ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

Read in Burt's autobiography that one of his deepest regrets & biggest mistakes is that he let Sally get away.

[Bud Brewster]

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I had a crush on Sally way back when she played Gidget on TV. So I can easily sympathize with Burt.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Sally's stepfather was the legendary stuntman Jock Mahoney.

Jock also starred in a number of movies & portrayed Tarzan in several films.

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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While watching Smokey and the Bandit on this cold and rainy day in Charlotte, NC, it occurred to me that someone should make a video of a road trip to the various shooting locations used in this wonderful comedy/adventure from 1977.

Fortunately I discovered that somebody did just that — even though it's not really very well done. There are several other attempts to do the same thing on YouTube — but frankly, they're even worse.

Anyway, here's the best of the bunch. If you love Smokey and the Bandit like I do, you might find some enjoyment from the video below.

_ Smokey And The Bandit (1977) - Filming Locations


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As a consolation prize, here's the third Jerry Reed song which was featured in the movie.

Unfortunately, we only hear about half of it, and even then it's presented in short snippets during the sweet romantic scenes when Burt and Sally briefly hid from the police in wooded area and (apparently) make love.

We know this happened because The Bandit took off his hat . . . something he said he did for only one reason!

Enjoy this sweet tribute which Mr. Reed's song paid to Burt Renold's colorful and legendary character.

__ Smokey and the Bandit - They call you the Bandit


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

"Smokey and the Bandit, Part 3" was originally titled "Smokey IS the Bandit".

Jackie Gleason's Buford T. Justice goes undercover as the Bandit to catch the Bandit. It's suppose to be pretty much the same movie, but with Jerry Reed replacing Gleason as the Bandit.

It seems the test audiences were confused by Gleason playing both parts.

_Very Rare Smokey is the Bandit Trailer Jackie Gleason


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In 2020 John Schneider wrote and directed a remake called Stand On It!], which the IMDB descries as: "A funny and zany tribute to the 1977 cult classic, Smokey and the Bandit."

The movie stars Tim Phillips as the Bandit and pro wrestler/comedian Tirus as Sheriff Cletus T. Necessary.

I haven't seen the movie, so I can't say if it's any good.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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In preparation for tonight's visit to the imaginary theater shown below —



— and our feature film for ASF’S Saturday Night at the Movies (<— link), I did some research into the history of the movie this thread is dedicated to!

I found the article below, which illuminated me concerning the national fascination with Coors beer back in the 1970s.

I was amazed by what I learned!
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How the Bandit, Coors, and a bunch of Beer Makers changed the course of booze history

Maggie Koerth Nov 30, 2010

Last night, while attempting to explain the plot of Smokey and the Bandit to my husband, it occurred to me that I didn't really understand the back story that spawned this — one of my favorite childhood films.

Why did the Bandit and Snowman (and Fred the dog) have "a long way to go and a short time to get there?" After all, there was beer in most parts of Georgia by the 1970s! And even if you were trying to get booze to a dry county, why start in Texas and only give yourself 28 hours?

Thanks to Wikipedia and the very helpful Stephan Zielinski, I discovered the awful truth — Smokey and the Bandit is centered around America's brief love affair with Coors Banquet Beer.

All that work . . . just for Coors?

It's true!

Wikipedia explained that the beer wasn't available East of Oklahoma at that time. But I didn't get the full extent of what was really going on until I read a 1974 Time magazine article sent to me by Zielinski.

If (like me) you didn't begin drinking until the late 1990s, this is going to come as a shock — but once upon a time, Coors was apparently the best that American breweries had to offer!

Consider these examples.

~ Gerald Ford had a case of it tucked away in his luggage when he returned to Washington from a vice-presidential skiing trip to Colorado.

~ President Eisenhower had his own steady supply airlifted to the White House aboard an Air Force plane.

~ Actor Paul Newman refused to be seen drinking any other brand on the screen.

~ And Until a court finally made him stop, Frederick Amon, (when he was 24 years old), used to drive a refrigerated truckload every week from Denver to Charlotte, N.C., where he sold the Coors to restaurants and country clubs for as much as $1 a can — better than triple the retail price of about $1.50 a sixpack!

The object of that foaming frenzy is Coors Banquet Beer, which is brewed from the waters of the 80 springs around Golden, Colorado, 15 miles west of Denver.

Unlike most U.S. beers, Coors contains no preservatives or stabilizers, and it's not pasteurized. If not refrigerated and allowed to get warm, it will spoil in a week! It is probably the only beer that is kept cold from the brewery to the customer. But its lack of additives and its brewing process greatly enhance its taste.

For many connoisseurs, Coors is the Château Haut-Brion of American beers.

Back in those days, there were connoisseurs of Coors, (Y'all let that sink in!)

Besides explaining why the Snowman’s truckload of unpasteurized, preservative-free Coors had to get from Texas to Georgia so damn fast, the Time magazine article also spent a few inches discussing the Coors family's business plan, and its predicted trends in the American beer industry.

Although it's easy to forget with the variety available today — craft beer is a pretty recent thing! From Prohibition through the 1970s, America's breweries were consolidating, and the choices were shrinking.

In 1974, there were only 60 breweries left in America, with most of them making the same style. 660 breweries had gone out of business since 1934. And nobody expected that ever-narrowing path to diverge.

In fact, Mr. Bill Coors told Time there would only be three major breweries left in the United States by 1990!

But his plan was for Coors to be one of them. At the time this article was written, it was clear to everybody that mediocre, watered-down pilsner was the way of the future.

And yet, here I sit — more than 35 years later — with a tall glass of Belgian-style black ale . . . ironically, from Colorado!

I have the Beer Makers to thank for this change of tipsy fortune — people who wanted to make their own beer at home, just because they liked that sort of thing.

They're the ones who got Prohibition-era laws changed, opening up opportunities for bars and small companies to make their own beer in a wide variety of styles. It was slow going.

Places like Kansas didn't legalize brew pubs until the late 1980s. It wasn't until 2009 that the good folks at Free the Hops managed to convince the state of Alabama to legalize beer with an alcohol volume above 6%.

You'd be surprised how much good stuff the old laws banned.

But I have to wonder: How many of those Makers were inspired to brew something amazing when they discovered that "not terrible" was a possibility?

After all, Smokey and the Bandit was one of the most popular movies of 1977. After that, it was no secret that beer could be at least slightly better.

Within three years, brewery consolidation had ground to a halt and begun to reverse. Today, there are more than 1400 breweries in the United States. Even Coors — the third most successful brewer in America — sells a selection of craft beers under different labels.

I don't drink Coors Banquet Beer, but I suspect I owe it a toast or two. Not only the DIY (do-it-yourself) community of brewers — but also that old rascal called The Bandit.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)