Convoy (1978)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writer:

Bill L. Norton (writer)

Release Date:

10 August 1978 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Kristofferson and MacGraw...ain't nothin' gonna get in their way!

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Trucker | Convoy | Road Movie | Truck | Radio News

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Rubber Duck aka Martin Penwald
Ali MacGraw	...	Melissa
Ernest Borgnine	...	Sheriff Lyle Wallace aka Cottonmouth
Burt Young	...	Pig Pen / Love Machine
Madge Sinclair	...	Widow Woman
Franklyn Ajaye	...	Spider Mike
Brian Davies	...	Chuck Arnoldi
Seymour Cassel	...	Governer Jerry Haskins
Cassie Yates	...	Violet
Walter Kelley	...	Federal Agent 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)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | West Germany:12 (re-rated) | West Germany:16 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:M | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2001) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

EMI Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Sam Peckinpah]a sound engineer aboard a mobile unit, wearing his trademark mirror sunglasses.

Goofs:

Continuity: Spider Mike's afro occasionally changes from a parted afro (which it's supposed to be) to a smooth afro.

Quotes:

Melissa: But they're all following you.
Rubber Duck: [looks at Melissa then road] No, they ain't. I'm just in front of them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue

Pretty good trucker flick

Convoy is the shallowest of Sam Peckinpah's films, but by no means the worst. It contains some oddball characters and a number of memorable sequences, and alternately funny and thought-provoking dialogue. It also features one of the very best Ernest Borgnine performances that I can remember - not bad for a man who won an Oscar for Marty!

The story traces the fortunes of some truckers, led by "Rubber Duck" (Kris Kristofferson), as they drive through the states of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. They are pursued by the law, and gradually more and more truckers join on at the back of the line until they have literally hundreds of lorries, all roaring along the highways in protest of the prejudicial treatment they receive from the cops.

Kristofferson is supremely enigmatic as the leader of the pack. Ali MacGraw is a bit of a bore as his female companion. As mentioned before, the real star is Borgnine, mean and menacing, funny and cruel as the cop who dedicates his life to victimising truck drivers. For such a shallow film, it looks and sounds beautiful. Even the car chase through the sand is poetic. I can't explain what's good about this picture. It sounds dull and pointless, yet to watch it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Convoy is a contradiction of itself.... plotless, pointless, thinly plotted, and yet still (somehow) a top notch film!