Automotive mayhem and good humor were taken to new levels in producer and legendary stunt man Hal Needham’s first hit movie, Smokey and The Bandit. Filled with stars like Burt Reynolds (playing Bo Darville ‘The Bandit’), Sally Field (playing Carrie ‘Frog’), Jerry Reed (playing Cledus Snow ‘Snowman’) and Jackie Gleason (playing Sheriff Buford T. Justice ‘Smokey Bear’), it became a blue collar hit earning more than $126 million in gross revenues worldwide.
Federal liquor laws and state tax regulations at the time made Coors beer illegal and cost prohibitive to sell on the East Coast, so any attempt to sell or ship it became a risky ‘bootlegging’ venture. Undeterred Georgia event promoters Big Enos Burdette (played by Pat McCormick) and Little Enos (played by Paul Williams) recruited Bandit to haul 400 cases of Coors in 28 hours (1330 miles) to the upcoming Southern Classic truck rodeo. Bandit took the challenge, wrangled up ‘Snowman’ to deliver the contraband, and asked for an advance to buy a 1977 black Pontiac Trans Am that he used as a ‘blocker.’
When the movie came out, sales of the Pontiac Trans Am went through the roof. But before the movie was made, Pontiac had only provided Needham with three Trans Am ‘Special Editions’ – each of which wound up mangled by the end of shooting. One of those Trans Ams was demolished following the bridge jump scene, and by the end, production could only push the last car through the final scene because it was so badly damaged. Pontiac also provided two LeMans used for police cars, and they were also destroyed.
Be sure to tune into SPEED on Thanksgiving Night at 8 p.m. ET for the premiere of Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases.
What to look for… The clip really starts the multiple chase sequences throughout the movie, including that famous bridge jump scene. Many of Jack Gleason’s lines in the movie were unscripted, demonstrating his remarkable on-camera talent, humor and character adoption.
East Bound & Down Music Video at
Everyone has their favorite car chase scene… and many have multiple ones. On Thanksgiving Night (Nov. 25), SPEED enters the conversation with a two-hour special called, Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases, premiering at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
New York City’s Pangolin Pictures looks at the last 40 years of cinematic car chases, re-living many great scenes through the eyes of those who created, shot and played out what has become one of Hollywood’s greatest creative contributions. Broken out in themes, this feature presentation is produced to be the most comprehensive look at how this genre has evolved from Steve McQueen’s Bullitt to Matt Damon’s Bourne Identity.
Through Thanksgiving, SPEED will roll out some of our favorites from around the studio here in Charlotte. This not a countdown per se, and we want to hear from you, as we’ll introduce a new car chase scene every Monday through Thursday. Let the Chase Begin…
Here’s What They Are Saying over at Autoblog.com…
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/11/speed-announces-hollywoods-hottest-car-chases-with-mega/
