Fun reaction, man. With regards to the whole Coors / bootlegging thing: They never used to sell Coors in the East because it wasn't pasteurised and contained no preservatives, and it wouldn't keep long enough to ship and sell with refrigeration options available at the time. So bringing it into markets where it wasn't officially sanctioned to be sold constituted bootlegging. This remained the case until about 1986, when Coors started shipping nationwide.
Coors didn't get national distribution until 1986. Which is why, in the 1970s, Coors wasn't actually licensed to sell east of the Mississippi, making it, briefly, a rare and sought-after product.
So glad you enjoyed this movie. Can't tell you just how big this movie was back in the day. Everybody wanted a black Trans-Am, but more than that, everybody (and I mean everybody) bought a CB Radio. I must have seen this movie at least 5 times when it was in the theaters. No VHS or DVD's back then. It is so fun to be in a theater watching a movie you love, and everyone has memorized and can recite every line. Good times.
@@jamesfischer2427 Had one in my '73 Javelin. CBs are still useful today for truckers or anyone else who does a lot of highway driving. I still have one.
I remember everybody had a CB Radio I think my late parents did they had handels I think my late big brother had one but me and my big sister didn't I always wanted one.
VHS wasn't common, but they were around. Movie tapes ran around $100 each back then. That's how blockbuster and other video stores were so big. I remember having Superman, Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball run. Then the local video store opened up and we got to rent a movie each week.
I was 12 when my Pop took me to see this. I thought it was the coolest GD thing I'd ever seen. And you're right. By the following spring (1978) literally everybody had a CB. It was astonishing.
The trucker with the dog is Jerry Reed, a country singer and he did the songs himself. If you ever saw The Waterboy with Adam Sandler, Jerry is in that one as well.
He had a lot of great songs, and was regarded as one of the best guitarists in country music. Also one of the nicest guys in the business. He had a variety show on TV for a while, too.
"For the good old American life: For the money, for the glory, and for the fun... mostly for the money." Fun Fact: The second-highest grossing movie released in 1977, after Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Justice For All Fact: A majority of the lines and quotes spoken by Jackie Gleason's character, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, were improvised. Jackie Gleason said that his cafe' scene with Burt Reynolds was not in the original story; it was Gleason's idea. Buford T. Justice was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Burt Reynolds' father who was once Chief of Police of Jupiter, Florida. Music Enthusiast Fact: Hal Needham asked Jerry Reed to write a theme song for the film. A couple of hours later, Reed presented what would become East Bound And Down (1977) to Needham. With an acoustic guitar, Reed started to play it and Needham immediately stopped him. Thinking Needham didn't like it, Reed offered to re-write the song. To which Needham replied: "If you change one note, I'll kill you!" and the song went on to become one of Reed's biggest hits. Beer Enthusiast Fact: Coors Beer was actually never illegal to transport east of the Mississippi, but due to the location of the Coors bottling plant in Colorado it was very difficult to get out of the Rocky Mountains so it was very hard to get into places East of Texas. The Coors Brewing Co. did not have any authorized distributors east of the Mississippi River because the beer was unpasteurized and the company could not be sure it would not spoil if it was transported too far. So the company just didn't sell it eastward, until refrigeration and transportation technology improved. Automobile Enthusiast Fact: On the DVD documentary, Burt Reynolds says that a senior executive at Pontiac promised him a free Trans-Am if the movie became a hit. It did and the 1977 T-Top Trans-Am became one of the hottest selling cars of the year. When the movie became a hit, Reynolds expected the executive to come through with his promise. But the Trans-Am never came. After a few months, Reynolds, (who was afraid of looking like one of those pretentious stars looking for freebies), finally called Pontiac. As it turned out, the executive that made the promise had retired and the new executive refused to keep the promise that was made by the previous Pontiac Trans Am executive.
Sally Fields started in the 60s; on a TV show based off the movie series, Gidget. She later was lead on The Flying Nun; then did a TV movie for the book of Sybil. This was her big breakout movie role; for which she and Reynolds would go on to do 2 more movies together. She won the Oscar for her role in Norma Rae, and again for Place of the Heart, some 5 years later. She is a well known, and well beloved actress, for whom I grew up watching.
Jackie Gleason did such a fantastic job with his character that he made you hate even the thought of him. You were so judgmental of Sheriff Justice from beginning to end. Masterfully done Mr. Gleason. ✌🏼😎🇺🇸
The great one, Jackie Gleason played the Texas Sheriff and he was supposed to be funny. People loved Buford T. Justice. He's in the 2 sequels as well. But this one did the best. Beating out Saturday Night Fever and finishing just behind Star Wars at the box office that year.
I had a girl friend back in the 80`s named Nora. She had a black trans-am just like the one in this movie. She let me drive it. That car was fast as hell! I remember her telling me to put the hammer down. That car launched and was easy to drive at 150 miles per hour. I was afraid to push it any further. I dated her for about two months. She was hot!! She took a new job down state so I lost her and I miss her a lot! She was a great woman! I will never forget her or that amazing car she had! She was a tiger and so was her car! 400 horse power is something you don`t forget just like the lovin she put on me! It was so fun! She was wild! I miss her! Now these cars go for hundreds of thousands of dollars to collectors. I am so glad I got to drive one. It is a bad mofo!!!!
fun fact: Jackie Gleason originally did not want to cuss in this film but wanted to be strict but goofy Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds convinced him otherwise saying it would be funnier if he did. fun fact 2: the biker cop played Enos in the Dukes of Hazzard tv show
1. Goof 1: Empty beer cases at the Texarkana storage place. 2. Thanks to this movie CB sales skyrocketed. 3. This is not the TV edited version with the language severely overdubbed. 4. Jackie Gleason absolutely kills in this movie. 😇 5. "He (Fred) didn't wait 30 minutes" 🤣 6. In 1977 in most States It was against the law to inform of police activity. Especially right in front of the officer. 7. High School boys all over the country had a crush on Sally Field.😍😋 8. Not too many people do this one so THANKS😁 9. "My dog didn't bite you mister. Fred, absolutely don't like grease." 10. "Hold on to your ass Fred." I still use that. 11. There are two more but not as good. 12. Three Trans-Am cars were used. Not including the stunt cars. 13. It's a shame you didn't care much for this thing. JK😏
Trucking Beer can be bootlegging even in todays world. If you do not have a permit. But at the time of the movie apparently Coors was not pasteurized so that’s why it was banned in the east.
The way the law reads in Texas if an officer is in high speed pursuit as long as he can see the person he is chasing he can go out of his jurisdiction but as soon as he loses sight of the person he is chasing he must go home.
39:00 - The 1978 movie "Convoy", based on the 1976 song of the same name, is also about ONE (bully) cop who just can't let go. Then escalating a single minor show-down against his ego, into a FULL-SCALE vendetta involving hundreds of law enforcement people against hundreds of truckers.
Things back then were more defined. If you like something that meant you agreed with their policies. Elton is gay and was flamboyant. Cowboy's were into being men and they considered that to be too frilly.
The Longest Yard, with Adam Sandler, that had Burt Reynolds in the movie, was a recast of the original The Longest Yard, with Burt Reynolds as the lead quarterback and a prisoner.
I believe the restriction on Coors beer in particular had to do with the way it was produced. It was cold filtered and NOT pasteurized so it was illegal to transport it over certain distance as that was deemed a public health hazard...
The truck driver called Snowman is Jerry Reed who sings the main song of this movie. Here he is singing East Bound and Down. Loved that movie. Great reaction. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8QAEmCuBnck.html Roy Rogers (who was a well-known country western cowboy (married to Dale Evans) did not star in Smokey and the Bandit, but he was in it. He was the driver of the yellow car hauler that took the door of Sheriff Justice's car. Roy hollered "Bonsai" when he hit the door. He sang with Dale in the song Happy Trails ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oG_fSoYFWLA.html
The CB radio was the first internet. We need to keep that in case the system goes down! We the people need a private communications link. Keep the CB link going!
But if all the cops weren't chasing bandit, if he hadn't been there, they would have been sitting there when the truck came flying through. So it wasn't so much about him getting them away from the truck as much as him getting there attention and never paying attention to the truck
Bootlegging (or smuggling) is the crime of transporting alcoholic beverages across state lines without federal permits At that time, the federal government wouldn't issue permits to transport alcohol more than a few states away. Because Coors beer is only made in Colorado, the federal government wouldn't issue permits to transport it easy of Texas.
the sequel wasn't as good, but the scene with Sheriff Justice and his brothers makes it worth the price of admission. Also, that time when Jackie Gleeson crashed Burt Reynolds' gala in character as Sheriff Justice, gave a speech without acknowledging Burt (who was laughing himself silly), and walked out.
This movie was filmed entirely in Georgia. There are two different lyrics for East and West Bound an Down. And that was 400 empty cases of Coors because it was illegal to have Coors in Atlanta.
theres no suspicion because he stayed off the interstates where there are weigh stations that ask questions. They are taking US Highways with no scalehouses. Ive done it myself from New Orleans, LA to Asheville, NC. While other truckers were getting inspected up on I-40, I was right below them on US 23 shouting on my CB how good it is to be on an US Hwy where they cant see Im overweight by 4000 lbs. lol
Coors east of the Mississippi, before I think it was 1984, was bootlegging. Beer back then was 3% in the eastern US. Coors was almost 6%. You never saw Coors in the eastern US because of that fact. The day it was made legal I bought it day 1. Still drink it today. I rarely drink now but when I do its Coors. Movie was made in 1976 and released in '77 so yeah it was illegal then.
P.S. It was so cute what you said about Sally Field. Indeed, in her younger years, she was cute as a dickens. And indeed had (has?) a "nice ass". If you've not seen it, check her out in her appearances on ER. It was absolutely astonishing. 29:47 And keep in mind, Carrol O'Connor was also considered for this role. Could you imagine? Archie Bunker as Sheriff Justice? Man, such a tough call. He would have been brilliant. And well, you talked over the last line, "Who's gonna hold your hat?" but overall it was great fun watching this with you! Bonus points for the Padres cap.
This was really popular in its time. Great movie and still holds up mostly. This movie borrowed heavily from Vanishing Point which came out 6 years earlier. That had a very different tone (60's counterculture) but was a great car chase movie. Def worth watching.
In many ways, this movie mirrors the 1976 song "Convoy", especially in regards to Trucking, Police & CBs. Then in 1978 the movie "Convoy" came out, who's story line loosely follows the song.
Love the San Diego Padres hat !! This movie sets up Smokey & the Bandit II. And Smokey & the Bandit part 3....Jerry Reed a his dog Fred were in no.3 also.
"Smokey" or a "Bear" usually only referred to State Police or the Highway Patrol (because if the hats). County Police were "County Mounties" while City Police were "City Kitty's".
This movie was made before you were born. People back in the day had spines and weren't as easily offended like the crybabies today. This was comedy and ppl of every race and creed laughed at it. You best not watch Blazing Saddles.
back then coors beer wasnt sold in the east and its illeagle to take alcohol from one state to another without your driving for a company with the right permits and even in ky where i was raised to have more than three cases of beer for each person in your car its concidered boot legging and it was dry counties from Lexington ky all the way to tennessee going north to south
but about 8 years ago its all been voted wet so now you wont get into trouble having alcohol as you go down the road as long as none is open and you dont have to much
Very fun reaction. Can never see enough of this movie. Really glad you enjoyed it as much as you did. Here's a bit of trivia that I think a lot of people miss. This movie takes place in the same cinematic universe as The Walking Dead. There's an episode where you can clearly see the abandoned big rig on the side of the road.
Happy you enjoyed this movie one of my all time favorites. This movie almost beat out Star Wars for the Most Popular Movie in '77. OMG You missed so many points, expressions where do I start.? Well back in the 1970s US had strict laws about what alcohol could be transported where and taking Coors beer East of Texas was illegal. Police have full jurisdiction authority once in "Pursuit" of a criminal to any state they go. In the South it is common to have long high speed pursuits even to this day. Jackie Gleason who played bumbling Sheriff Justice was a popular comedian in the 50's and 60's. This movie brought back his popularity. Your generation doesnt know about CB radios but they become popular all over after this movie. Now they still popular among truckers. You can buy a portable one and talk to everyone, get directions, suggestions on hotels, places to eat if your making a long road trip. Pontiac only gave the movie 2 trans Amms and after all the stunts they just barely finished the movie with one working. Tran Amms sales then took off. This movie became a classic and had big influence on "Southern Culture" Since you're a canuck it's hard for you to understand This is also the classic example of why the sequels are not as good as the original. They made 2 sequels to this movie but dont bother with them, they are junk. The actor Jerry Reed, who played Cletis was the musician who composed East bound and down. He is also a country singer. Oh Burt Reynolds father was a long time Chief of Police of a town in Florida
True but not like after the movie. Remember you had to have an FCC license? The couldn't keep up with license applications so ended up dropping the requirement@@ZavaXavier
it was bootlegging. that beer was not allowed east of the rockies basically, or Texas. thats how medieval the laws were back then. You had to be there. Im a former trucker. I could spend hours on educating you about that career.
Doesn't Sheriff Justice and Junior remind you of another idiotic father and son who think they can go wherever and do whatever? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
let it go--such a millennial attitude. lmao. son, we are the great Generation X and we dont let sh1t like that go..some of your fellow generational fellows found that out the hard way mouthing off in bars where Gen X set them strait--to the ER
