Greenlight 1:64 1980 Pontiac Trans Am - Smokey & The Bandit 11

Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The film was the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham.

The film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers, as they attempt to drive from Atlanta to Texarkana, pick up 400 cases of Coors beer, and illegally transport it back to Atlanta in 28 hours or less. While Snow drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement and keep the attention off Snow. During their run, they are relentlessly pursued by Buford T. Justice (Gleason), a blusterous Texas county sheriff.

Smokey and the Bandit was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, second only to Star Wars, the first film in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Wealthy Texan Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos seek a trucker willing to bootleg Coors beer to Georgia for their refreshment; Big Enos has sponsored a racer in Atlanta's Southern Classic and wants to celebrate in style when he wins. They find local legend Bo "Bandit" Darville at a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta and offer him $80,000 to pick up 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest place it could be legally sold at that time), and bring it back to Atlanta in 28 hours. Bandit takes the bet and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought on an advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo.

They arrive in Texarkana an hour ahead of schedule, load the truck and head back toward Atlanta. Immediately upon starting the second leg of the run, Bandit is stopped by a runaway bride named Carrie who hitches a ride, but in so doing Bandit becomes a target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a career Texas lawman whose son Junior was to have been Carrie's bridegroom. Ignoring his own jurisdiction, Sheriff Justice, with dimwitted Junior in tow, pursues Bandit all the way to Georgia to get Carrie back. As they chase Bandit, various mishaps cause their cruiser to disintegrate around them.

Bandit's antics attract more attention from police throughout Dixie while Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer, but they are helped along the way by many colorful characters via CB radio. Neither Sheriff Justice nor any other officials know of Snowman's illegal manifest, while Bandit is likewise unaware that Sheriff Justice is pursuing him because of Carrie. Moments after crossing back into Georgia, Snowman is narrowly rescued by Bandit after being stopped by a motorcycle patrolman, and the chase intensifies when state and local police escalate their pursuit of Bandit with more cruisers, roadblocks, and even a police helicopter to track his movements.

Discouraged by the unexpected mounting attention, and with just four miles to go, Bandit is about to give up, but Snowman refuses to listen and takes the lead, smashing through the police roadblock at the fairgrounds' main entrance. They make it back during the race with only ten minutes left, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a 'double-or-nothing' offer from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. They quickly escape in one of Big Enos' thirteen Cadillacs as the police flood the racetrack. They pass Sheriff Justice's badly damaged police car by the side of the road. Over the radio, Bandit first directs Justice to Big and Little Enos, but then, out of respect, reveals his true location and invites Justice to give chase, leaving Junior behind with his car falling apart even more as the end credits roll.