Happy Throwback Thursday! Today we’re throwing it back to 1977. One of the year’s biggest movies was Smokey and the Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, and Jerry Reed. It was the first movie directed by Hal Needham, one of the top stuntmen of the 60s. Needham regularly doubled for Burt Reynolds, and at one time lived in his guesthouse for the better part of 12 years!
The movie’s plot was based on a real problem with Coors Banquet Beer. In the late 70s, Coors was brewed in Colorado, but because it had no additives or preservatives, it could spoil within a week without refrigeration. It was unavailable for sale east of Texas, and for a brief time was a rare and highly sought-after product. While Needham was in Georgia working as Reynolds’ stunt double in Gator, he realized the Coors beer he kept in his trailer’s refrigerator was disappearing. Eventually, he figured out the maid was stealing 2 bottles a day, and realized that bootlegging Coors would be a good idea for a movie.
He had trouble getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, since he was known in the industry for his stunt work. It only got their attention after Reynolds read the script and agreed to play Bandit. Sally Field accepted the part after her agent told her she needed a big movie role on her resume. Executives at Universal Studios originally resisted casting Field, claiming that she wasn’t attractive enough, but Reynolds insisted on her involvement.
Smokey and the Bandit was a box office hit, making $127 million against a $4.3 million budget, becoming the 2nd highest-grossing film of 1977. After the movie came out, the Pontiac Trans Am became incredibly popular, with sales nearly doubling within 2 years of its release. Among the movie’s fans was Alfred Hitchcock, who claimed it was one of his favorite films.
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