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:

The song had been written by Bill Fries in 1974 for a series of bread commercials and the result was a popular trend with CB radios and trucker lingo. By the time the movie went into production in 1977, the trend had already faded but that didn't stop it from being a box office hit.

Goofs:

Continuity: Throughout the film, Rubber Duck's truck has a grill guard. In the scene after his and Pig Pen's trucks have crashed through the jail, the grill guard is missing when the truck pulls out. Yet it's back on there for the rest of the movie.

Quotes:

Governer Jerry Haskins: A lonely breed... hard men, proud men... not too proud to cry or shed a tear. The living embodiment of the American cowboy tradition. Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to honor this great native American son who gave his life for a cause so vital to us all...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "My Name Is Earl: Made a Lady Think I Was God (#2.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

I Cheated on a Good Woman's Love

Convoy: Potential unused

Uneven but at times entertaining Peckinpah film. It doesn't feel as nasty today as it maybe did in the late 1970´s.

Kris Kristofferson is cool in his role but it doesn't hold the film together enough.

"Convoy" is made in typical Peckinpah style but it doesn't seem to match that good in this case. The slow-motion fist fight on the bar is not astonishing.

Even if it is based on a song, the story seem to work, but there should have been some changes and maybe the scriptwriter should have add something more.

Rating: 5 of 10.