Written by / 9/21/2022 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , , ,

BURT REYNOLDS DRIVING HAL NEEDHAM'S 'THE CANNONBALL RUN'

Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN Year: 1981 Rating: ****1/2

After SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, director Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds had the car chase comedy down — actually more of a romantic adventure with humor derived from the situation effecting the characters... wherein THE CANNONBALL RUN is more of an intentional slapdash smashup where laughs happen at every turn (somewhat like the game-changing blockbuster AIRPLANE sans the genre-parody aspect)... 

Fully-loaded with an all-star cast ranging from Roger Moore pretending to be a guy pretending to be Moore as James Bond... to a Kung Fu fighting/biker-brawling Jackie Chan, an Arab Sheikh, two hot-rod hotties and...

Dom DeLuise and Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN

Well it would take the entire review to comment on all the wacky racers, but it's primarily Burt in the lead with tubby sidekick Dom DeLuise vs Rat Packers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr as worthy rivals in the titular big-money competition... based on a real cross-country CANNONBALL by screenwriter Brock Peters... an illegal race where the rules are there are no rules and the real trick is avoiding cops... 

Who aren't the primary obstacle like automobile-loathing, busily uptight environmentalist George Furth, initially teamed with gorgeous hippie Farrah Fawcett... who winds up with Burt, Dom and the funniest character in mad scientist Jack Elam, an enigmatic doctor for their ambulance-driving ruse to work: making director/stuntman Hal Needham's real task for every character (and their strategic cars) to matter.

Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Director cameo of Hal Needham in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Mel Tillis in THE CANNONBALL RUN with Terry Bradshaw
Farrah Fawcett in THE CANNONBALL RUN with George Furth
Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN with Rick Aviles
Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Farrah Fawcett in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Farrah Fawcett in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Roger Moore in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Jack Elam in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN with Farrah Fawcett
Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Farrah Fawcett in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Roger Moore in THE CANNONBALL RUN with stuntwoman Simone Burton
Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Peter Fonda, Bob Tessier and Bert Convy in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Jackie Chan in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Burt Reynolds in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Roger Moore and Lois Hamilton in THE CANNONBALL RUN
Vickie Reigle in THE CANNONBALL RUN
George Furth in THE CANNONBALL RUN

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

GARY LOCKWOOD PROTESTS 'R.P.M.' STARRING ANTHONY QUINN

Gary Lockwood in R.P.M. Year: 1970 Rating: **1/2 A year after Gary Lockwood was slightly too old to play a hapless hippie about to go to Vie...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "Give a girl a pair of shoes, and she walks out on you." Michael Greer in Willard Huyck's Messiah of Evil

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE