Smokey and the Bandit

Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The film was the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham.

The film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers, as they attempt to drive from Atlanta to Texarkana, pick up 400 cases of Coors beer, and illegally transport it back to Atlanta in 28 hours or less. While Snow drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement and keep the attention off Snow. During their run, they are relentlessly pursued by Buford T. Justice (Gleason), a blusterous Texas county sheriff.

Smokey and the Bandit was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Smokey and the Bandit was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, second only to Star Wars, the first film in the original Star Wars trilogy.