Hooper (1978)

Aging stuntman Sonney Hooper is still on top as one of the best stuntmen in the business. But up and coming Ski is starting to do bigger and better stunts. Hooper has the experience to ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Needham

Writers:

Thomas Rickman (screenplay), Bill Kerby (screenplay),

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	Sonny Hooper
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Ski
Sally Field	...	Gwen
Brian Keith	...	Jocko
John Marley	...	Max Berns
Robert Klein	...	Roger Deal
James Best	...	Cully
Adam West	...	Adam
Alfie Wise	...	Tony
Terry Bradshaw	...	Sherman
Norman Grabowski	...	Hammerhead (as Norm Grabowski)
George Furth	...	Bidwell
Jim Burk	...	Jimbo
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Sheriff (as Don'Red'Barry)
Princess O'Mahoney	...	Wanda

Storyline

Aging stuntman Sonney Hooper is still on top as one of the best stuntmen in the business. But up and coming Ski is starting to do bigger and better stunts. Hooper has the experience to setup a stunt safely, and Ski lacks the common sense to know when a stunt is too dangerous. Maybe together, along with their fun loving buddies, they can do a stunt together that will surpass anything that anyone has done.

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Plot Keywords:

stunt | stuntman | director | motorcycle cop | woman in a cake | 

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Taglines:

It just ain't summer without Burt!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Collo d'acciaio

Filming Locations:

Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Santa Susana, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The climactic huge stunt sequence, referred to by the crew as "Damnation Alley," was staged at the by-that-time-disused Northington General Hospital, a World War II military hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which had also been used as married-student housing by The University of Alabama. After most of the hospital buildings (including a large smokestack) were blown up or otherwise demolished for the filming, the lot was cleared and the University Mall complex was built on the site.

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Goofs

When Hooper rolls the vehicle he and Tony are riding in, the cameraman's reflection can be seen in the hood of the car after it comes to rest on its side.

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Quotes

Singer: Everyone get drunk and be somebody!

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes from stunts performed in the movie are shown over the closing credits.

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Connections

References Bullitt (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Hooper"
Sung and Written by Bent Myggen

User Reviews

A joyous tour-de-force

My parents ushered the young me into an 8-plex one fine afternoon prophesying an epic -- a cinematic triumph unparalleled since the days of Bergman. Disgruntled at my forebears' refusal to consent to a screening of Jaws 2, I nonetheless acquiesced and slumped into the screening room.

When I emerged a scant two hours later, I was no longer a callow youth. I had become a man.

Screen legend Burt Reynolds offers one of his most insightful, well-rounded performances as Sonny Hooper, an Achilles with a mustache, seemingly foredoomed to the stuntman slag heap by the onset of middle age. Playing the part with the gusto and verve of a man four-fifths his age, Reynolds achieves newfound heights without seeming to crack a script, winking slyly at the merry romp he has conjured. Sally (The Flying Nun) Field (who by some incredible chance happened to be dating Reynolds) plays the groundbreaking role of Hooper's common-law girlfriend, Gwen Doyle (a name so lilting and memorable, I promptly bestowed it upon all six of my goldfish). Field embodies the universal theme of a woman struggling to come to terms with a life she has neither chosen nor can escape. Kneepad-deep in beer cans, forced to wear short shorts, physically lifted and repositioned like an arc light or rubber tree, she personifies the objectification of women by the stuntmen who are themselves objectified by the studio hacks (Robert Klein) who employ them. As the winsome, perky daughter of stunt-osaurus Jocko Doyle (Brian Keith), Field set the standard by which all future stuntman's daughter roles would be be measured.

Central to the success of this story are the providential appearances of such childhood icons as James (Rosco P. Coletrane) Best, Pittsburgh Steeler Terry Bradshaw (utterly convincing as a man who gets hit in the face), and the impeccable Adam (Batman) West, who plays an actor respected enough that a film crew protectively prevents him from jumping over the side of a building. The absence of the sublime Dom DeLuise marks this film's only flaw, forgiveable considering that by this point in his trajectory, DeLuise had priced himself out of the market.

Shining through it all, dazzling in his wit, pathos, and imperfect grandeur, stands the linchpin, Burt Reynolds. Whether baring his bottom for a Xylocaine booster or outwitting the police by driving his pickup backwards, Reynolds inhabits the role so effortlessly, he seems to glide along like Clark Gable atop his Rhett Butler waltzing simulator.

Although this film had an unintentional rite-of-passage effect upon me, I was subsequently disillusioned to learn that Mr. Reynolds was not a stuntman, but an actor. Granted, the greatest actor to grace the silver screen since John Larroquette (who actually came later, but the comparison still stands), but still an actor.

It took years of therapy before I again began to trust.