Blocking for the beer-packed rig, Bandit leads a trio of Smokies down a forest track, but the broken Mulberry Bridge is his only route across a wide river. Photo: Getty Imagesįaced with substantial budget cuts from Universal Studios, the production crew meted out stunt-abuse to the Trans Ams sparingly, but one ‘gag’ finished a car off completely. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason, in Smokey and the Bandit. Justice, played by an hilariously pompous Jackie Gleason, who, according to Reynolds, “…never said a word in the script.” Their Pontiac Le Mans (of which three were again supplied by GM) is steadily ‘lightened’ through the film, and at one point its roof is shorn completely under a concrete stanchion. Heading back to Atlanta, Bandit picks up fleeing bride, Carrie (Sally Field) from the roadside, and is then pursued by her would-be groom (Mike Henry) and father-in-law Sheriff Buford T. Round headlights were swapped for square units and bonnet graphics changed to show ‘6.6-LITRES’ instead of the previous cubic-inch capacities, which at 455, were in reality closer to 7.5 litres. GM supplied him with five of the muscle cars, but since filming started in August 1976, just before the ’77 model-year upgrades, the cars had to be hastily revised by the crew. “I needed a ‘down the road’ car for Bandit and the Trans Am fitted the bill,” Needham told me. And by driving through the night, they make their collection in good time and are soon ‘East Bound and Down’ (the title of the film’s theme song, co-written and sung by Reed himself)). An advance from the Burdettes buys Bandit the aforementioned Trans Am to block for trucker pal, Cledus ‘Snowman’ Snow (Jerry Reed) in his ’74 Kenworth W900 rig. Georgia being a dry state and Coors’ ingredients being fragile if not fresh, it’s just doable. It must be a b**ch getting a 68-Extra-Fat – and a 12-Dwarf…”) and challenge him to collect 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas and deliver them back to their Atlanta party in 28 hours for an $80,000 prize. They meet with Reynolds’ Bo ‘Bandit’ Darville (“Oh, I love your suits. Big and Little Enos Burdette, Stetson-wearing Southern caricatures, are sponsoring a racer in Atlanta’s Southern Classic and, convinced that he’ll win, want to celebrate in style.
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