I am from Texas and I will never understand how Jackie Gleason nailed this character this perfectly.

Jerry Reed was a legendary guitar player and singer. He wrote all the music for this movie and plays Snowman. Another fun fact: Jackie Gleason(Buford T Justice) would sometimes drink whiskey before his takes, and he improvised almost half of his lines. 😂

" A bit of a cult following" understatement of the millennium.

Seeing this at a Southern drive-in theatre in the summer in the '70s was the most Southern-ass thing I ever did.

This movie came out at the peak of the CB craze. And sales of Trans Ams shot through the roof after the success of this flick. In a behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD of this movie, Burt Reynolds said that actor Billy Bob Thornton told him that in the South, Smokey and the Bandit is considered a documentary. That's a fun description of this comedy classic.

I was 10 years old in 1977 and the two biggest things in my life that year were Star Wars and Smokey and the Bandit…I saw both numerous times in the theater.👍

21:48 The Bandit yelling “Don’t hit the kids!” was Burt Reynolds actually yelling that for real. The grass was wet when they filmed the scene and the car slid around more than expected. The parents were literally scared but the kids had a blast. The 70’s were a little more lax with safety. What a time.

The car is a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am (technically a 1976 with a 1977 front end since the 1977 models weren't quite ready when they started filming the movie). It looks pretty mean but by 1977 it only had 200 horsepower from its 6.6 liter engine. The engine sound in the movie is actually from an entirely different car, a 1955 Chevrolet hotrod.

The hat worn by Jerry Reed (Snowman) is from Caterpillar Tractor Equipment Co. Back then those hats were extremely hard to find and the only way to get them was if you either were working for the company or you knew someone. At that time those hats were worn a lot by long distance truckers who were delivering their equipment and stuff. My dad worked for the company for 40 years and he used to give me free hats all the time. One time I took one to show and tell back when I was little around the time when this came out and I had teachers begging me to ask my dad to get them one.

Jackie Gleason (sheriff) was a fixture on American TV for many years on "The Honeymooners". Sally Fields was on a TV show called "The Flying Nun" where her habit included a big floppy hat that enabled her to fly. Jerry Reed (the trucker) was a country singer who did the lead-in song for the movie.

This is my very favorite movie ever, as you can tell by my profile picture. I can recite it word for word from "Is this your rig, son?" to "Daddy, wait! Don't leave me! Who's gonna hold your hat?" This movie is not simply a cult classic, it was a cultural phenomenon. People easily forget that it was the second highest grossing movie of 1977 right behind "Star Wars." The studio didn't believe in it, thinking that it was Burt Reynolds' pet project that would only have appeal to good ol' boys, so it was first put out in limited release in the Deep South as sort of a regional B-movie, and it caught fire so hard, it had a second premiere in New York at Radio City Music Hall, and the rest is history. It sold hundreds of thousands of Firebirds and Trans Ams for Pontiac, it made Coors beer a household name, it gave rise to television shows such as "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "BJ and the Bear." It even inspired the design of the must-have boys' bike of the late seventies, the Huffy Bandit - naturally, I had to have one, and I rode it into the ground. Black and gold livery just like the Bandit's car. The car, by the way, is a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition. They destroyed four of them during filming, the remnants of the last one being used for the bridge jump in the very last scene they filmed. Because of this movie, 1979 was the single best sales year for the Trans Am, Firebird, and Formula models, which all share a body style. There's a yearly car rally called The Bandit Run that's been around for a couple of decades now, in which participants take various Pontiac Firebirds, especially SEs like this one, on a several hundred mile cruise. It didn't take long for some people to start showing up in Kenworth tractor-trailers painted to exactly match the Snowman's rig, and even Pontiac LeMans sedans made into replicas of Sheriff Justice's squad car - some with a roof, some without. By the way, its sister car was the Chevrolet Camaro, and if you remember the car Billy drove in "Stranger Things," it was a Camaro Z28 from the same generation/body style as the car in this movie.

The Sheriff was played by Jackie Gleason who was an extremely famous comedian from the 1950’s. His show was called the Honeymooners

Snowman is Jerry Reed, a country music singer in real life. In fact he's singing the opening song and East Bound And Down. He went on to many acting roles later. Coors Beer was not a nationally sold beer at this time. If you took it east of the Mississippi River its bootlegging. Fun Fact: Nascar began from a gang of drivers called Ridge Runners. Back in prohibition times, bootleggers would hire a Ridge Runner to transport the moonshine. Ridge Runners, each boasting about their car being the best, started racing each other. It evolved into Nascar sometime in the 60s I think. The 1977 Pontiac Trans Am came with an Oldsmobile 403 (6.6L), its the smallest of the big block motors. Check out the sound clips of an old Corvette or Camaro with a 454 under the hood. That'll put some hair on your chest.

A little fun fact for you Kabir: Little Enos is played by legendary songwriter and pianist Paul Williams. You might know him from his song "Rainbow Connection" performed by Kermit The Frog, or "Old Fashioned Love Song", or even his cameo in the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory. He's a legend. Cletus is legendary country musician Jerry Reed, who wrote the theme "Eastbound and Down" for the movie. Bandit being a "blocker" is exactly as you guessed. His entire job is to take an incredibly hotrodded car and distract the police so they aren't paying attention to the rig. US car culture and NASCAR specifically actually arose out of moonshiners and bootleggers customizing cars for liquor transport and outrunning police.

Hey Kabir you really should try The Cannonball Run it's another movie with Burt Reynolds and a lot of other actors like Dom Delouise and Jackie Chan just to name a few

The female lead Sally Field was also Forrest Gump's mom

Soundtrack was all sung by Jerry Reed, who was the Character Cletus. Same guy. Fun fact, Burt Reynolds was a Running Back for the Florida State Seminole College Football team.

Buford T justice is an all-time iconic movie character played by the great Jackie Gleason

Finally! My favorite movie of all time.

Haha, we named our cat Junior because of these movies. Bless his little heart, he's not quite right

"Choke and puke" is CB slang for anyplace you can grab cheap fast food. (Keep in mind that this during the era of drive-ins - drive-thrus were still new, few, and far between.) Back in the early 1970s, GM (particularly their Pontiac division) was struggling due to the Oil Crisis; muscle cars were practically dead and people were largely opting for sporty imports like the infamous Datsun 280s. They went all-in on a redesign of the Firebird, the Trans-Am being the 'top of the line' option - T-tops, premium interior, and the optional W72 400 (6.6L) V-8. Despite the car being heavy and the engine limited to 200HP (due to new emissions and economy standards), they managed to squeeze out 325 ftlb of torque. Smokey & the Bandit provided an enormous boost to Firebird sales - Trans-Am in particular. Pontiac only sold 46,313 Firebirds in 1973, 4802 (10%) of them being TAs; they sold 211,453 Firebirds in 1979, with 117,108 (55%) of them being Trans-Ams. (Needless to say, gloss black with the deluxe gold trim was by far the most popular option.) Though Pontiac was a casualty of the 2009 Clinton Housing Crash, it would have died three decades earlier had it not been for the popularity of this movie.

Coors beer was not pasteurized, so it had to be kept chilled until it was consumed. Coors could only verify this in its regional area. And because Coors was not marketed in the East, there was no provision for collecting state alcohol taxes on shipments of Coors beer.

Just so you know, the guy that’s driving the truck his name is snowman in the movie, but his real name is Jerry Reed and he’s the one that sang and recorded this whole soundtrack for this movie. He was a famous country singer and an awesome guitar player.

Burt Reynolds grew up and lived most of his life in Palm Beach County Florida and is a definite legend here and everywhere.

Jackie Gleason was a comic genius. He made that movie!

"Smokey" is trucker slang for police. The CB radio was the internet before the internet which is why everyone knew who Bandit is. The actress who plays Frog is the legendary Sally Field. A "choke and puke" is a truck stop or roadside dinner.

That was a 1977 Pontiac Firebird the Bandit was driving, in 1976 Pontiac sold 20,613 Firebirds. The movie was released in 1977. Pontiac sold 155,735 Firebirds, more than 7.5 times more in 1977. Pontiac sold 187,274 Firebirds in 1978, more than 9 times more than in 1976. Pontiac sold many cars off this movie and their product placement in this film. Today 1977 Pontiac Firebirds with no connection to this movie are worth around $100,000, and one with a connection to this movie sold for over $500,000. Jackie Gleason was a comedian TV Star known as the “Great One” and really had fun throwing curse words around in this movie as Sheriff Justice. Little Enos was Paul Williams known as a hit songwriter. Amongst his hit tunes was the Muppets classic “Rainbow Connection”. Iceman was Jerry Reed who sang and wrote some Country songs, including those in this movie. Sally Field was the runaway bridesmaid and has won an Oscar for performance in other movies. Amongst her last movies she played Forrest Grump’s mom.

I love this flick. I'm glad you did it. At one point in time Burt Reynolds was the biggest star in the world.

Reynolds was a stunt man before becoming an actor. Many of his early movies featured him doing stunts for his own characters. Dar Robinson - one of the greatest stuntmen, ever, said it was a joy to work with Burt. There was little Burt had to be shown, twice. There are many times, in 'the bandit' Burt is doing the driving at 110 miles per hour, or faster. Most actors have stunt doubles for driving beyond the speed limit.

CB radios in cars really became popular after this movie.

So many people on the radio knew who he was, in large part because this drama was taking place over the CB (Citizen's Band) radio they were talking on. *Wildly* popular in the '70s, CB radios were as ubiquitous as car AM radios and motorists of all kinds kept in touch with one another, swapped road conditions, traffic reports, "smokey reports" and so on. Thanks for reviewing this, it brought back many fond memories.

The police are "Smokey" in CB lingo because their hats look like the ranger hat that Smokey the Bear wears.

This movie was huge when it came out in 1977. I was 15 years old then and saw it twice. I was so much a fan of the movie that my dad bought me a 1972 Firebird for my first car just a few months later 6 months before turning 16. I'm still a big fan today and even own a 1977 Bandit Trans Am. Glad you enjoyed the movie.🤠

Fun movie. 😂😂😂😂😂 You made this a british movie and had everyone drive on the wrong side didn't you. 😂😂😂😂😂

My sister and I watched this movie back when it was first released, solely because Jackie Gleason looked exactly like our dad. We laughed harder because he also nailed his calm, cool demeanor 😂

The guy who played Sheriff Justice improvised most of his lines

Ah hell yeah, this movie is a classic! Jerry Reed, Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason (RIP to those three legends), I love this movie and I can quote a lot of lines. The 2nd is good but not as good as the 1st one. The 3rd is the one we don't talk about. 3rd one was not Smokey and the Bandit at all because Burt Reynolds was working on another movie and he was supposed to get hit with a prop chair but he got hit by a real one and broke his jaw. So they made Jerry Reed the Bandit in the 3rd one but it did make me laugh a few times.

Greatings from South Carolina! Every young boy in the 80s had to have a Black Trans am matchbox car. I had one as well as the General Lee( Dukes of Hazzard) spent many hours outside hiding from the smokeys! Keep the hits coming! For another fun Burt Renalds movie check him out with Dolly Parton in The Best Little W**rehouse in Texas. Great musical comedy.

Fun fact... Burt Reynolds was a football player, then a stuntman, then an actor. Stunts were insane back then!

The soundtrack is written and sung by Jerry Reed... Who also plays Cletus aka Snowman in the movie :)

remember going to the theater to see this laughing for days after 😜 Jackie Gleason and the T.P. 😂 other funny movies to watch would be "Any Which Way But Loose" and/or "Any Which Way You Can" and/or "Cannonball Run"

The running gag with that cop car and the damage it takes. Love this movie. Fast and Furious in the 1970s.

The songs in this movie is the guy drivin the truck. Jerry Reed, was a country singer and actor

I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and this movie was filmed just south of Atlanta metro in 1976. Much of the south side of Atlanta still looks like this! But this movie is beloved by us Georgians.

The guy laying down is a professional country singer. He also sings the theme song to the movie.

Jerry Reed's " Eastbound and Down" will never get old!!!!

My family & I were living just 2 miles from Snowmans house {no longer there} when the movie was filmed the summer of '76 & I got to see a lot of the filming! The whole movie was filmed around north Georgia & never left the state! Burt actually lived near Covington {just east of Atlanta} when this was made & we moved to Covington in 1977 {also home of the original Dukes of Hazzard 1978} & thats where he also filmed his famous plane landing on the Covington Square to get beer in Cannonball Run 1981 {KZfaq video Cannonball Plane} & I was one of the folks getting out of the way as the plane starts to take off! Burt filmed a lot of his movies in Georgia such as Deliverance 1972, Longest Yard 1974, Gator 1976 & Sharkey's Machine 1981! It was a great time to grow up then & to be a Georgia boy GO DAWGS ✌💖☮

FUN FACT: the Snowman is playing all that music in the background(Jerry Reed).

I was in the Army stationed at Ft. Clayton, Panama and we didn't have cable in the company day room and only got the armed forces channel and they showed this movies like 10 times over the space of a few days and the soldiers absolutely loved it. I must have seen this movie 4 or 5 times and boy did I also love it and laughed my butt off. Plus people my age loved Sally Field from Gidget and the Flying Nun and we all loved Burt Reynolds who was a big movie star back then. :) . Oh my army enlistment was completed, I went through college ROTC received a degree and Officer's commission and when I finally came back in the army as an officer, a new 2LT and my first car was a brand new that year Trans AM. I guess this movie made an impression on a young soldier!

The guy driving the truck is Jerry Reed, the same guy singing the songs.

And you need to see the third sequel too! All three movies are up your alley.

Truck stops and some small eating places are called choke and pukes because they arent known for the best or freshest food. Especially during a time when refrigerated trailers were just being added.

"I Didn't Even Know There Was A Place Called Texarkana" There certainly is, it sits on the dividing lines of Texas and Arkansas, hence the name

The Sheriff was played by Jackie Gleason, one of the most famous actor/comedians in the US in the 50s and 60s. Sally Field was Burt Reynolds girlfriend at the time they made this movie.

There used to be quite a large road culture in the US , which this movie depicts quite comically. Generally, you can and could depend on truckers to be law abiding and responsible, but there was a tendency to drive to the extremes of endurance to meet bonus deadlines.

900 miles a day is a walk in the park once you are used to it. I unfortunately had a student refuse to drive on one trip. It was a high value load for Bose 3.5 million. I had to drive from Tucson Arizona to Savanna Georgia then back to Tolleson az, a suburb of phoenix. Did it non-stop and was 4,900 miles roughly. It almost destroyed me mentally. Just being so physically tired.

Little Enos was Paul Williams a very famous song writer, he wrote a few of the Carpenters best songs *We've only just Begun* and *Rainy Days and Mondays* he wrote *Evergreen* sung by Barbra Streisand and *Old Fashioned Love Song* sung by Three Dog Night, and a lot more songs, even the *Rainbow Connection* for the Muppet Movie. Then Cletus was played by Jerry Reed, a very famous singer, he sung most of the songs in this movie.

The car is a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, if you were still wondering. It had a 400 cu in(6.6 L) engine. That's why it sounds great.

Was a young person with a southern father…..we traveled with a CB all the time back then (my grandparents lived states away) this is still a LOVE to watch movie! ( choke and puke….rest stop with food) Rip Jerry and Burt and Jackie!!!!! Totally a cult following! Will sing the songs when I’m traveling east….or west across the US! And those times were when speed limits were 55 mph….easy to beat now. And Coors is all over the US now……lol😅…..WATCH Cannonball Run!!!!!!!!!! And you can watch the 2nd and 3rd…..but only because you are honoring the 1st

The car he drives in the movie.. is the BEAUTIFUL 1977 Pontiac Trans Am.

Fred was selected by Burt because at the auditions he wouldn’t do anything he was told. If no one has said it yet Tex-Arkana is a town on the Texas Arkansas border. Burt and Sally were one of the greatest Hollywood love stories that never really went anywhere. In later years in interviews they both regretted not pursuing it more to see what came of it. Jerry Reed did a lot of music in his career but the truck driving songs were some of most popular. One of the ones my dad liked to listen to was a song called “Caffeine, Nicotine, Benzedrine and Wish Me Luck.” That laugh that Burt had was almost a trademark of his that everyone recognized and loved. This was made back in the day when you could go to the drive in for a double header of escapism on a weekend night. Not all movies were great epics but you could usually find one that would entertain you if you wanted it.

Back then you couldn't get coors, of course now you can😊the truck driver is Jerry Reed. A country western star. That's his song, the title song. Texarkana is half Arkansas half Texas. I know, I live in Arkansa! The bride is Sally fields. But and Sally dated in real life! A 1977 Pontiac Trans am. Do you recognize frog? She played Forrest gump's mother!

the guy that played the short son is a song writer . paul williams wrote old fashion love song by 3 dog night , we ve only just begun and rainy days by the carpenters , evergreen by barbra streisand and many many more .

Those were the days Kabir. Those cars back then we're as fun to drive as they looked.

Fun Fact... Snowman is Jerry Reed and happened to be heavily involved in the Soundtrack... And I love how 110 = 65...

P.S., The Trans Am was basically an overgrown Hot Wheels toy, and man, did they sell a LOT of those the two years after this movie. I was 12 when my Pop took me to see it and dude, it was a sight to behold on the big screen. I still watch it at least once every couple months. I've got every word memorised. Pity those who watch with me.

Police cars are usually equipped with extreme heavy duty engine cooling systems. They can travel at high speed for long periods of time without the engine overheating. Makes them great at outlasting speeders.

"That car" is a 1979 Black and Gold Trans Am. Me and all my friends wanted one back then.

Yes, the term "blocker" is from American football. When you have a player running doen thr field with the ball, he has teammates running alongside to prevent him from getting tackled.

The Snowman is played by Country Music Legend Jerry Reed and he's the one who sings the songs aslo the Role of Sheriff Buford T Justice was played by Comedy Legend Jackie Gleason

I'm so excited about this if you haven't washed Blues Brothers I absolutely insist that you watch all of the Smoky movies and all of the Blues Brothers hours of fun entertainment you will absolutely love them all... JEFF was HERE 👇🏆

This was the movie that got Sally Field recognized as a movie actress which led to her 2 Academy Award Wins. The CB radio was invented in 1948 and was used by truckers up until cell phones came out, it was a real fad for a while the US in the late 70's. A lot of the language was CB slang that truck drivers spoke to each other, although some of the slang words started during the 1970's fad. ,

Jerry Reed is the one singing though the whole movie. And the one driving the truck.

Jerry Reed songs can't help but make you smile. Check out "Lord Mr Ford", "Amos Moses", "She got the goldmine I got the shaft", "The Tupelo Mississippi Flash". There is a a great big rabbit hole for anyone who enjoyed the soundtrack to get lost down.

Absolute favorite movie of all time, I know the ins and outs of so many of the details, and because of that it is truly entertaining seeing someone watch it for the first time

A met Burt at Bubba fest in pigeon forge Tennessee in 2018. He was feeling sick and died a few weeks later. This is a true classic.

We watched that movie of all the time Jerry Reed's biggest country hit "Eastbound and Down" is a thrilled hit We sang along of this song and it was the only country hit of 70's country music and we sang that song Many times My favorite scene is where Buford T justice is getting a Diablo Sandwich and a Dr Pepper: Buford: Let me have a Diablo Sandwich and a Dr Pepper and make it fast I'm in a Goddamn Hurry Buford: you want something Junior: Hush puppies Daddy Buford: We got no time for that crap".

"They're Gonna Do It Again?" For double of what they were getting for the beer

Fun fact: this premiered the same weekend as Star Wars and beat it for #1 at the box office that week!

"I Love That Car, What Car Is That??" That's a 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am/Firebird

Jerry Reed (the Snowman) is driving the truck and sings the songs. Burt Reynolds was dating Sally Fields when this was made, that's how she got the part. The car is a trans am. Jackie Gleason is the sheriff. Another good movie from that time frame was Convoy with Kris Kristofferson. The other movies in the series suck.

That is the Pontiac Trans Am he's driving. I named my puppy Bandit after this movie. Cars and trucks is every kids obsession in America especially in the mid 70's

Was out on a bike ride earlier today and one of the replicas of the bandit Trans Am was out cruising around. It never ceases to amaze me how slick that car is and I am lucky I get to see it out and about pretty regularly.

The movie "Hooper" is also a really good movie with Burth Reynolds.

My aunt has one of these transams and Ill never forget when she first let me drive it we were following my dad (who was actually in my grand am pulling a trailer of shrubs) she said "back off a bit then move over and blow his doors off" man the power of that car was amazing. then coming back from that same trip we were getting on an on ramp and she said "let it rip" holy cow thats the first time a drove a car where the rear end wanted to take lead. Great memories!

The vehicle used in the film had a 6.6L V8 engine..... A tremendous amount of POWER! Notice the design, it's basicall ALL engine. Long design engine front end, and short rear end...

Hey Kabir, some of what Bandit and Snowman are saying is C.B. Slang, such as a "Choke and Puke" meaning a restaurant and making a reference to a "Beaver" is a reference to a Female Trucker

Coors used to restrict the distribution of its beer to States west of the Mississippi. When I was in college (in Georgia) some of the fraternities would pay to have Coors beer smuggled in, Coors had some sort of mystique due to lack of availability. Supposedly, Coors rationalized its limited distribution to the fact that it was''t pasteurized, so had to be refrigerated. from.the tijme it left the brewery until delivery at the point of sale.

There are still areas that have "Blue Laws". Usually these laws forbid actions or sales of certain items. Usually on Sundays. Most common are laws on liquor sales and consumption. In the 90's a town near me had a gas station that the oil company required them to be open on Sundays. But the town didn't allow sales of gasoline on Sundays.

Burt Reynold's was great in "Deliverance" If you've never seen it ,you should..

The jeans with the flared legs at the bottom were called bell bottoms and they were very popular during the 70's.

Jerry Reed is a country western singer usually funny songs and he's the guy driving the truck

Frog was played by Sally Field. She was most recently in 80 for Brady. The other Smokey and the Bandit Movies are just as fun. The Cannonball Run movies are great also. There is another series of movies called Any Which Way But Loose & Any Which Way You Can that star Clint Eastwood that are hilarious from the late 70s/early 80s.

The motorcycle cop ("Evil Kneivil ") was portrayed by an actor named Sonny Shroyer, who also portrayed Alabama coach Bear Bryant in Forrest Gump.

Smokey usually means a police officer or a state trooper or a sheriff.

There was a man that used to race NASCAR in the late 60’s, then became a chassis builder in Atlanta in the 70’s. His name is E J Trivette, and he did quite a bit of work for the racecars my dad and I had over the years. He was VERY good at what he did, and built cars for several movies including this one. He had all sorts of pictures from this movie on the walls of his shop. The scene where Frog (Sally Fields) is driving the car on the football field was very nearly a tragedy. The stunt driver for some reason drove much faster and much closer to the kids than she was supposed to. You can see at the end, right before they drive through the wall, there is a little cheerleader who nearly gets hit. Somehow, she turned around and ran the other way at the last second. There’s a video on KZfaq of Burt explaining what happened, although he called it a baseball game for some reason.

1 and 2 are in my top 10 all time favorite movies

Oh,yeah..everybody had a CB (citizens band) radio in their car in the late 70s..it could get very interesting sometimes..it was kinda the cell phone of its day, the only way that one could communicate from a car.

East bound and down!! Love this

My brother had a (re-paint) Canary Yellow 455-SD (Super Duty) in the early-mid-seventies, one of 200-and-change built; my father, A black 455-HO (High Output). When they got on it , those were some fun races! Both were serious cars, but that SD was one of the fastest, torque-iest monsters put out in their time. This movie made the Trans Am a cemented in time icon of that era; especially in those gas embargo weakling excuses for cars, after the horsepower wars of the sixties. Looking out over the full hood Eagle decal (nicknamed The Screaming Chicken) , seeing the ram air shaker scoop open up; and hearing the rumble turn to a high pitched growl when my brother got on it, damn! You were seriously thrown back in the seat, and me at just 14 yrs old? Man, I was All That leaving the school parking lot! Damn...those were the days!