Cannonball Run II (1984)

The original characters from The Cannonball Run (1981) race across the country once more in various cars and trucks.

Director:

Hal Needham

Writers:

Brock Yates (characters creator), Hal Needham

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Reynolds	...	J.J. McClure
Dom DeLuise	...	Victor Prinzim / Captain Chaos / Don Canneloni
Dean Martin	...	Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Morris Fenderbaum
Jamie Farr	...	The Sheik
Marilu Henner	...	Betty
Telly Savalas	...	Hymie Kaplan
Shirley MacLaine	...	Veronica
Susan Anton	...	Jill, Lamborghini Babe
Catherine Bach	...	Marcie, Lamborghini Babe
Foster Brooks	...	Fisherman #1
Sid Caesar	...	Fisherman #2
Jackie Chan	...	Jackie Chan, Mitsubishi Engineer
Tim Conway	...	CHP Officer #1
Tony Danza	...	Terry

Storyline

The Sheik who competed at the last Cannonball Run, is berated by his father for not winning it. So he tells him to go and win. Problem is that there is no Cannonball Run. So his father tells him to make one of his own. He puts up a million dollars as the prize. So former Cannonballers J.J. and his buddy Vince join, as does Blake and Fenderbaum and some other characters. But Blake and Fenderbaum owe a mobster some money, and the mobster owes some other guy more. He then decides to grab the Sheik and hold him for ransom so he can pay the guy back.

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Plot Keywords:

chase | automobile racing | automobile | sequel | carsploitation | 

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Taglines:

The popcorn is in the lobby. The nuts are on the screen.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Auf dem Highway ist wieder die Hölle los

Filming Locations:

Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,223,948, 1 July 1984

Gross USA:

$28,078,073

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company,Warner Bros.,Arcafin B.V.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the first movie, Seymour (Sir Roger Moore) said, "Maybe next year, we'll do this again." This movie established as taking place the following year. Interestingly, Seymour isn't in it, but he did say "maybe".

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie when the girls change the color of their white Lamborghini to red, the interior is red. Later the interior is tan.

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Quotes

[first lines]
King: For one thousand centuries, the Falafel Family has ruled the deserts with one thing: speed! We had the fastest camels and the fastest horses. And now, due to... you know what
[mimics oil bubbling up]
King: , we have the fastest planes, the fastest boats, and the fastest cars. Except for one: yours! Last year, I sent you to America for one simple task. So simple. To emblazen the Falafel name as fastest in the world by winning the Cannonball Run. And you... failed!

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes during the credits.

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Connections

References The Great Race (1965)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Basically a retread of the first movie with a stupid kidnapping plot.

It was not all bad, but to completely honest I thought "Speed Zone" was a better sequel to the "Cannonball Run" than this movie was as this movie was almost the exact same movie only with inferior parts to it. Throw in a unfunny kidnapping plot for the only real difference in the movie and you have your sequel that came out three years after the original. That is another sad thing about this sequel, it came out long after the first one and they still went in exactly the same way. Burt Reynolds, Dom Delouise, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin are back along with a few others from the original. In though are a lot more B ranking actors. Roger Moore out, Richard Kiel in (the guy who played the villain Jaws in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker"). Adrien Barbeau out and two chicks I do not know in. Farrah Fawcett out and two others I do not care for in. Jim Nabors and Tony Danza in, which is definitely not a good thing. Ambulance that was a great idea out and for some reason a military car and uniforms in. That one made no sense they would have been better off just using the ambulance again. The plot is the same, race across the country, the only difference being the guys trying to catch the sheik character to hold him for ransom and this does not stay original as it basically sets up another brawl like that found at the last part of the first movie. After this fight though the race just about is over with no fanfare. Just a pointless sequel, that has a few humorous moments, the best being the scene with Tim Conway and Don Knotts.