MovieChat Forums > Convoy (1978) Discussion > Smokey and the Convoy

Smokey and the Convoy

posted 20 years ago by Mister_Wonky
13 replies | jump to latest

After watching this (again) recently, I was amazed at the many similarities between this and the Smokey and the Bandit movies.

They both mention the Mann Act.
They both have a fight scene in a bar with a CB hooked up that knew they/he was coming.
They both have an overweight, aging sheriff that cusses over the air and has a dimwit sidekick in the car with him.
They both have an anti-hero with facial hair.
They both have a reluctant female who wants to be "just let out" after hitching a ride after a previous failed relationship (that she mentions).
They both have a sheriff that could care less about jurisdiction and calls ahead for assistance, then makes fun when they can't catch him.

Anyone catch more similarities??

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] JeffKaos71 20 years ago

I just finished watching this for the first time and I thought of Smokey & The Bear after maybe 5-10 minutes of watching.

"The 70s& the 80s? I've looked into it Theres a gas shortage & A Flock of Seagulls Thats about it"

[–] bountyhunterseven2000 20 years ago

you mean smokey and the bandit....thats a movie. smokey the bear is the fire prevention mascot...unless you WERE thinking of the bear....and to add further...bj and the bear was a t.v. show.
hope this clears it all up for you.

[–] serroga66 19 years ago

i heard b.j. and the bear is going to be made into a movie! bruckenheimer is using david spade as the monkey.

[–] hitrack 19 years ago

I found Smokey and the Bandit much more entertaining than Convoy. Although IMO Convoy portrays a more serious point of view about truckers and cops.

Fol laughs I say rent Smokey and the Bandit before Convoy.

[–] kiddglock 18 years ago

If you want straight-up laughs, I agree. IMO Convoy is a much better movie than Smokey and the Bandit. Convoy isn't perfect by any means, but I was surprised that such a decent movie could be made by ripping off a hillbilly novelty song. It's in my top 200.

I have come to chew bubblegum and kick asss...and I'm all out of bubblegum.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] neil_gwillim 18 years ago

They both have an overweight, aging sheriff that cusses over the air and has a dimwit sidekick in the car with him.
Who was the sidekick in Convoy, 'cause I have watched it a number of times and I can't see one, the bloke in the helicopter is NOT a sidekick. this film was 1 on 1. Lylye Wallace against Martin Penwold. If you have no knowledge of the film please don't comment on it!!

[–] Mister_Wonky 18 years ago

"[T]his film was 1 on 1." After Sheriff Wallace crashes through the billboard, he is picked up by another cop. Watch about the 37:11 mark. They weren't together long but if you watch, the cop is an idiot. He even grabs the sheriff's arm. If YOU have no knowledge of the film and just want to make personal comments, please don't comment on it!!

[–] neil_gwillim 18 years ago

What, one 5min scene if that, compared to the whole of the bandit films as regards sidekicks, Convoy was a serious film, Bandit was a comedy, big difference, sherrif in convoy was a nasty piece of work in Bandit he was a laugh. and except for that scene in Bandit 2 (how many trucks can you see, look again) can you compare them as regards truckers, 1 snowman 1 truck is NOT a convoy.

[–] Mister_Wonky 18 years ago

I never said there was a convoy in any of the Smokey and the Bandit films. I never compared the length or type of a sidekick. I never said one sheriff was more or less mean than the other. Nor did I say one film was more serious than the other. I think you are taking this way too seriously and are just making things up.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] andy-mp 18 years ago

Slimon9, I can see what Gwillim is saying, though he, as you said, can't string a basic sentence together.

I don't see that Lyle Wallace throughout the entire course of the film, had a 'sidekick', merely a number of assistants, who fell over their own feet and ultimately, didn't contribute toward Wallace's failures.

Smokey & the bandit and Convoy both rate equally in the upper half of my list of favourite films, since they both were 'childhood films', and frankly I can see no wrong in either of them whatsoever. nobody can deny that they are both proven classics, although there are some striking analogies between the two films, since that was a formula that worked at that time, Gumball Rally is another such film, there are others.