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

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kris Kristofferson	...	Rubber Duck
Ali MacGraw	...	Melissa
Ernest Borgnine	...	Lyle Wallace
Burt Young	...	Pig Pen
Madge Sinclair	...	Widow Woman
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Spider Mike
Brian Davies	...	Chuck Arnoldi
Seymour Cassel	...	Governer Haskins
Cassie Yates	...	Violet
Walter Kelley	...	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:

arizona desert | convoy | sheriff | truck driver | cb radio | 

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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

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 1978 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Konvoj

Filming Locations:

Estancia, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$45,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films,United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the day the climactic funeral scene was set to film, with the cast, crew and 3,000 extras assembled, Sam Peckinpah locked himself in his trailer for 12 hours, refusing to communicate with anyone. He also fired several crew members and assistants as filming dragged on. With their director incapacitated, James Coburn and the other assistant directors essentially finished directing the film themselves.

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Goofs

In the start of the movie when the Jaguar passes by The Duck, we can clearly see the reflection of the camera man, on the side of the truck.

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Quotes

Rubber Duck: [to Lyle Wallace on the CB after he has crashed his car] Hey, until you get a little better control over that machinery, I'd suggest you lay off them acrobatics.

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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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Alternate Versions

The new German region 2 Pal DVD (released by Kinowelt) contains the 3 minutes missing from the UK/European video/DVD.

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Connections

References Rocky (1976)

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Soundtracks

Shall We Gather at the River?
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Lowry and Charles Ives
Sung by Donnie Fritts and the Christians

User Reviews

Convoy: Potential unused

Uneven but at times entertaining Peckinpah film. It doesn't feel as nasty today as it maybe did in the late 1970´s.

Kris Kristofferson is cool in his role but it doesn't hold the film together enough.

"Convoy" is made in typical Peckinpah style but it doesn't seem to match that good in this case. The slow-motion fist fight on the bar is not astonishing.

Even if it is based on a song, the story seem to work, but there should have been some changes and maybe the scriptwriter should have add something more.

Rating: 5 of 10.