The Great Smokey Roadblock (1977)
"The Last of the Cowboys" (original title)

Director:

John Leone

Writer:

John Leone

Stars:

Henry Fonda, Eileen Brennan, Austin Pendleton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Fonda	...	Elegant John Howard
Eileen Brennan	...	Penelope Pearson
Austin Pendleton	...	Guido
Robert Englund	...	Beebo Crozier
Dub Taylor	...	Harley Davidson
John Byner	...	Bobby Apples
Susan Sarandon	...	Ginny
Melanie Mayron	...	Lula
Leigh French	...	Glinda
Mews Small	...	Alice (as Mayra Small)
Daina House	...	Celeste (as Dana House)
Gary Sandy	...	Charlie La Pere
Valerie Curtin	...	Mary Agnes
Johnnie Collins III	...	Jimmy
Bibi Osterwald	...	Annie McCarigle

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | hitchhiker | cancer | prostitution | repossession | 

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Taglines:

You're in for the ride of a lifetime!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1979 (Norway)

Also Known As:

The Great Smokey Roadblock

Filming Locations:

Oroville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Arts Associated, Ingo Preminger Productions, Mar Vista Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Still the One"
(uncredited)
Written by John Hall and Johanna Hall
Performed by Orleans

User Reviews

Strictly drive-in fare

Henry Fonda plays Elegant John, an old trucker who steals back his prized rig in California and takes off with almost no money. His Kenworth tractor has the name Eleanor on it. Elegant John once met Eleanor Roosevelt. He pulls a Fruehauf van with a "sunroof". Why is he called Elegant John? Well, sonny, if you drive five million miles without being late or having a wreck, you deserve to be called Elegant. Elegant John picks up Bible-thumping hitchhiker Beebo Crozier, who is going to Florida to learn motel management. Elegant John stops and gets fuel. Beebo reluctantly pays for fuel. The two stop at a whorehouse for truckers at Cheyenne, Wyoming, a possible homage to Fonda's movie The Cheyenne Social Club. The prostitutes are about to be raided, and the madam hires Elegant John to take them to the coast of South Carolina to start another prostitution business. Thus Elegant John's trip will be coast to coast. They go through Kansas and have a commotion near Springfield, Missouri, with Dub Taylor's character Harley Davidson. After that, there's a truck stop dancing scene to the music of Orleans' "Still the One", which is pop rock in a country sort of way. The movie claims that it's a compliment for a truck driver to be called a cowboy, but I've seen where an out-of-place, amateur, careless truck driver is called a cowboy or a cotton picker. There's a great Smokey roadblock in Georgia to stop them. Will Elegant John's Kenworth plow through a bunch of old Mopars? Will Elegant John live to see the Atlantic Ocean? And what is Beebo going to do with his life, now that it has taken an unexpected turn? This movie is just a hodgepodge of elements thrown together for drive-in fare.