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:

Cannonball Run II

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,323,948, 1 July 1984

Gross USA:

$28,078,073

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,078,073

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arcafin B.V., Golden Harvest Company, Towa Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Sinatra received second top billing (after Burt Reynolds in the closing credits), even though he only had a small cameo role, and appeared only in two sequences.

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Goofs

Several characters refer to the orangutan as a monkey. Orangutans are great apes.

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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

Back when 20th Century Fox was involved in the project (before Warner Bros. picked up distribution rights), Fox had a variation of the 1981 logo for this film, much like with its predecessor: the 1981 logo would start like it usually did, but then, all of a sudden, a spotlight is taken off, bringing the music to an abrupt stop. Then the sounds of police sirens and car engines are heard. Another spotlight gets taken off, and an animated, red-colored Ferrarii car appears. It hides out in the "0" while an animated police car takes off the final 3 spotlights. Unexpectedly, the police car crashes into the spotlight on the right side of the tower. The Ferrari car comes out of the "0", honks, and then laughs in a Burt Reynolds fashion as the logo fades to black. This is the same as the variant used for The Cannonball Run (1981), but with the 1981 logo instead of the 1953 one. It was finished, but never used in the film itself due to Fox dropping the project so Warner Bros. could pick it up. It did, however, appear strangely on a 1991 VHS of The Sound of Music (1965), in a fashion to that of Creepypastas. The 1981 logo also looks different than its original design (most likely because this variation was designed and animated by Hal Needham, the movie's director, and not Rocky Lingo).

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Thank God It's Doomsday (2005)

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Soundtracks

Stop in the Name of Love
Performed by The Supremes
Written by Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland
Used by Permission of Motown Record Corporation and Jobete Music Co., Inc.

User Reviews

Mindless fun

Cannonball Run II is the sequel for The Cannonball Run.A bunch of crazy people go racing all around the country-illegally, of course.Hal Needham's movie from 1984 has got the best and the biggest stars there could be.Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise make us laugh.Mr.Cool and Mr. Bojangles Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. make a terrific couple.Then there's the third member of the rat pack, Frank Sinatra himself.Marilu Henner and Shirley MacLaine as the naughty sisters are wonderful.Jackie Chan is there with Jaws of the James Bond films, big man Richard Kiel.Don Knotts is hilarious kissing the orangutan.The great comedian Sid Caesar tries to catch the big fish.Jack Elam is there with his shots.The hairless Telly "Kojak" Savalas is very convincing as the bad guy.Abe Vigoda is fantastic as the gangster in the Godfather way.Then there are greats such as Jamie Farr, Tim Conway, Tony Danza, Ricardo Montalban, Charles Nelson Reilly, Henry Silva, and Jack's son Chris Lemmon.This movie offers many fun moments.I sure had fun watching it.