Convoy (1978)

Truckers form a mile long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff...Based on the country song of same title by C.W. McCall.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Bill L. Norton (screen story and screenplay), Bill Fries (song)

Stars:

Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kris Kristofferson	...	Martin 'Rubber Duck' Penwald
Ali MacGraw	...	Melissa
Ernest Borgnine	...	Sheriff Lyle 'Cottonmouth' Wallace
Burt Young	...	Bobby 'Love Machine' 'Pig Pen'
Madge Sinclair	...	Widow Woman
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Spider Mike
Brian Davies	...	Chuck Arnoldi
Seymour Cassel	...	Governer Jerry Haskins
Cassie Yates	...	Violet
Walter Kelley	...	Federal Agent Hamilton
Jackson D. Kane	...	Big Nasty (as J.D. Kane)
Billy Hughes	...	Pack Rat (as Billy E. Hughes)
Whitey Hughes	...	White Rat
Bill Coontz	...	Old Iguana (as Bill Foster)
Tommy J. Huff	...	Lizard Tongue (as Thomas Huff)

Storyline

While driving through the Arizona desert, Albuquerque based independent trucker Martin Penwald - who goes by the handle "Rubber Duck" - along with his fellow truckers "Pig Pen" and "Spider Mike", are entrapped by unscrupulous Sheriff Lyle "Cottonmouth" Wallace using a key tool of the trucker's trade, the citizens' band (CB) radio. Rubber Duck and Cottonmouth have a long, antagonistic history. When this encounter later escalates into a more physical one as Cottonmouth threatens Spider Mike, a man who just wants to get home to his pregnant wife, Rubber Duck and other the truckers involved, including Spider Mike, Pig Pen and "Widow Woman", go on the run, figuring the best thing to do being to head to New Mexico to avoid prosecution. Along for the ride is Melissa, a beautiful photographer who just wanted a ride to the airport. As news of what happened spreads over the CB airwaves, other truckers join their convoy as a show of support. Cottonmouth rallies other law enforcement officers ...

---

Plot Keywords:

trucker | convoy | cb radio | truck | sheriff | 

---

Taglines:

Kristofferson and MacGraw...ain't nothin' gonna get in their way!

---

Genres:

Action | Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1978 (UK)

Also Known As:

Konvoj

Filming Locations:

Estancia, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 5,007,045 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The four leading actors all appeared in previous Sam Peckinpah films: Kris Kristofferson (Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia ), Ali MacGraw (The Getaway), Ernest Borgnine (The Wild Bunch), and Burt Young (The Killer Elite).

---

Goofs

When the truck is being shot up on the bridge, the left headlight is shot twice.

---

Quotes

Big Nasty: [On the CB] Hallelujah! Looks like we've got some long-haired friends of Jesus back there.

---

Crazy Credits

During the final credits, clips from the movie are played. These include a few brief shots which don't appear in the final film (such as the final clip of the couple in the antique car). The clips also *roughly* follow the film backwards (the first few clips are from the end of the film, and they progress back to the beginning).

---

Connections

Spoofed in The Simpsons (1991)

---

Soundtracks

"Southern Nights"
Allen Toussaint, Composer
Warner-Tamerline Publishing Corp.
Marsaint Music, Inc. BMI
Performed by Glen Campbell

User Reviews

Truckin'

Honestly, what can be said about a film entirely based on a country song? This is the first film by the late, great Sam Peckinpah I've seen, and I must say, despite this apparently being him at his worst, I'm intrigued enough to watch more of his works. I guess that's solid proof that he knew what he was doing... even while making this. The film is basically a large group of truckers forming a convoy, in support to one of them who is to be arrested. They drive around in a long line of trucks, in said support. Odd way to show it, in my personal opinion, but to each his own. The camera caresses the trucks, in many shots, much like it does in Woo's film with the guns. Despite my limited knowledge of the culture of trucking and my neutral stance on fast cars(I rarely enjoy car-chases... The Blues Brothers is the exception that confirms the rule), I enjoyed parts of this movie. There's a bar-fight near the beginning with some slow-motion shots oddly blended in with the real-time footage. I don't know if this is typical to Peckinpah's style. This is largely a guy's movie. There's a camera angle focusing on the female lead's crotch within the first few minutes. The plot is driven by trucks, and pretty much everyone seen driving one of said trucks is what is commonly referred to as a "man's man", or one who's "macho". The film is nicely shot, some very good cinematography. The plot is, to my understanding, basically the lyrics of the country song of the same name written into a screenplay, with few, if any, alterations. That makes it quite predictable, but it's still fairly enjoyable. The direction is good. The acting is somewhat dim, though MacGraw and Kristofferson manage to hold their own. The pacing seemed pretty bad, but I'm not into this kind of film, so that may be at fault. I recommend this to fans of Peckinpah, Kristofferson and possibly MacGraw. 5/10