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 Norton (screen story) (as B.W.L. Norton), Bill Norton (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	...	Dirty Lyle / Lyle Wallace
Burt Young	...	Pig Pen
Madge Sinclair	...	Widow Woman
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Spider Mike
Brian Davies	...	Chuck Arnoldi
Seymour Cassel	...	Governor 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:

Convoy

Filming Locations:

Estancia, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$22,765,081

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,765,081

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Robert M. Sherman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Closing credits: The persons and events in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events in unintentional.

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Goofs

At the end of the fight in the diner, Spider Mike is seen with his shirt ripped open. After a quick cut to Rubber Duck and then back to Mike, his shirt is fully buttoned.

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Quotes

Melissa: Well I think I've had just about enough of this, thank you very much. I'll think I'll take my things and GET OUT. If you'll pull over to the side, I'm sure I can hitch a ride very easily... Weren't you listening to me? I said I'm ready to get out!
Rubber Duck: You want out? We're being chased. You want out? Jump.
Melissa: You want to add the Mann Act to your collection?
Rubber Duck: Mann Act's for 18 year olds, not someone who's seen the better side of thirty!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: ARIZONA (noon)

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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

Featured in Todd's Pop Song Reviews: Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1976 (2011)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A Western...but with Trucks

CONVOY, even after almost 30 years since it was released, remains was it was, an iconic American film by an iconic American director. This movie,which is not short on American archetypes, from Ernest Bornine's vile redneck sheriff "Dirty Lyle," to Kris Kristofferson's independence-loving "Rubber Duck," to Ali MacGraw's free-spirited "Melissa," is really an old-fashioned Western, but with trucks. LOTS of trucks. Like Clint Eastwood's "man with no name" gunslinger, Kristofferson (who steals every scene with his smile and blue eyes) is a man whose sense of honour and justice compels him to act on behalf of the down-trodden; symbolized in this case by a black truck driver named "Spider Mike" (played by actor Franklyn Ajaye). But instead of guns and "pistols at dawn" Kristofferson uses a semi. But it's not "justice" he's after, for in the world of CONVOY "justice" (per se) doesn't really exist. That's what makes this film so iconic. If it was about "justice" this movie would have been a court drama, with the Rubber Duck hiring a lawyer, going to court, and getting Dirty Lyle tossed in jail for his arrogance and abuse of power. Nor is it about mere revenge, for throughout the movie Kristofferson's character never truly reaches the point where he simply wants to hurt and destroy his nemesis. It's rather about personal honour and how we, as individuals, define it. Spider Mike, therefore, becomes not so much the victim of racism (which is repeatedly emphasized by the other characters calling him "boy") but of a system that has allowed dishonourable people (in positions of power) to abuse that power at will. Into this world comes the "legendary" Rubber Duck, the "last of the independents," who alone is willing to strike a blow for the diminished honour of another man, while seeking no reward for himself. This is the essence of the American Western and why it works so well in CONVOY. Take away the trucks, put on some cowboy boots and a six-shooter, and you have before you any number of Westerns whose sole premise is that one man with personal integrity and honour can make a real difference in the corrupt world in which he lives. The difference in this case is that Kristofferson doesn't just "clean up this one horse town" he, with the aid of his "posse" of like-minded truckers (Burt Young does a terrific job as his side-kick "Pig Pen"), totally demolishes it. And like those great Westerns, only then can Rubber Duck find solace for his spirit; which he does without compromising either his own values or his personal integrity This is the essence of honour itself and what really makes this movie work. Even, now, after almost 30 years, one cannot help but stand and cheer as Rubber Duck and company take on the forces arrayed against them as the movie reaches its climax. And then stand up cheer again during the closing dénouement. CONVOY, therefore, isn't about "America," or even about being an American, it IS America; the America of myth and folklore that people, even now, still believe in and which the great Westerns of old have done so much to popularize. Because of that and because director Sam Peckinpah does it with such style and grace, this iconic movie, by an iconic director, deserves a place on the shelf of every lover of good solid entertainment