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Everyone can name the most gross film in 1977-George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope”-as it starts a high profile Sci-Fi franchise that continues to this day. Other major hits of that year included Steven Spielberg’s alien capture film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (A movie inspired by Spielberg’s real -life interest with alien life) a disco drama downbeat John Badham “Saturday Night Fever” (Movie that John Travolta trained “Rocky” -tyle to prepare for her). One of the stories of a more notable but less discussion of 1977, however, was the Comedy of Hal Needham beer acting, “Smokey and the Bandit,” a film that crisis approximately $ 127 million at the box office against a $ 4.3 million budget. That’s like a $ 23 million movie earns $ 677 million in 2025.
“Smokey and the Bandit” is a playful rebellious film about the owner of a southern sports car, the nickname Bandit (Burt Reynolds), which is tasked with by a pair of benefactors (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams) in restoring a beer -rich truck. Bandit lives in a dry county, however, so making beer run is dangerous. In fact, it attracts the Ire of Sheriff Buford T. Local Justice “Smokey” (Jackie Gleason). Bandit also falls in with Carrie (Sally Field), and both share chemistry immediately. Bandit is urgently, but not so much that he can’t stop and have a playful/romantic chat with Carrie.
Given how occasional and easygoing is “Smokey and the Bandit”, it is surprising that it is so popular. But there was something about Reynolds’ charm, his fast car, and his devil-care-care philosophy that people pulled in. It helped Reynolds and Field had such a great chemistry (they were a real -life item at the time) and that Gleason had created such an indelible character.
And as “Star Wars,” it was also a long -standing franchise.
There are several Smokey and Bandit movies
“Smokey and the Bandit,” as “Star Wars,” had a direct sequence in 1980, although “Smokey and the Bandit II” was almost as big as “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (Himself the first Harrison Ford movie the star was happy with). Needham returned to direct with Field again co-zero, although she and Reynolds broke up shortly after wrapping the production, so the romantic chemistry is not as obvious this time. Also, the plot is brighter. In the film, Bandit has turned to the bottle after breaking up with Carrie, so part of the running time is reserved to get it sober again. He and his partner Cledus (Jerry Reed) then be tasked with transporting an elephant to the nearby Republican National Convention. With Smokey on their tail, Bandit, Cledus, and Carrie all going to Dallas. The movie is a little more nonsensical than its predecessor, so one can see why it’s less successful. At least Gleason got it by playing three different characters.
After that, the “Smokey” movies diverged off the rails with the 1983 sequence “Smokey and the Bandit Part 3” (aka simply “Smokey and the Bandit III”). Hardly anyone likes the movie, in which Reynolds is barely. Instead, the film follows Smokey as it has offered a great amount to drive a shark sculpture across state lines. Hopefully he will lose, his benefactors hire a clever hire to hide himself as the bandit (!) And try to trap it. Reynolds himself only appears in one scene near the end, and at that time Smokey has a hallucination. Critics hated him at the time and the film is still revoked to this day. Everyone already knew that “Smokey and the Bandit” had a thin default anyway, so making multiple sequences was never a good idea.
“Smokey and the Bandit Part 3” went on to crochet $ 7 million puny on a $ 9 million budget. But if you thought it would be the end of the line for the franchise, you would be wrong.
Smokey and the Bandit lived as a series of TV movies in the 1990s
In 1994, the property “Smokey and the Bandit” was resurrected in the form of four TV films, each staring Brian Bloom as the Bandit. The events of these TV films appear to be semi-Canonian only, as there is no smoke character on the horizon over the cause. Instead, the films play as extended episodes in a “Renegade” style TV series where Bandit travels South America and hopes to help people in trouble. Hal Needham returned to direct all four films, and starred panoply of identifiable actors in the 1990s.
The first film, “Bandit Goes Country,” the star of the country stars Mel Tillis as himself. When Bandit helps him after a plane crash, the pair becomes friends, just to see their new relationship risking when Bandit (Christopher Atkins) cousin is honey music bootlegs. Confusing, the second film, entitled Bandit Bandit, “then features an imposter bandit played by Gerard Christopher. (Since these films were sold under the title of “Bandit,” the film is technically called “Bandit: Bandit Bandit.”) After that comes the third Fflic, “Beauty and the Bandit,” who starred Supermodel Kathy Ireland as a woman on a gangster fluid played by Tony Curtis. Finally, the fourth film, “Bandit’s Silver Angel,” starred Traci Lords as the Eponymous Angel, with Donald O’Connor playing the elderly uncle of Bandit.
Like the films that inspired them, the “bandit” TV movies are very strange. At the same time, 1990s television writing insisted that these things have real stories, so the films are relatively powerful and structured, at least in terms of writing. They are certainly a better sight than “Smokey and the Bandit Part 3,” anyway.
These days, “Smokey and the Bandit,” unlike “Star Wars,” does not have annual celebrations, girl collectors’ cults, or enclosures at -lein all picks his separate conspiracies. But it was very popular from 1977 who lived on for a very long time. Give him some respect.
