The Cannonball Run (1981)

Director:

Hal Needham

Writer:

Brock Yates (written by)

Release Date:

19 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

You'll root for them all...but you'll never guess who wins.

Plot:

A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country car race.

Plot Keywords:

Race | Car | Cross Country | Racer | Motorcycle

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Burt Reynolds	...	J.J. McClure
Roger Moore	...	Seymour Goldfarb, Jr.
Farrah Fawcett	...	Pamela Glover
Dom DeLuise	...	Victor Prinzim / Captain Chaos
Dean Martin	...	Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Morris Fenderbaum
Jack Elam	...	Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Marcie Thatcher, Lamborghini Babe #1
Terry Bradshaw	...	Terry
Jackie Chan	...	Jackie Chan, Subaru Driver
Bert Convy	...	Bradford Compton
Jamie Farr	...	The Sheik
Peter Fonda	...	Chief Biker
George Furth	...	Arthur J. Foyt
Michael Hui	...	Subaru Engineer

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Hong Kong

Language:

English | Cantonese | Japanese | Arabic

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1982) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

King Harbor, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Trivia:

The short sequence in the beginning of the film which involves two animated cars wrecking the 20th Century Fox logo was created by Hal Needham, who did a similar one for another studio when releasing Smokey and the Bandit (1977). At first, Fox didn't appreciate the notion of wrecking their logo, but soon found it would be appealing to audiences if it were left in.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the man on the motorbike races through the bar he has no helmet, then in the next shot he has a helmet on.

Quotes:

Mr. Foyt: Terrorists my dimpled ass! These people make terrorists look like the Sisters of Charity! These guys are Cannonballers!
Pamela Glover: What is that? A bowling team?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Indestructible Man (#5.9)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Cannonball

What a pile-up....

If you're looking for a movie loaded with cars, crashes, 1/8th of the Rat Pack, Adrienne Barbeau's best assets... oh yeah, and Burt Reynolds, look no further than "The Cannonball Run".

It was a hit back in 1981 and no wonder: Burt was on top of his game and we were all young and naive back then. Heck, I have a warm spot for all the rampant stupidity, myself.

All the better that Roger Moore plays a deft parody of his own James Bond persona, complete with an Aston Martin.

If you've seen this film way back when, no doubt you remember it with some fondness. Let's face it: it may not have been on par with films like "The Gumball Rally" or even "Death Race 2000", but in its own way and on its own terms, it works just fine.

A word of sage advice: if you watch this film, skip "Cannonball Run 2". It'll only ruin your good memories of the first. And if you didn't like the original, well....

Five stars. Plus one star extra for adding Jackie Chan for what adds up to mostly as a cameo as a karate-kicking racer. And a half star more for Adrienne Barbeau's fancy work with a jump suit zipper. Altogether, six and a half stars.

Wish she would have made it a seven.