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Smokey and the Bandit II
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Smokey and the Bandit II is a film released on August 15, 1980 in the United States, January 1, 1981 in Australia, January 22, 1981 in West Germany, January 30, 1981 in Sweden, February 7, 1981 in Norway, and March 27, 1981 in Finland. It is the sequel to the 1977 film, Smokey and the Bandit.
The film stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and Dom DeLuise. Like the first film, it was directed by Hal Needham.
The film was originally released in the
United Kingdom as
Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again. Early video releases and TV broadcasts also used this title, but in more recent years have reverted back to the original U.S. title.
The film was followed by a sequel three years later, Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, in which Reynolds appeared only in a brief cameo appearance, and Sally Field was absent completely.
The plot centers on Bo "Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds), and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed), transporting an elephant to the GOP National Convention with Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason, in hot pursuit once again.
Contents
- 1 Plot
- 2 Cast
- 3 Trivia
- 4 External links
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Plot
Big Enos Burdett is attempting to be elected as Governor of Texas. Critical to his bid is to take responsibility of transporting a crate of unknown content from Miami to the Republican Party convention in Dallas. He enlists the help of Bandit and Cledus Snow to carry out the task.
The early parts of the film feature Cledus attempting to convince the Bandit to "do it one last time". Unfortunately, in the time since their previous challenge in the original
Smokey and the Bandit film, the Bandit has split from his love-interest "Frog" (
Sally Field) and become an
alcoholic. The Bandit is said to be "the only man in the world to drink up a Trans Am". Cledus seeks the help of Frog to encourage the Bandit to sober up and regain his fitness, since Big Enos has raised the stakes of the game to
$400,000. Frog abandons her second attempt at wedding Buford T. Justice's son Junior to help. She is initially persuaded more by the money than her love for Bandit.
The middle sections of the film feature a madcap race across the United States as the trio once again tries to outrun and outwit Justice and Junior. The team discovers that their cargo is in quarantine for three weeks, and they need to get it to Dallas in three days. When they break into the quarantine area to steal the crate, the mysterious cargo turns out to be an elephant who they named Charlotte after Snowman remarked that she reminded him of his Aunt Charlotte and even smelled like her, too. When Cledus opens the crate containing the elephant, Charlotte races out, nearly trampling Frog. The Bandit saves the day by doing a backflip onto the elephant's back and riding the elephant out of the quarantine shed. Noticing a nail was stuck in her foot, the Bandit removes it from there and the elephant takes a shine to Bandit. On their way to Dallas, they pick up a stranded Italian gynecologist played by Dom DeLuise, who rides in the truck with the elephant. Charlotte is later discovered to be pregnant, and eventually gives birth. The movie closes with Charlotte and her baby being towed away in circus-like chariots, and Buford still pursuing them in a bus.
Cast
Trivia
- Although a box office success, critics and fans alike expressed some displeasure at the fact that the movie did not pick up directly after the first film. While the elephant plot was considered funny and entertaining, moviegoers had been expecting for some time to see the exploits of the Bandit, the Snowman, and Buford T. Justice as they raced to Boston for the clam chowder Enos & Enos wanted.
- A world-record automobile jump was captured on film during the "roundup sequence," when stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker jumped a 1973 Dodge Polara over 150 feet. Hooker suffered compressed vertebra as a result of a hard landing.
