‘Smokey and the Bandit’ Returning to AMC Theatres as Burt Reynolds Tribute

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – AMC Theatres is bringing back Burt Reynolds’ 1977 comedy “Smokey and the Bandit” for a nine-day run as a tribute to the late actor, who died on Thursday.

The chain announced Friday that the movie will play at 240 AMC locations from Sept. 12 to Sept. 20 with a $5 ticket price (or lower depending on the theater). Showtimes and tickets should be on sale at participating locations by the end of the weekend.

Reynolds portrayed Bo “Bandit” Darville, who partners with Jerry Reed’s character, Cledus Snow, to haul 400 cases of bootleg Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Atlanta in 28 hours in order to collect $80,000. “” also starred as a runaway bride picked up by Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. Field’s character complicates matters because she has ditched the son of Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played with gusto by Gleason as he relentlessly pursues Reynolds and Field to Georgia.

The film, the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, contained a multitude of high-speed chases and crashes featuring Reynolds driving a black Pontiac Trans-Am. Made for a budget of $4 million, “Smokey and the Bandit” was one of the most successful movies in Reynolds’ career with a total domestic gross of $126 million for Universal. The characters returned for sequels in 1980 and 1983, though Reynolds had only a cameo in the third film.