Smokey and the Bandit

Revealing mistake: In a scene where Frog is riding with the Bandit, she's resting her head on the center gearshift console. Although they're supposed to be cruising down the road, the automatic transmission shifter is in neutral.

Revealing mistake: In the scene where the Trans Am is hiding among the truck convoy, you can see that the vehicles are all on the wrong side of the highway, as if to let the camera vehicle travel on the normal side of the highway. Notice the missing westbound lanes in the background as the vehicles are pointing directly to the viewer's right...then the lanes are back when the vehicles are shown from the front or rear.

Revealing mistake: When Frog makes her "We're going 110." comment, they then show a close-up of the dash-board. Even though the speedometer does show them to be going 110 (albeit km/hr, not miles), the ignition key is in the 'off' position, and the 'amp' gauge shows '0'. This is a clear indication that the engine was not actually running during this shot. (00:21:00)

Revealing mistake: In the chase scene with the cop taking a "10-100," the patrol car loses control and goes backwards into a lake. But if you look closely as it plunges in, you can see the backup lights lit, which is impossible if the car was in drive.

Revealing mistake: When Frog says "We're going 110" she's misreading the speedometer. It shows that they're going 110 kilometers/hr, which is 68 miles/hr. Also, the ignition is turned off and the oil pressure and temperature gauges read far lower than they would if the car was actually going 68mph. There's also far too much dust on the dash and gauges for a brand new car that hasn't been on any dirt roads yet. (00:21:00)

Patrick Clark

Revealing mistake: Just after the once local police officer has rolled his car, it shows another police car on the highway. This police car then does a hard turn left. When he does, you can see skid marks from previous takes in the exact spot that he turns.

Ssiscool

Revealing mistake: If you look closely at the pen tip when Snowman is writing the note to Coors to send the bill to Big Enos Burdett, you can see that it is not in the writing position, it is clicked shut. (00:15:57)

Revealing mistake: Buford catches the Captain in the trailer, and instructs Junior to take the cuffs off - if you look closely, the cuffs were already undone.

Revealing mistake: When Smokey jumps the ramp into the football field, there are no tyre tracks. When Sheriff Justice drives up to the ramp, there are tracks that stop short of the ramp. Obviously from previous takes.

Ssiscool

Continuity mistake: When the Bandit first pulls over and picks up Sally Field, then he screeches off, if you look at the road you can see all the skid marks from all of the other takes of this scene, even down to the bit where the van pulls out of the junction and the bandit does his thing and then suddenly speeds off.

More mistakes in Smokey and the Bandit

Buford T. Justice: What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.

More quotes from Smokey and the Bandit

Trivia: Jackie Gleason's character is Buford T. Justice. This was the name of a real Florida Highway Patrolman known to Burt Reynolds' father who was once Chief of Police of Jupiter, Florida.

More trivia for Smokey and the Bandit

Question: Does anyone know if the Trans AM and the truck used in the film are still around?

Answer: The trailer appeared in a recent episode of "The Walking Dead"

The trailer on the walking dead episode is a replica it's not the original one used in the movie as the one in TWD is a standard low slung with air baffles the original one doesn't have those and is also refrigerated.

Answer: The original "Bandit" Trans am no longer exists, but one from the second movie is kept at The Performance Car Museum, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The original "Bandit" Trans Am still exists. Burt Reynolds owned it right up to the time of his passing. It was then auctioned at the Barrett-Jackson auction house in Florida and sold for more then half a million dollars. That Trans AM is now in the hands of a private collector and no doubt very well cared for.

More questions & answers from Smokey and the Bandit

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