Smokey and the Bandit

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 film was the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham.
The film follows two truckers, Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), as they attempt to drive from Atlanta to Texarkana, pick up 400 cases of Coors beer, and illegally transport it back to Atlanta in 28 hours or less. While Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement and keep the attention off Snow. During their run, they are relentlessly pursued by Buford T. Justice (Gleason), a blusterous Texas county sheriff.
Smokey and the Bandit is the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, second only to the first Star Wars film ("A New Hope"). Smokey was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). 
== Plot Summary ==
The film opens with truck driver Tod Engles being arrested by a Georgia detective for "bootleging"- hauling alcohol without proper permits; the trailer was loaded with cases of Coors Beer which, at that time, was illegal east of Texas. When Engles explains to the detective that "two ol' boys put me up to it", the detective rebukes Engles saying that "Big and Little Enos Burdette make that same bet with every gearjammer they can."
Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos (who dresses just like his "Daddy") arrive in Atlanta to seek out trucking legend Bo "Bandit" Darville, who is competing in a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds. Big Enos offers him $80 thousand to haul 400 cases of Coors Beer from Texarkana to Atlanta for his refreshment; Big Enos explains that he has sponsored a driver racing in the Southern Classic, and wants to "celebrate in style" when he wins. Despite the legal risks, and piqued by the fact that it has never been done before, Bandit takes the bet and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought on advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo.
Except for the occasional Highway Patrolman giving futile chase, they arrive in Texarkana an hour early and load up the truck with the cases of beer, but just as they begin their trek back to Atlanta, Bandit is stopped by Carrie, a runaway bride who hitches her own ride in the Trans Am, but in so doing unwittingly makes Bandit a target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a foul-mouthed, old school career Texas lawman whose dimwitted son Junior was to have been Carrie's bridegroom. Buford, with Junior along, ignores his own jurisdiction and doggedly chases Bandit all the way to Georgia to get Carrie back and, as he puts it, "set everything straight".
As he maintains his pursuit, various mishaps cause Buford's cruiser to disintegrate on the way:
* He is broadsided by Snowman when he tries to pass him in heavy traffic on a two-way road
* He rear-ends Sherriff Branford's cruiser knocking him off a dismantled bridge
* The top of his cruiser is sheared off after he drives underneath a concrete beam being moved across a road (Right before impact he warns Junior, "Duck or you're gonna be talkin' outta your ass!")
* His opened door is hacked off by an oriental trucker driving an empty car carrier
* More and more parts fall off the cruiser, including the muffler, as Buford gets closer to Atlanta
Meanwhile, Bandit attracts more attention from the "Bears" (police) across Dixie as Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer, but he and Snowman are helped en route by many colorful characters via CB radio, including:
* A trucker nicknamed "Silver-Tongued Devil", who warns him of a police roadblock; it is soon revealed that he was stopped by a patrolman.
*A large funeral procession, led by a hearse owner nicknamed "The Grave Robber"
* An elderly woman (who calls herself "The Good Witch of the North" on the radio) involved in a bad accident
* A brothel-on-wheels, whose madam is known on the radio as "Foxy Lady"
* A convoy including a tanker driver named "Mr. B"
* A drive-in waitress named "Hot Pants" Hilliard with all of her customers, who get out on the road en masse to slow down the Bears (called a "Big Smokey Red 22")
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".
Just after re-entering Georgia, Snowman is rescued by Bandit after being pulled over for speeding by a Georgia State Patrol motorcycle trooper, and state and local police intensify their pursuit of Bandit with roadblocks and even a helicopter to track his movements. With four miles left to go, Bandit becomes discouraged by the unexpected mounting attention and is about to give up, but Snowman, who initially thought they would fail, reminds Bandit that they made it as far as they did, but when Bandit remarks that it's him the police are after, Snowman decides to take the lead and smashes through the roadblock at the fairgrounds' main entrance. They make it back with only ten minutes to spare, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a 'double-or-nothing' bet from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. They quickly make their escape in one of Big Enos' thirteen Cadillacs as police flood the racetrack. Big Enos confides in his son that with the new challenge he's got Bandit beaten, even giving 20-1 odds; Little Enos decides to go in on the bet, but he puts down $500 on Bandit.
After passing Buford's badly damaged cruiser on the roadside, Bandit gets on the CB and, after exchanging compliments, he initially directs Buford to Big and Little Enos, but then out of respect reveals his real location—right behind Buford, who continues his chase leaving Junior behind, and with more parts still falling off his cruiser as he limps off after Bandit.
== Cast ==
*Bo "Bandit" Darville - Burt Reynolds
*Carrie ("Frog") - Sally Field
*Cledus "Snowman" Snow - Jerry Reed
*Sherriff Buford T. Justice - Jackie Gleason
*"Junior" Justice - Mike Henry
*Little Enos - Paul Williams
*Big Enos - Pat McCormick
*Patrolman (at traffic jam) - Alfie Wise
*Sherriff George Branford - George Reynolds
**Branford's Deputy - Michael Mann
*Mr. B - Macon McCalman
*Waynette Snow - Linda McClure
*"Hot Pants" Hilliard - Susan McIver
*"Little Beaver" - Laura Lizer
*"Sugar Bear" - Lamar Jackson
*Georgia Trooper - Ronnie Gay
*Alabama Trooper - Quinnon Sheffield
*Georgia Motorcycle Trooper - Sonny Shroyer (uncredited)
*"Silver-Tongued Devil" - Michael McManus (uncredited)
== Trivia ==
* Until 1978, Coors Beer remained illegal east of Texas for decades because of a prohibition-era ban. The post-prohibition era saw major restrictions and limitations placed on the brewing of beer, which leads to another reason for the ban, in that Coors was not pasteurized, rendering it highly perishable and unsafe for human consumption without refrigeration. Yet another reason it was banned was because the Colorado-based brewery did not pursue alcohol permits in the eastern US, mainly due to unwanted competition from already established breweries in the east.
** At the time this movie was filmed, Coors was legal in only eleven states: Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, California, Utah, North and South Dakota, and New Mexico.
* During the traffic jam scene when Sheriff Justice attempts to introduce himself, the patrolman (Alfie Wise) cuts him off saying, "I don't care if your name's Broderick Crawford". While this was a reference to the actor, it was also a more subtle tip-of-the-hat to Crawford's mid-late 50s TV series, Highway Patrol.
Category:1977 films
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:Rated PG
Category:Blockbusters