Road Rage: The 45th Anniversary of "Smokey and the Bandit"

By Michael Lyons 

"The film I had the most fun on was Smokey and the Bandit," - Burt Reynolds in a 2015 interview.

That fun had by Reynolds seems to be reflected by everyone involved in Smokey and the Bandit, and audiences who have watched it enjoyed it and become fans in the forty-five years since it was released.

The story is simple, a hotshot, local legend driver, named Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds in his most iconic role) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed, as the perfect, amiable sidekick) accept a bet from a rich father-and-son Big Enos and Little Enos (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams).

Bandit and Snowman must drive from Atlanta to Texarkana and back again in 28 hours to bring back 400 cases of Coors beer (at the time, transporting Coors east of the Mississippi was still considered bootlegging and was illegal).

While en route, the two pick up a runaway bride named Carrie (Sally Field, who was so great with Reynolds, it's no wonder they had chemistry on screen and off) in Bandit's sleek, black Trans Am. They are all pursued by Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason, in a role that became as iconic for him as Bandit did for Reynolds).  Along with Justice is his dim-witted son, Junior (a hysterical Mike Henry).

All of this is directed by Hal Needham, a veteran stuntman who made his debut with this film and brought his skills to the proceedings.  After all these years, the speeding, chasing, and destructive automobile choreography is still a marvel to watch.

Smokey and the Bandit is easy to take as a warm summer afternoon.  It hit squarely upon the CB craze of the time but also hits squarely with its laughs, thanks to its stars.

Reynolds has never been more charming, with his trademark smirk and high-pitched laugh.  This film was at the height of his box-office ascension, and it's easy to see what audiences responded to.  Field proves to be the perfect contrast: an outsider bemused by all that's going on as the world speeds by.

And Gleason created one of the most memorable characters of the decade and, many say, in comedy history.  Sheriff Justice also brought with him endlessly quotable, profanity-laden lines ("You someb****!" "I'm gonna bar-b-q your a** in molasses!" and "What we have here is a total lack of respect for the law!").

Initially, Needham's movie had a modest budget and generated little interest until Reynolds signed on.  With a script that was constantly being revised, most of the scenes in the final film were improvised.  This included a now-famous meet-up between Justice and the Bandit at a diner (the "Diablo Sandwich" that Justice orders here has become such a curiosity among fans that recipes have surfaced online).

Released on May 19, 1977 (at Radio City Music Hall!), this low-budget, mostly improvised car chase movie made $126 million in the states, coming in as the second highest-grossing film of the year - behind Star Wars!

The popularity of Smokey and the Bandit inspired several copycats, such as the film Convoy (1978) and TV's The Dukes of Hazzard.  

It was a moment in time that was short-lived, and even by the time the sequel Smokey and the Bandit II hit theaters in 1980 (and definitely by the time the strange Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 came along in 1983), the car chase/car crash comedy seemed to be fading as a genre.

But, Smokey and the Bandit still stands out as an immensely enjoyable and, as Reynolds said, fun film

As the film celebrates its 45th anniversary this summer, it's always an entertaining ride for audiences to hop in Bandit's Trans-Am with Sheriff justice in high-speed pursuit!

Sources: Cheatsheet.com

My book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

For more of my articles, head over to my web site, Words From Lyons

Rerun Relief: Looking Back on "Summer Replacement Shows"

Tony Orlando & Dawn

By Michael Lyons

Another TV season is coming to a close.  However, it seems as if the TV season never ends in our current world.  Streaming now brings an endless supply of new shows, even during what was once considered the barren wasteland for television networks: summer.

At one time, the major networks looked upon the summer season of beaches, pools, bar-b-ques, and vacations as a time when people were not sitting at home and watching tv; instead, reruns ruled the schedule, and the networks regrouped for the new TV season in the fall.

However, a tactic became so popular among the three major networks - ABC, NBC, and CBS, that there was even a term for it: "The Summer Replacement Show."

These were new shows that would be produced specifically for the short two-three month stint of summer, in place of reruns, to try and coax audiences back in front of their TV screens.

What follows are just some of these "summer replacements," some famous, some forgotten and some now just a "misty water-colored memory" of the "lazy, hazy, crazy" summer TV days of the past.

 

The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show (ABC, Summer, 1972)

Ah, the era of a variety show! Berry, The F-Troop star, got the chance to showcase his singing and dancing talents with his variety show, which came with a very '70s name, look, feel, and overall time-capsule-like tone of the decade.

In addition to comedy sketches, Berry's show also featured several famous guest stars, including Carol Burnett, Phyllis Diller, and George Burns.  Also, the show provided a career kick-off for regulars Teri Garr, Cheryl Ladd, and Carl Gottlieb, who would go on to a career as a screenwriter, penning such films as Jaws (!) as well as a young comedian named Steve Martin.

 

The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour (ABC, Summer 1973)

When comedy teams were popular came this duo, a favorite on variety shows, who were given a chance at their own variety show during the summer of '73.

Jack Burns, with his deep voice and "slick" tone, and Avery Schreiber, with his wild hair and physical comedy, were a good match, and they had great chemistry together in sketches.  They would also end the summer in "grand style," co-hosting the "Preview Show" for the line up ABC's offerings on Saturday mornings.

Burns and Schreiber would eventually go their separate ways. Schreiber went on to star in several TV shows and movies, including Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and became well known for a number of years as the spokesperson for Doritos.  

Burns transitioned behind the camera, entertaining a new generation as he became a writer for The Muppet Show and co-wrote the script for The Muppet Movie. 

Tony Orlando and Dawn (CBS, Summer, 1974)

The group responsible for hit songs like "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" and "Knock Three Times," which seemed to provide the soundtrack for the '70s, were given their own variety show during the summer of 1974.

The show was initially brought in to replace the popular Sonny and Cher Show (which started as a summer replacement show) after that famous couple broke up.  Tony Orlando and Dawn proved so popular that they eventually continued into the regular network schedule beyond the summer and aired for another two years.

 

The Seinfeld Chronicles (NBC, Summer, 1989)

Before it made history as "the show about nothing" and was renamed just Seinfeld,  Jerry had this modest sitcom that debuted quietly in July of 1989.  The first episode starred Seinfeld and Jason Alexander, with Michael Richards as a character named "Kessler," not Kramer.

Julia-Louis Dreyfus would later join the show, making it complete. NBC would temporarily add the show to its regular schedule in May of 1990 and then as a permanent prime time member in 1991.

 

Northern Exposure (CBS, Summer, 1990)

This quirky show about the inhabitants of a small town in Alaska, starring Rob Morrow and Janine Turner, at first, seemed like a more grounded version of Twin Peaks.  It was shuffled into the summer line-up, which helped it find its audience, and it became a popular favorite on CBS and part of the network's regular line-up for five years.

 

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC, Summer, 1999)

Regis Philbin hosted this blockbuster adaptation of the same-titled British game show that became so popular from its initial summer run that it not only joined ABC's regular prime-time line-up but, for some time, it was shown multiple nights during the week.

It also entered our pop culture lexicon ("Is that your final answer?") and has gone on to have new iterations, hosts, and re-boots (including the most recent, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, airing in 2020).

Who Wants to be a Millionaire also kicked off a trend where networks look to produce game shows, and reality shows, as part of their summer line-up.

 

New versions of these types of shows continue during the warm weather months (Family Feud and 100,000 Pyramid will be back this summer), as do other new shows that continue to be introduced during this season.

So, while the term "Summer Replacement Show" isn't used as much anymore, it's safe to say that networks (which now include endless cable and streaming services) have learned their lesson about the summer season.

It's not the barren wasteland once thought, and sunburned viewers may just find themselves watching next fall's biggest hit.

 

 

 

 

"Force'-ful Nostalgia: Remembering the "Summer of 'Star Wars'" 45 years Later

Moviegoers outside the Lowe's Astor Plaza theater in New York City, 

waiting to see Star Wars, in 1977.

 By Michael Lyons

I have a very vivid memory from the summer of 1977.  My family was at the beach (Robert Moses State Park Beach, in Long Island, NY, to be exact), and as I stood knee-deep in the water with my Dad, Uncle and cousins, I remember my Uncle Dennis saying, "Hey, we all went to see this movie Star Wars the other night..."

And as Uncle Dennis proceeded to explain the plot of this movie, detailing the "spaceships" and describing this character called "Chewbacca," my 11-year-old mind was reeling.

I have another very vivid memory from that same summer of 1977.  It's from about a week later when my Dad (just as much a movie fan as I am) took me to the movie theater (The RKO Twin Theatre in Commack, NY, to be exact) to see Star Wars.

And, while I do remember so much from that night, from having to wait in line to see it (something I had never done before) to the adults in line complaining about the price of the ticket ("$4.00 to see one movie?!"), the thing I remember the most is that communal experience of sitting in the jam-packed, air-conditioned theater and watching Star Wars.

The science-fiction-fantasy-unlike any-ever-before-seen story of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Princess Leia going up against the evil Empire unfurled across the screen.

It's one of those moviegoing experiences you never forget.  That indelible opening shot of the Star Destroyer seemingly soaring over our heads onto the screen; this enigmatic villain called Darth Vader terrifying us with every labored breath; a Cantina full of the strangest, most creative creatures I had ever seen since watching Planet of the Apes at home and, of course, finally getting to see what a Chewbacca was.

Most of all, I remember the audience's reactions.  Laughing at jokes that seemed to come at the film's most dangerous times ("One thing’s for sure, we are all going to be a lot thinner!") and applauding at the end of the film as the Death Star disappeared in an explosion that seemed both realistic and fantastic.

I had never been part of an audience like this before.  Most of the movies I went to see up to this point were Disney movies, (re-issues of past animated feature film classics, and live-action Dean Jones outings).  That summer of '77 had seen the debut of a brand-new Disney animated film, The Rescuers, which I had seen just several weeks prior, and loved.

But that, like so many other Disney animated films, was usually an afternoon at the movies, where I was "dropped off" with friends or a parent begrudgingly accompanied. The entire theater was mainly comprised of kids who (to my annoyance, even at a young age) would many times talk during the movie.

With Star Wars, I was in a theater at night with adults, teenagers, and other kids, of all ages.  And as we all laughed, gasped, and applauded, sometimes so loud that we were drowning out the dialogue on screen, we all seemed to be collectively enjoying and experiencing the film together.  

Star Wars newspaper ad from 1977

And, with Star Wars, the whole world seemed to be experiencing the same thing.

The film debuted in fewer than 32 theaters on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, and earned over $2 million through Memorial Day Weekend, a whopper of a box office at the time.

Movies (and specifically summer movie season) changed forever.  Jaws had "turned the tide" two years earlier, and Star Wars sent the movie industry into "hyperspace."  In 1999, film critic Roger Ebert noted, "Star Wars effectively brought to an end the golden era of early-1970s personal filmmaking and focused the industry on big-budget special-effects blockbusters, blasting off a trend we are still living through."

And the "Summer of Star Wars" turned into the fall, Christmas, and school year of Star Wars, as my friends and I sported our iron-on Star Wars T-Shirts, played our Star Wars board game, marveled at our Kenner "Early Bird Certificate," listened to the Meco disco version of John Williams' music, proudly displayed our "Darth Vader Lives" buttons and let Star Wars consume our almost every waking hour.

One of the many pieces of early Star Wars

merchandise from 1977.

My story is not unique.  So many fans have similar stories of the time they were first introduced to Star Wars, whether during the summer of 1977 or one of the sequels, prequels, animated shows, streaming series, theme park attractions, entire theme park lands, and on and on and on.

Celebrating its 45th anniversary this summer, Star Wars has become a more extensive collective experience that has had a staying power no one at the RKO Twin Theater could have predicted on that summer night in 1977.

And, sure, there have been similar, indelible moviegoing experiences since: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and a number of the Marvel films come to mind. 

But none have had the impact that Star Wars had four and a half decades ago.

And, why is that?  A quote from George Lucas seems to sum it up best.  He once said, "... I set out to make a film for a generation growing up without fairy tales."

Well done.  Thank you for the wonderful, vivid memories.

Happy 45th Anniversary, Star Wars.  And, May the Fourth Be With you!

 Sources:

rogerebert.com

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Learn more about my new book Drawn To Greatness

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