MovieChat Forums > Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983) Discussion > A few theories on Smokey IS The Bandit

A few theories on Smokey IS The Bandit

posted 13 years ago by TheRowdyMan
10 replies | jump to latest

Here are a few theories:

1) The film shot in its entirety then screened for test audiances and was poorly recieved, scraped and re-shot.

This is the commmon theory most of us have heard. However, even though the same gag is used in the released part 3 - it was completely reshot. I'm guessing that the original plot was, as the trailer says, Gleason "becoming" The Bandit in a final attempt to catch him. The Eno Brothers could even be the motivation behind it (betting his badge). Renoylds was not involved in the shooting so I would guess that Justice would have been searching for a Bandit that he couldn't find rather than playing two roles. It's more likely that audiances would have been disapionted in not seeing Renoylds as apposed to confused.

To lend a bit of weight to the Enos being invovled watch this seen and listen for the audio overdub on the line "not that ego manic..." (from 2.53-3.20)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq4wOkkeXPY&feature=related

This scene could have been in the original, however without the whole line, we don't know who Big Enos is refering to.

2) The teaser trailer was shot then filming began on 'Smokey IS The Bandit Part 3'. The Producers didn't like the dailies and pulled the plug. Maybe shooting never even began on that script and the plug was pulled at the eleventh hour (newspaper clippings say shooting began in a weeks time. The photo of Gleason we have seen is just a promotional photo of what could have been.

3) The Eno brothers "fish" bet is there and Gleason "becomes" The Bandit to both win and catch the bandit, with Jerry Reed also as the Bandit to stop him (yeah I know....WTF!?!?!).

"A Squid Eating Dough in a Polyethylene Bag Is Fast and Bulbous, Got Me?"

[–] TopBoost 13 years ago

Interesting. But...

Rewatch the film and pay particular attention to the stuntman driving the T/A in numerous shots. You'll see that he is a clearly Gleason-Sized man, which lends credence to the original idea of at least SOME footage shot with the intent of Gleason driving the T/A in Bandit attire.

Go back and look for that. Campbell and I have conversed on this a couple of times and he agrees. I'd like your input, too.

[–] TheRowdyMan 13 years ago

Another thing I found interesting is when the car jumps through the milk truck, the top of the car comes off and you can't see the fish (granted, it would be obscured by the metal from the trucks tank).

If that shot of the cop car was in the the original then Gleason DID play both roles. However, there is some obvious edit happening in that scene it could have also originaly been the T/A in the scene. . Either way, I think that truck scene was in the original because of the poor overdub and the milk being in the car when they make the call.

"A Squid Eating Dough in a Polyethylene Bag Is Fast and Bulbous, Got Me?"

[–] jasoncampbell05 13 years ago

The scene of Big & Little Enos in the Cadillac with the milk was obviously in the original. Watch closely as they are talking back and forth with each other. When Big Enos starts talking about calling someone the pull a "pan and scan" and focus only on Little Enos and we only hear Big Enos talk about calling the Snowman. There would be no point in only focusing on Little Enos in the part of the scene unless they decided to completely change the dialogue and simply overdubbed the audio. There is no way one wouldn't notice a person lips saying "Bandit" while we hear "Snowman".

[–] Rolling-action 12 years ago

Love to see the scrapped version

[–] PseudoFilmCritic 11 years ago

i wouldn't mind either but i think it is like Day The Clown Cried - they will exist as unreleased films and nothin more. I wish we could hear from people who attended those test screenings and their more specific reactions.

Jerry at the Movies
http://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/

[–] MovieAddict2016 11 years ago

wow, jerry. i remember you from years ago. i think you used to review for the same site that i did, and for the life of me i can't remember what it was even called. all i remember is that you did an indiana jones fan film. i hope you see this message because i'd love to figure out how we know each other.

anyway, i feel like the people who attended screenings are out there...but they're probably all from a demographic who don't really use computers. to begin with, the whole myth surrounding smokey is the bandit isn't very well publicized. it's a cult thing. and the very few people who saw screenings are probably not the ones on computers.

the trailer featuring gleason that leaked recently is the most convincing evidence that smokey is the bandit was indeed a reality.

W.W.G.D.
What Would Gibson Do?

[–] PseudoFilmCritic 11 years ago

Are u from Moviething.com?

Jerry at the Movies
http://jerrysaravia.blogspot.com/

[–] TheRowdyMan 11 years ago

I think we have more of a chance of seeing the outakes of Smokey IS The Bandit than The Day The Clown Cried. :-)

Jerry Lewis has already gone on record recently to say he will never finish the film and release it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD-BYt8KiwA

There's even some footage on YouTube, via an old Flemish TV documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6psROnFAxQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFE1WiIQ6x4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96fv67ak0o

Getting back to Smokey IS The Bandit - if the original footage is still out there, then it could be possible for Universal to release a special edition BluRay. However, the demand for a BluRay like this may not be there.

"A Squid Eating Dough in a Polyethylene Bag Is Fast and Bulbous, Got Me?"

[–] jnoble11 11 years ago

You'll never see the original cut of SATB3 even if it still exists and wasn't tossed in the dumpster behind Universal studios. Never ever. Too bad because I'd sure love to see it as well

[–] TheRowdyMan 10 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu4Ht2opvqY

Check out the end of the Smokey IS The Bandit Part 3 trailer.

Notice that only - Jackie Gleason, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick and Mike Henry are listed as the stars and not Jerry Reed nor Colleen Camp.

"A Squid Eating Dough in a Polyethylene Bag Is Fast and Bulbous, Got Me?"