History Film / SmokeyAndTheBandit

* EpicRace

* GreasySpoon: references to the "Choke-and-puke".

* LemmingCops

** Snowman's rig, in one film, is pulling a trailer with a large custom-painted mural on the side, which is very out of place for someone ostensibly trying to blend in with the hundreds of other 18 wheelers on the highway hauling plain white trailers or ones with less-conspicuous industrial graphics.

* MsFanservice: Carrie.
* NoodleIncident:

* SweetHomeAlabama
* TakeTheWheel: Lampshaded; it turns out to be harder to do this than it looks. Also a ThisIsReality moment as Bandit comments that it's easier in the movies.

-->'''Junior:''' When I put bullets in it, daddy, it gets too heavy.

* MassOhCrap
* RuleOfCool
-->Tackle that car.

* LastDisrespects: An inconveniently-placed funeral procession gets Sheriff Justice so annoyed, he wished they'd have burned the stiff already so that he could go ahead and nab Bandit then and there.

The plot revolves around truck driver Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds), who is offered $80,000 to bootleg four hundred cases of Coors beer from [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texarkana, Texas]] to the Southern Classic truck rodeo in Georgia within 28 hours. The Bandit recruits fellow trucker Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed) to make the journey with him, with the Bandit's [[CoolCar Pontiac Firebird Trans Am]] acting as a spotter for Snowman's rig. On the journey back, the Bandit picks up a RunawayBride named Carrie (Field), making him the target of the jilted groom's father, [[CorruptHick Sheriff Buford T. Justice]] (Gleason). {{Hilarity|Ensues}} and a chase across the South ensue.

* Deep South: However Buford T. Justice is the only southern Stereotype and he's not supposed to be taken seriously. Likewise he's the only character in the entire movie who displays any racism so it's taken in the same manner many characters in Blazing Saddles are viewed. The rest of the movie is actually quite progressive. Notice that several black characters interact with white characters in a manner that would've been unthinkable, possibly even illegal, just a few years before. There's also an Asian and woman trucker who are portrayed as being very competent and aren't stereotypes in any way. Finally Sally Field's character chooses not to enter a loveless marriage and quickly becomes a very useful member of the team. None of this is portrayed in a preachy manner.

* AndNowForSomeoneDifferent: This film is told from Buford's point of view unlike the past films.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Burt Reynolds' character is so widely associated with driving the fancy Trans Am featured in this film and the ones that followed that the early scenes in this first movie showing him actually ''driving a big rig'' feel downright strange.

''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, starring Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/SallyField, Jackie Gleason, and country singer Jerry Reed (who also sang the franchise's theme song, "East Bound and Down"). It is the TropeCodifier of the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative "Moonshiner on the run from Corrupt Hick cops"]] movie (even though, technically, moonshine had nothing to do with the plot of the films).

* SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond: The city gas station attendant who puts the Bandit on his list of assholes. He puts the Bandit in the top two.

%%* RammingAlwaysWorks: Snowman near the end to save The Bandit.

* SupportingLeader: Bandit is essentially a ''professional'' leader, even if he's the main character.

* WorthyOpponent: Buford and the Bandit both admit a mutual respect for the other's tenacity at the end over the CB.

** In the second film, the cruiser gets folded nearly in half, but is still somewhat driveable.
** In the third film, the cruiser's body is completely destroyed, leaving Buford to drive a bare frame on four wheels, with Junior holding the light bar over their heads.

** Little Enos tries to bait Bandit into accepting the dare by hinting he's too cowardly to take up the challenge. An amused bandit asks Little Enos why he doesn't insult his mother while he's at it. Little Enos replies, "Your mama's so ugly..." before Big Enos cuts him off.

''Smokey'' was the second highest-grossing movie of 1977, beaten to the #1 spot by ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'', and established Burt Reynolds as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the late '70s and early '80s. Two sequels were made, ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' in 1980 and ''Smokey and the Bandit Part 3'' ([[AbsenteeActor sans Reynolds and Field]]) in 1983. They did not end up doing as well in competition with the respective ''Star Wars'' films at the box office. In 1994, a grand total of four made-for-TV ''Bandit'' movies based upon the original trilogy were produced. They were subsequently released in a box set along with the original three, likely surprising many fans unaware of their existence.

-->'''Buford:''' No one makes a fool out of Buford T. Justice!

** In the third film. the cruiser's body is completely destroyed, leaving Buford to drive a bare frame on four wheels, with Junior holding the light bar over their heads.

* BeyondTheImpossible: Buford's police car continues despite becoming a chassis on wheels.

* StockFootage: The opening showcases a few minutes of the first two films. It also has the same clip of [[RuleOfThree the Bandit laughing]].

* StockFootage: The opening showcases a few minutes of it. It also has the same clip of [[RuleOfThree the Bandit laughing]].