative edit in which Sheriff Justice tells a sheriff's deputy to "fuck off." His expletive is obscured when a passing big rig sounds its horn (although it is quite probable that this was done for comedic effect as much as actual censorship).

• Some television versions contain an extra scene. In the original version, there is a scene where Fred swims into the middle of a pond, and Snowman has to wade in after him to get him. The television version contains a longer sequence, which cuts back to Bandit and Frog and she asks him "What's the matter, your foot fall asleep?" as the Bandit has spied a "plain wrapper" (unmarked police cruiser) and takes his foot off the accelerator in an attempt to slow down, and then he attempts to call Snowman to warn him about the "smokey" about to pass Snowman. But Snowman doesn't hear him because he's in the pond trying to catch Fred. By the time Snowman gets back to the truck, the unmarked cruiser can be spotted as passing the pond, but somehow Snowman doesn't see it. Bandit then remarks "When you get that damn dog in the truck...you can put the hammer down, 'cause by that time, that smokey would have gone by you.". Snowman then asks, apparently to himself, "How did he know that?"

• In 2005, a DVD re-release was issued of Smokey and the Bandit featuring a digitally-remastered audio track with 5.1 Dolby-compatible surround sound. It should be noted however that many of the film's original sounds were replaced. For instance, the diesel engine start and run up sequence in the opening sequence of the film was completely dubbed over with a totally new sound. A few other examples of "sound effect replacement" occur when Bandit takes off after managing to get a reluctant Cledus involved in the bet, and after he comes to a screeching halt on a roadway moments before picking up Carrie. (Note: earlier DVD releases of the film have the original soundtrack intact.)

• A brief scene in which Sally Field crawls from the front to back seat of Bandit's Trans Am has been cut from at least one TV version of the film. In the scene, Fields is wearing very tight jeans which accent her buttocks.

Cultural references

• In "Cadillac Ranch", a song on his 1980 album The River, Bruce Springsteen sang that: "James Dean in that Mercury '49 / Junior Johnson runnin' thru the woods of Caroline / Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am / All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch"

• In 1982, on the Knight Rider Episode "Good day at white rock" the female passenger of Michael Knights Car 'KITT' answers on his question if she really wants to stay in the car, that Sally Field also stayed in the Car in 'Smokey and the Bandit'. After a short break she supplemented that she actually does not feel safer regarding that. Later in the episode, Michael commented, that Sally Field did trust Burt Reynolds.

• In Mallrats, T.S. and Brodie drive back to the Mall at such speed that Brodie comments "You know you drive like the f**king Bandit?"

• In 1996, the Belgian band Hooverphonic sampled the quote "Breaker one niner, are there any Smokeys with ears on?" in the song "Revolver" on their album A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular.

• In 1998, rock star Kid Rock loosely emulated the movie in the music video of his second single Cowboy. He is followed by some of his band in a tractor trailer and he picks up a bride from a casino, whom is married to a sheriff. His route ends on the Hollywood Blvd.

• In 2000, the rapper Nelly released an album called Country Grammar. The video of the seventh song on the album, "Ride Wit Me", features Nelly playing the part of Bandit. It featured trucks filled with beautiful women and Nelly picking up a bride off the side of the road in a Pontiac Trans Am.

• In 2004, on the fake "Cops"-parody show Reno 911, Deputy Jim Dangle offers to recind the 8 hours of required traffic school to the perpetrators, if they watch 'Smokey and The Bandit' instead.

• In 2005, on the auto TV show Automaniac aired by the History Channel, Bill Goldberg is treated to a ride in the original Trans Am by Burt Reynolds at Irwindale Speedway. Burt comments on the show that the Trans Am was the "most important lady in the film."

• In 2005, the Family Guy film, Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story, the Smokey and the Bandit theme music played at one point as the motorhome began to drive across the U.S. This was done as a typically Family Guy-esque pop culture reference

• In a 2006 episode of the series My Name Is Earl, Earl gives his brother a ride in the Smokey And The Bandit car to cheer him up after they were unable to attend a fair at which the car was on display. Earl star Jason Lee is a known Burt Reynolds fan.

• Punk cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes did a cover of East Bound and Down, the movie's theme song, on their 2006 album Love Their Country.

• Popular TV series That '70s Show has made many references to Smokey and the Bandit in their first and second season.

• A first season episode of Pimp My Ride made several references to Smokey and the Bandit where a 1981 Trans Am was being pimped.

• The 1996 Kevin Smith film Mallrats features a story about a couple dressed as Smokey and the Bandit fornicating at a Halloween party. Jason Lee's character utters the line "How many times do you get to see Smokey fuck the Bandit?"

• In the TV show, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Ed references this movie by saying "Smokey's on my tail!" while driving an imaginary truck.

Trivia

• The choice of Coors as the contraband of choice centered on the limited distribution of that brand across the country in the 1970's. The resulting inability to legally purchase Coors beer in many states resulted in a minor bootlegging fad, and many cross-country vacationers travelling by car were asked by friends and neighbors to bring back six-packs and cases of the beverage. The fad died out in the early 1980's when state and local issues that had previously prevented Coors distributorships from opening in and/or shipping to those regions were loosened and/or repealed.

• After the first movie came out in 1977, sales of the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am (in particular, those with the black and gold color scheme featured in the film) skyrocketed over 100% from 1976 sales levels due to the movie's popularity. Pontiac readily acknowledges the power of the film. Although Pontiac never produced a "Bandit Edition", it did release several Special Edition cars featuring the Black and Gold paint scheme. These cars trace their origins back to the 1974 Chicago Auto Show where a special one-off Black and Gold Trans Am was featured. In 1981, a company called "Trans Am Specialties" of Cherry Hill NJ, paid Universal Studios for the rights to use the Bandit name. Trans Am Specialties converted a limited run of black Trans Ams to "Bandit" Trans Ams. In the late 1980s, a company named "Choo Choo Customs" created a "Bandit II" package for the Firebird. This was a cosmetic package for the Third Generation Firebirds and they were NOT Trans Ams.

• Several people who would later star in the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard (which is very much in the same vein as Smokey and the Bandit) had cameos in this movie. Sonny Shroyer (who played Deputy Enos Strate in the Dukes of Hazzard) has several lines of dialogue as a Georgia State Trooper on a motorcycle who pulls over Jerry Reed. Ben Jones who played Cooter is seen very early on in the movie. Big Enos asks where he might find the Bandit. Jones' only line is "Haven't seen 'em." John Schneider (who played Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard) also had a cameo in a crowd scene towards the end of the movie, where he can be seen where a large cowboy hat. Incidentially, Burt Reynolds would go on to star in the film version of The Dukes of Hazzard as Boss Hogg.

• In a 2000 University of Southern California class on director Alfred Hitchcock, guest speaker Patricia Hitchcock, the director's daughter, revealed that two guilty pleasures of his were Smokey and the Bandit and Benji. [2]

External links

• Smokey and the Bandit at IMDb
• Website of actor Paul Williams - Little Enos