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

Writer:

Bill Norton (screen story and screenplay) (as B.W.L. Norton)

Stars:

Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine

2 wins & 1 nomination.

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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

trucker | convoy | sheriff | truck | arizona | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1978 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Konvoj

Filming Locations:

Estancia, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, United Artists Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Norton's original script was a lighthearted action comedy similar to Smokey and the Bandit (1977). He pitched the script to EMI, who offered the script to Sam Peckinpah, then finishing post-production on Cross of Iron (1977). Though dubious about the project's potential, Peckinpah agreed on condition that he had complete control over the film. The studio agreed, and trouble promptly began. Peckinpah immediately started rewriting Norton's script, envisioning it as a modern-day Western with truckers fighting against crooked lawmen and unfair interstate regulations, while also adding heavy-handed political satire.

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Goofs

Spider Mike's afro occasionally changes from a parted afro (which it's supposed to be) to a smooth afro.

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Quotes

Melissa: But they're all following you.
Rubber Duck: [looks at Melissa then road] No, they ain't. I'm just in front of them.

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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).

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Connections

Featured in Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid: One Foot in the Groove (2006)

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Soundtracks

Blanket on the Ground
Composed by Roger Bowling
ATV Music Corp,. BMI
Performed by Billie Jo Spears

User Reviews

Pretty good trucker flick

Convoy is the shallowest of Sam Peckinpah's films, but by no means the worst. It contains some oddball characters and a number of memorable sequences, and alternately funny and thought-provoking dialogue. It also features one of the very best Ernest Borgnine performances that I can remember - not bad for a man who won an Oscar for Marty!

The story traces the fortunes of some truckers, led by "Rubber Duck" (Kris Kristofferson), as they drive through the states of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. They are pursued by the law, and gradually more and more truckers join on at the back of the line until they have literally hundreds of lorries, all roaring along the highways in protest of the prejudicial treatment they receive from the cops.

Kristofferson is supremely enigmatic as the leader of the pack. Ali MacGraw is a bit of a bore as his female companion. As mentioned before, the real star is Borgnine, mean and menacing, funny and cruel as the cop who dedicates his life to victimising truck drivers. For such a shallow film, it looks and sounds beautiful. Even the car chase through the sand is poetic. I can't explain what's good about this picture. It sounds dull and pointless, yet to watch it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Convoy is a contradiction of itself.... plotless, pointless, thinly plotted, and yet still (somehow) a top notch film!