Smokey and the Bandit

Released; 1977

Location; Jonesboro, Georgia, USA.

Would you believe that this was 1977’s second highest grossing movie behind a little known space caper called Star wars?

Originally the story was penned by its director Hal Needham on sheets of A4 paper and when he showed it to his friend Burt Reynolds he said it was the worst script he had ever read but agreed to be in the movie anyway.

With most of the script improvised and the the most basic plot (go and get beer from a long way away in a short time) it really dosnt seem like a candidate for a cinema release but with a cast like Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Reed it was a success by being warm hearted, funny, exciting and clever enough to tap into the CB culture of the time.

This is another movie that I absolutely loved as a kid. I think I picked it from the video club (when they were a rack of tapes in the local petrol station) every weekend to the point I could have bought about three copies for myself from what I was spending to rent it.

We managed to visit the locations in 2017 that are in and around the town of Jonesboro, Georgia and about 1 hour south of Atlanta. With the film having such a low budget they didnt actually drive to Texarcana, Texas which meant I could get round all these key locations in an afternoon.

I hope you enjoy the videos and picture sets below and if you have any connection to the film please get in touch and let me know. 

Then and now gallery

(Click each picture for a bigger image)