The Cannonball Run


The Cannonball Run is a 1981 action-comedy film directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong firm Golden Harvest, and distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin. The film is based on the 1979 running of the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an actual cross-country outlaw road race beginning in Connecticut and ending in California.
It was the sixth-highest-grossing domestic film of 1981 and became the first installment of the Cannonball Run trilogy. It was followed by Cannonball Run II and Speed Zone. This film and its sequel were the final film appearances of actor Dean Martin. It also featured Jackie Chan in his second Hollywood role.
Cannonball and The Gumball Rally were two other motion pictures based on the actual Cannonball Run outlaw road race.

Plot

A diverse group of racers gathers in Connecticut to participate in the Cannonball Run, an illegal, cross-country road race from the East Coast to California. The goal is simple: reach the West Coast in the shortest elapsed time. Participants depart individually from the starting line by punching a time card that records their departure time, which will be used to calculate their total time upon arrival.
The competitors employ a wide array of vehicles, disguises, and tactics to evade law enforcement and beat their rivals. Among them are J.J. McClure, a former professional race car driver, and his best friend and mechanic, Victor Prinzim. The two disguise a Dodge Tradesman ambulance as a legitimate emergency vehicle, hoping the ruse will allow them to bypass traffic laws. Accompanying them is Dr. Nikolas Van Helsing, a doctor with dubious credentials and a large hypodermic needle, included to sell the illusion of a real medical emergency.
Meanwhile, environmental crusader Pamela Glover is accompanying Arthur J. Foyt, a by-the-book government official and head of the fictional "Safety Enforcement Unit," who is determined to stop the race due to its potential danger and environmental impact. After a minor roadside incident, Glover is kidnapped by J.J. and Victor under the pretense of transporting her for medical treatment. Though initially resistant, she gradually becomes sympathetic to the racers and their eccentricities.
Other racers include Jamie Blake and Morris Fenderbaum, two washed-up former Formula One drivers who masquerade as Catholic priests while driving a red Ferrari 308 GTS. Jill Rivers and Marcie Thatcher, two attractive and cunning women, enter the race in a black Lamborghini Countach, relying on their sex appeal to manipulate male police officers. A Japanese team drives a high-tech Subaru outfitted with computers, sensors, and even a rocket booster. Wealthy sheikh Abdul Ben Falafel races in a white Rolls-Royce, and Seymour Goldfarb Jr.—a wealthy man who insists he is actor Roger Moore—drives a silver Aston Martin DB5, outfitted with James Bond-style gadgets.
Throughout the race, the teams use various strategies to avoid detection, trick law enforcement, and sabotage their competitors. The ambulance team pretends to be transporting a U.S. Senator's wife in critical condition, drugging Glover during police stops to maintain the ruse. Jill and Marcie repeatedly unzip their jumpsuits to distract male officers. The Subaru team races at night with headlights off, using infrared technology to navigate. Seymour employs gadgets like oil slicks and smoke screens to evade pursuit. Another team, Bradford Compton and Shakey Finch who are disguised as newlyweds on a motorcycle, are forced to ride in a constant wheelie due to the heavier partner Shakey's size.
A recurring rivalry emerges between the ambulance and the Ferrari. In Ohio, Fenderbaum and Blake convince Victor—temporarily out of his "Captain Chaos" persona—to stop so they can bless the "patient" in the back of the ambulance. During the distraction, they sabotage the ambulance by deflating a tire. J.J. gets revenge in Missouri by alerting a police officer that the two men dressed as priests may be indecent exposure suspects.
As the race nears its conclusion, several teams are stopped by construction work in the desert. A violent encounter with a biker gang breaks out. Victor transforms into Captain Chaos and leads the charge against the bikers, with help from the martial arts-trained Subaru team. Once the road is cleared, all the racers dash back to their vehicles, leading to a tight final stretch.
The racers arrive at the finish line simultaneously, prompting a footrace to the time clock. J.J. gives Victor the team's time card and clears a path by ambushing other racers. Victor nears victory, but a bystander yells that her baby has fallen into the water. Captain Chaos instinctively diverts to save the baby—only to discover it is a dog. Marcie reaches the clock first and wins the race.
J.J. is frustrated with Victor for sacrificing the win, but Victor cheerfully responds that he no longer wants to be Captain Chaos—he now wants to be "Captain USA." The two reconcile and embrace.

Cast

Cannonball Run featured an all-star ensemble cast, including these actors:
  • Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise as racer J.J. McClure and his buddy, Victor Prinzim, who occasionally becomes his alter ego "Captain Chaos", to the annoyance of J.J.
  • Roger Moore as Seymour Goldfarb Jr., in a self-parody of his role as James Bond. The car that he drives is an Aston Martin DB5, displaying the UK registration plate 6633 PP. Molly Picon portrays his mother Mrs. Goldfarb. Five women ride with Seymour, including model Lois Hamilton, billed as Lois Areno, with Simone Burton, Finele Carpenter, Susan McDonald and Janet Woytak. Moore's next Bond film For Your Eyes Only premiered on June 24, 1981, only a few days after The Cannonball Run.
  • Farrah Fawcett as tree-loving photographer Pamela Glover. J.J. calls her "Beauty".
  • Dean Martin, as race car driver Jamie Blake, and Sammy Davis Jr. as scam artist and degenerate gambler Morris Fenderbaum, both disguised as Catholic priests. Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder plays himself as Fenderbaum bets on his success. Blake's car, a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, is the same as the model in the TV series Magnum, P.I..
  • George Furth as Arthur J. Foyt, the insipid, uptight main antagonist of the film, who tries to have the race stopped.
  • Jackie Chan and Michael Hui as drivers of a Subaru GL filled with gadgets. In the opening part of the film, Chan and Hui are introduced on a talk show as the operators of Japan's entry into the race. Both Chan and Hui are actually Hongkongers. Jackie Chan's character is referred to as "Jackie Chan".
  • Jamie Farr as Sheik Abdul Ben Falafel, a wealthy Arabian potentate determined to win the race, even if he has to buy it. Bianca Jagger makes a brief appearance as his sister. Farr's car is a souped-up Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The Sheik is the only character to appear in all three Cannonball Run films.
  • Mel Tillis and Terry Bradshaw are Mel and Terry, a couple of "good ol' boys" driving a 1976 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna NASCAR Hawaiian Tropic replica. At the start of the race, they have a Monte Carlo.
  • Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman as Marcie Thatcher and Jill Rivers, satin-Spandex-clad "hotties" in a black Lamborghini Countach who distract police officers with cleavage. The same Lamborghini was used in the film's opening credits as it was being pursued by a Nevada Highway Patrol car after spray-painting a 55 mph speed limit sign. Their character names are not mentioned during the story but appear in the end credits. Their names return in the sequel, although the parts were re-cast.
  • Valerie Perrine has a cameo as the state trooper pulling over the Lamborghini duo, beating them at their own game.
  • Peter Fonda has a cameo referencing his motorcycle gang leader character in The Wild Angels while wearing his stars-and-stripes leather jacket from Easy Rider. The appearance of Fonda and his motorcycle gang during a halt in the race offer an excuse for Chan and others to demonstrate their fighting skills. Fonda's big, bald buddy is played by biker movie veteran Robert Tessier.
  • Bert Convy as wealthy but bored executive Bradford Compton, who planned to run the Cannonball by motorcycle with the help of an old friend, Shakey Finch, once the world's greatest cross-country motorcyclist. The two planned to disguise themselves as newlyweds. Compton's now-portly ally forces the motorcycle into a wheelie for the entire race.
  • Jack Elam as Dr. Nikolas Van Helsing. This Van Helsing is a proctologist and graduate of the University of Rangoon, and the Knoxville, Tennessee College of Faith Healing.
  • Rick Aviles and Alfie Wise as "Mad Dog" and "Batman", tow-truck drivers who jump the train flatcar.
  • John Fiedler as the desk clerk.
  • Joe Klecko as the Polish driver in the van who gets pulled over by Mr. Foyt.
  • Car and Driver magazine columnist and correspondent Brock Yates, who, having created the real-life Cannonball Run, wrote the film directly for the screen, plays the race organizer who announces the rules at the starting line.
  • Director Hal Needham appears uncredited as the ambulance EMT.
  • Veteran Daytona 500 commentator Ken Squier and NFL on CBS producer Robert D. Stenner, who produced the CBS Daytona 500 broadcasts from 1979 to 1993, appear as California Highway Patrolmen.
  • Veteran voice actor June Foray provides the dubbed dialogue of several of the women who escort Goldfarb in the race in an uncredited performance.

    Production

The film continued director Hal Needham's tradition of showing a gag reel of bloopers during the closing credits ''. Jackie Chan says that this inspired him to do the same at the end of most of his films.