The Cannonball Run (1981)

A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.

Director:

Hal Needham

Writer:

Brock Yates

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	J. J. McClure
Roger Moore	...	Seymour
Farrah Fawcett	...	Pamela
Dom DeLuise	...	Victor Prinzim
Dean Martin	...	Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Fenderbaum
Jack Elam	...	Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Marcie
Terry Bradshaw	...	Terry
Jackie Chan	...	Subaru Driver #1
Bert Convy	...	Brad
Jamie Farr	...	Sheik
Peter Fonda	...	Chief Biker
George Furth	...	A. F. Foyt
Michael Hui	...	Subaru Driver #2

Storyline

This comedy film brings Burt Reynolds, Sir Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and an all-star cast to the starting line of the ultimate auto race, a madcap cross-country scramble that roars full-speed ahead. This action-comedy was inspired by an actual event: the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an anything goes, all-stops-out, and very much illegal, competition that has grown to legendary proportions within the last ten years.

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Plot Keywords:

batman character | van helsing character | batman | van helsing | three word title | 

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Taglines:

You'll root for them all...but you'll never guess who wins.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese Japanese Arabic

Release Date:

19 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cannonball Trophy

Filming Locations:

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,765,654, 21 June 1981

Gross USA:

$72,179,579

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Eurasia Investments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vehicles used in this movie: J.J. and Victor are driving a 1978 Dodge Sportsman. Seymour is driving a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. Blake and Fenderbaum are driving a 1977 Ferrari 308 GTS. Terry and Mel are driving a 1976 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna. Marcie and Jill are driving a 1980 Lamborghini Countach LP 400S. The Japanese team is driving a 1980 Subaru DL. The Sheik is driving a 1976 Rolls-Royce Shadow 1. Mad Dog and Batman are driving a 1980 GMC C-35 Pickup. Brad and Shakey are driving a Harley-Davidson Sportster. When Mr. Foyt shows up at the hotel, he's driving a 1972 Volvo 142. At the opening, Victor is driving a 1973 Honda Civic. The plane that J.J. and Victor are flying is a Maule M 5-235 Lunar Rocket. During the first appearance of Captain Chaos, he and J.J. are driving a 1969 Porsche 911.

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Goofs

When the ambulance stops for gas in Missouri, J.J. is still fuming about the all the time lost due to Jimmy Blake and Fenderbaum letting down the ambulance tyres. Yet somehow Blake and Fenderbaum are now behind them, arriving at the gas station after the ambulance.

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Quotes

Pamela Glover: I can't believe this is happening to me. This is not a joke any more. I'm being kidnapped.
J.J. McClure: Well, you can call it kidnapping if you want to be rude.

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes are shown during the credits.

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Alternate Versions

For some reason, the video version dubs over some of the language heard in the big screen and pay channel versions. For example, when Bert Convay asks Peter Fonda what he wants, Fonda answers "Your ass" in the original, but is heard to say "You're asking me?" on the video version.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.198 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Cannonball
Written by Ray Stevens (as R. Stevens)
Performed by Ray Stevens

User Reviews

Burt & Company In Their Element

Burt Reynolds made a fortune in this area with these goofy "chase" movies (this and Smoky and The Bandit plus all the sequels). They featured a an irreverent '70s attitude toward about anything decent with an emphasis on a sleazy atmosphere, all covered up with a lot of humor, and they worked. They worked because they were fast-moving generally fun movies to watch.....certainly not any great works of art.

Cannonball Run had an all-star cast of Reynolds, his good buddy Dom DeLuise, Farah Fawcettt, Jack Elan, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Farr, Jackie Chan, on and on....pretty amazing.

Reynolds, of course, was Mr. Cool/Mr. Macho.....at least in his eyes. Fawcett and Barbeau meant beauty and boobs whom all men - especially dimwitted cops which Hollywood loved to feature - drooled over. The Japanese were made to look stupid (this was pre-PC days) as were priests (nothing's changed there with filmmakers). The movie is filled with really profound statements such as, "Why do we take all these risks? Oh, just for the hell of it." Yes, words to live by.

Yet, as dumb as this movie can be at times, is does provide a lot of laughs and speaking of that, DeLuise's laugh always made everyone do the same. Sometimes the best part of these films were the outtakes at the end with DeLuise cracking up and Reynolds slapping him!