The Gumball Rally

Posted on 11 oktober 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Charles Bail
Written by: Charles Bail, Leon Capetanos
Cast: Michael Sarrazin, Norman Burton, Gary Busey, Raul Julia

Year / Country: 1976, USA
Running Time: 102 mins.

In the seventies, the classic ‘Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash Run’ took place. One long run from New York to Los Angeles, organized by Brock Yates who later wrote a movie script about it. This became The Cannonball Run, a 1981 comedy starring Burt Reynolds. Two films about this race preceded it; Cannonball! and The Gumball Rally, both released in 1976.

This movie is the best of the three. It beats The Cannonball Run because it lacks the corny jokes. It is actually pretty funny at times and features some great characters. Most memorable are Gary Busey as a crazy mechanic and Raul Julia as the overly romantic Italian driver Franco. There are female drivers as well. One of them is a young Susan Flannery AKA Stephanie Forrester from The Bold and the Beautiful. Yes, really!

Besides the effective use of humor, the driving action beats that of Cannonball!, because you get an actual sense of high speed. Especially during a spectacular sequence in New York, where the race begins and in which the contestants drive through the city with at least 100 miles per hour. All the drivers use amazing cars, including a Cobra, Ferrari, Porsche, Dodge, Rolls, Mercedes, Bentley and Camaro. One guy, Lapchick the Mad Hungarian, even drives a Kawasaki bike. An awesome sight for racing fans as this movie is to the fans of this movie genre.

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Biography: Charles Bail AKA Chuck Bail (1935 – 2020) has an impressive show business career that spanned from the fifties up until the nineties. He basically did everything from performing to directing and being a stunt coordinator. He started his career as stuntman and guest star on many famous western shows. After that, he directed episodes for famous television series such as Knight Rider and Dragnet. He also directed several films, such as the blaxploitation classic Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. Bail is currently retired and lives in Texas.

Filmography: Black Samson (1974, short), Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975), The Gumball Rally (1976), CHiPs (1981-83, TV episodes), Manimal (1983, TV episodes), Knight Rider (1985/86, TV episodes), Choke Canyon (1986), Dragnet (1989-91, TV episodes), Adam 12 (1990/91, TV episodes), Baywatch Nights (995/96, TV episodes), Street Corner justice (1996)

The Cannonball Run

Posted on 31 augustus 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Hal Needham
Written by: Brock Yates
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett

Year / Country: 1981, USA
Running Time: 95 mins.

Stuntman / director Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds were box office gold back in the late seventies / early eighties. The first two Smokey and the Bandit films, made in 1977 and 1980, had been a gigantic success. Now the time had come to make their Citizen Kane.

The screenplay for The Cannonball Run was written by car magazine journalist Brock Yates, who organized the real Cannonball Run in 1971. The story of this cross country race was the subject of two earlier racing films: The Gumball Rally and Cannonball!, both released in 1976.

The has-been racer J.J. McClure (Reynolds) and his counterpart Captain Chaos (DeLuise) participate in the Cannonball Run, a race from Connecticut to California (the record is 36 hours). They drive a Dodge Tradesman Ambulance and to appear legitimate in order to fool law enforcement, they take along Doctor Van Helsing and the attractive fake patient Pamela Glover (Farrah Fawcett), for whom J.J. has a thing.

The usual silliness ensues involving Reynolds’ team and many colorful competitors. Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin are dressed up as priests and Roger Moore plays a guy who thinks he is… Roger Moore. He participates in the race with James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, installed with the usual gadgets. Then there is also Jackie Chan, a couple of sheiks and a brief performance by Peter Fonda reprising his Easy Rider character. These supporting parts are often funny and the best thing about this film.

There is also action and stunt work to enjoy as you might expect from Needham. In a pretty hilarious scene in the beginning, Reynolds and DeLuise land an airplane in a shopping street to buy some beer. Another example is a massive brawl in which Jackie Chan demonstrates his martial arts abilities. So is this indeed Needham’s Citizen Kane? In some way: yes. Although the slapstick elements are flawed and Reynolds and especially DeLuise have some corny humor at times, the overall tone is right and there is plenty to enjoy. Don’t expect anything too subtle though.

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Biography: Hal Needham (1931 – 2013) served in the Korean war before becoming a stuntman. His break came in 1957 with TV western Have Gun – Will Travel as stunt double for Richard Boone. In the sixties he became a top stuntman working on western hit movies such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won and Donovan’s Reef. In his long career, Needham also worked on many TV-shows including Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Black Saddle. In the seventies he became stunt coordinator on several Burt Reynolds movies. He made his debut as a director in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit. It became a massive hit. Throughout the next two decades he made many follow-ups and similar films usually starring Reynolds. In the nineties, his work consisted mostly of TV projects including four Bandit TV films.

Filmography: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Villain (1979), Death Car on the Freeway (1979, TV), Stunts Unlimited (1980, TV), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), The Stockers (1981, TV), The Stockers (1981, TV), Megaforce (1982), Stroker Ace (1983), Cannonball Run II (1984), Rad (1986), Body Slam (1986), B.L. Stryker (1990, TV episode), Bandit: Bandit Goes Country (1994, TV), Bandit: Bandit Bandit (1994, TV), Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit (1994, TV), Bandit: Bandit’s Silver Angel (1994, TV), Street Luge (1996), Hard Time: Hostage Hotel (1999, TV)

Smokey and the Bandit II

Posted on 15 juni 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Hal Needham
Written by: Michael Kane, Jerry Belson, Brock Yates
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, Sally Field

Year / Country: 1980, USA
Running Time: 96 mins.

After the box-office smash hit Smokey and the Bandit, director and stunt expert Hal Needham got a much higher budget to create the next instalment. The result is another silly trucking comedy, once again featuring Burt Reynolds as the cowboyish trucker Bandit and Jackie Gleason as the clownish law enforcer Smokey. Sally Field also returns as Bandit’s love interest Carrie and Jerry Reed is back as his partner Snowman. The only real new addition to the cast is the annoying Dom DeLuise.

The makers didn’t bother to come up with a new plot. Bandit and Snowman have to move a package from Miami to Texas. For this job they get 400.000 dollars. Carrie, like in the first movie, wants to marry Smokey’s son, but leaves the ceremony at the last minute to join Bandit and Snowman on their trip. The package turns out to be an elephant and Smokey once again initiates a major pursuit. When the travelling makes the elephant ill, it places our heroes in an ethical dilemma.

The lack of an original screenplay is compensated with lots of humour (the love/hate type) and impressive stunt work. Needham really shows his craftsmanship as a talented stunt coordinator. We get to see a collapsing rollercoaster, many car stunts and a spectacular police chase towards the end. The density of ‘innocent’ jokes is high, with some better than others. For those who like this sort of thing, Smokey and the Bandit II is a likable film with notable chemistry between the leads. About as cheery as the country songs on the soundtrack.

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Biography: Hal Needham (1931, Memphis, Tennessee) served in the Korean war before becoming a stuntman. His break came in 1957 with TV western Have Gun – Will Travel as a stunt double for Richard Boone. In the sixties he became a top stuntman working on western hit movies such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won and Donovan’s Reef. In his long career, Needham also worked on many TV-shows including Gunsmoke, Rawhide and Black Saddle. He was also stunt double for Clint Walker, Burt Reynolds and others. In the seventies he became stunt coordinator on several Burt Reynolds films including White Lightning, The Longest Yard and Gator. He made his debut as a director in 1977 with Smokey and the Bandit. It became a massive hit. Throughout the next two decades he made many follow-ups and similar films usually starring Reynolds. In the nineties, his work consisted mostly of TV projects including four Bandit TV films.

Filmography: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Villain (1979), Death Car on the Freeway (1979, TV), Stunts Unlimited (1980, TV), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), The Stockers (1981, TV), The Stockers (1981, TV), Megaforce (1982), Stroker Ace (1983), Cannonball Run II (1984), Rad (1986), Body Slam (1986), B.L. Stryker (1990, TV episode), Bandit: Bandit Goes Country (1994, TV), Bandit: Bandit Bandit (1994, TV), Bandit: Beauty and the Bandit (1994, TV), Bandit: Bandit’s Silver Angel (1994, TV), Street Luge (1996), Hard Time: Hostage Hotel (1999, TV)

Smokey and the Bandit

Posted on 19 mei 2008 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Hal Needham
Written by: James Lee Barrett, Charles Shyer, Alan Mandel
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason

Year / Country: 1977, USA
Running Time: 96 mins.

Trucking comedy Smokey and the Bandit was originally conceived as a B-movie, but became more of a mainstream project when Burt Reynolds got involved. Upon release it was a huge box office hit (second highest grossing movie after Star Wars in 1977). Nowadays, the comedy elements are pretty much outdated, but for nostalgic reasons it can still be a guilty pleasure.

The movie’s director, Hal Needham, was a professional stuntman at that time and not a filmmaker. He came up with the story and showed a script draft to Reynolds, for whom he had been a stunt double on various movies such as The Longest Yard and Gator. Reynolds agreed to do it and thereby replaced Jerry Reed who had originally been cast as the Bandit. Reed was cast instead as Bandit’s friend Snowman and would later play Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3.

The plot of this movie is anorexic. Bandit is a cowboy truck driver who accepts the job to haul a truckload of Coors beer to a car race in Georgia. This was considered bootlegging at the time and pretty soon, the Bandit is pursued by Sheriff Buford T. Justice aka Smokey (Jackie Gleeson). He also picks up hitchhiker Carrie (Sally Field), a runaway bride from Smokey’s son Junior. A cross-country pursuit begins that doesn’t end until the credits roll.

As a racing film, it is a little disappointing. There are decent stunts surely, but from a professional like Needham I had expected more innovation. Oh well, this is mostly just a pleasant reminder of the good ol’ days. Though it’s unlikely to attract many viewers from a younger generation I would still recommend it to anyone who likes to go through a time machine. The humour of this film has long been reinvented but is still infectious enough to put a smile on one’s face. The cartoonish characters also add to the fun factor.

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