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Convoy is a 1978 action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine and Burt Young. The movie is based on the 1975 country and western and novelty song "Convoy" by C.W. McCall and Chip Davis. It is considered the premier example of the CB Radio/trucker film genre which rose to prominence in the 1970s following the success of Smokey and the Bandit, White Line Fever and the television series Movin' On.

Plot outline[link]

Truck driver Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald (Kris Kristofferson) is driving through the desert in Arizona, when a woman in a Jaguar E-Type passes by. They're driving side by side for a while when a sheriff's deputy pulls over Rubber Duck, who in turn sets the deputy upon the woman who was "enticing him".

Proceeding on his way, Rubber Duck runs into two friends (and fellow truck drivers) Pig Pen/Love Machine (Burt Young) and Spider Mike (Franklyn Ajaye), when another "trucker" informs them over the C.B. that the road up ahead is "all clean and green" and they are okay to increase their speed. The "trucker" also insults Pig Pen by calling his Mack truck a "pussy." As they come around a sharp turn at 75 mph, they are caught by the "trucker," corrupt county Sheriff "Dirty Lyle" Wallace (Ernest Borgnine).

After being extorted by Lyle for $50 dollars each and eventually $70 when both Pig Pen and Mike insult Wallace, the Duck informs Wallace that The Teamsters are organizing the cops to which Lyle responds that he wants no part of the Duck's damn union. The Duck reminds Wallace that he is independent and Lyle comments that they have that in common to which The Duck answers back that there also not many of them (Duck and Wallace) left. Duck, Pig Pen and Mike leave and head on to Rafael's Glide-In where The Duck's sometime girlfriend, Violet (Cassie Yates) works as a waitress.

Also there is Melissa (Ali MacGraw), the driver of the Jaguar. Her car had broken down and is there for repairs and she is selling Widow Woman (Madge Sinclair) some of her things so she can have money to leave Arizona. The Duck arrives and reunites with Violet and meets Melissa face to face, Melissa informs Violet that she knows The Duck because he was the one who told the cop she was nude driving. The Duck asks Melissa if she has ever ridden in a truck and she says no, but is intrigued by him and might take him on his offer to ride in his truck. Violet then ushers him away to give him a special birthday present. While away Wallace shows up at the Glide-In checking plates. Pig Pen and Spider Mike start making fun of Wallace as he drives around the truck stop, but when the waitress makes some noise in the background collecting dirty plates, Wallace finds where they are and enters the diner and asks Pig Pen how much money he has and he shows Wallace his roll of bills. When Spider Mike informs Wallace that he has no money, Wallace attempts to arrest him.

The Duck enters (after Widow Woman had informed via CB of Lyle being the Diner with a "look of pain" on his face) and tries to break things up and smooth things over. But Lyle is determined and Mike informs him that he has to get home because his wife is due to give birth. Lyle insults Mike by asking who the father is and pushes Mike and Mike punches Wallace. Lyle reaches for his gun and Duck kicks Lyle, knocking him out. Pig Pen informs him "well you blew Arizona..." knowing they will get arrested if they stay Duck orders everyone to their trucks and begins to handcuff Wallace, at that moment two other sheriff officers come in (one of them being the officer Duck had met at the beginning of the movie). A fight soon breaks out involving The Duck, Pig Pen, Mike, Widow Maker and a couple of other truckers. The truckers prevail and The Duck handcuffs Wallace to a barstool. After pulling the spark plug wires and distributor caps out of the police cars, they all decide to head for the state line to avoid prosecution.

The truckers drive across Arizona and New Mexico, with Wallace in belated pursuit. While on the run, Widow Woman's truck rolls over, so she hops in another truck. The initial police pursuit is foiled when Duck leads the truckers off the main highway and down a desert trail, causing several of the police cars to crash. Wallace commandeers the vehicle of one of the state troopers, but is also thwarted when Pig Pen and Spider Mike crush his vehicle between their rigs wilst in motion. Wallace orders that the local state police set up a roadblock, but Rubber Duck tells the police that the contents of the tanker he is pulling are explosive. Upon hearing this, the police clear the road block and let the convoy proceed undeterred. Additional independent truckers join them to form a mile-long convoy in support of the Rubber Duck's vendetta against the abusive Wallace. The truckers communicate with each other via CB Radio, and much CB jargon is sprinkled throughout the film. As the rebellious truckers evade and confront the police, Rubber Duck becomes a reluctant folk hero.

It becomes apparent the truckers have a great deal of political support and the Governor of New Mexico, Jerry Haskins (Seymour Cassel), meets Rubber Duck. At about the same time, Wallace and a brutal Alvarez, Texas sheriff, arrest Spider Mike, who left the convoy to be with his wife after giving birth to their son. Wallace's plan is to trap Rubber Duck. A janitor at the jail, unaware of the plan, messages by CB radio that Spider Mike has been arrested and beaten. Various truckers relay the message to New Mexico.

Rubber Duck ends the meeting with Haskins and leaves to rescue Spider Mike. Several other truckers join him and head east to Texas. The truckers eventually destroy the jail and rescue Spider Mike. Knowing they will now be hunted by the authorities, the truckers head for the border of Mexico.

On the way, Rubber Duck gets separated from the rest of the convoy when the others get caught in a trap. The film culminates with a showdown near the United States-Mexico border where Rubber Duck is forced to face Wallace and a National Guard unit stationed on a bridge. Firing an M60 machine gun on top of an M42 Duster, Wallace and the Guardsmen destroy the truck causing it to plummet from the bridge and crash into the churning river.

The movie concludes with a public funeral for Rubber Duck, in which Haskins promises to work for the truckers by taking their case to Washington, D.C. Disgusted with the politics of the situation, Pig Pen abruptly leaves the funeral. A distraught Melissa is led to a school bus with several "long-haired friends of Jesus" inside. There she finds Rubber Duck in disguise sitting in the back. He asks, "You ever seen a duck that couldn't swim?" The convoy takes to the road with the coffin in tow, abruptly ending the politicians' speeches. As the bus passes Wallace, he spies the Duck and bursts into laughter.

Cast[link]

• Kris Kristofferson as Martin 'Rubber Duck' Penwald
• Ali MacGraw as Melissa
• Ernest Borgnine as Sheriff Lyle 'Cottonmouth' Wallace
• Burt Young as Bobby 'Love Machine' 'Pig Pen'
• Madge Sinclair as Widow Woman
• Franklyn Ajaye as Spider Mike
• Brian Davies as Chuck Arnoldi
• Seymour Cassel as Governor Jerry Haskins
• Cassie Yates as Violet
• Walter Kelley as Federal Agent Hamilton
• Jackson D. Kane as Big Nasty
• Billy Hughes as Pack Rat
• Whitey Hughes as White Rat
• Bill Coontz as Old Iguana
• Tommy J. Huff as Lizard Tongue
• Larry Spaulding as Bald Eagle
• Randy Brady as Sneaky Snake
• Allen Keller as Rosewell
• Jim Burk as Frick
• Bob Orrison as Officer Bob Bookman
• Tommy Bush as Chief Stacey Love
• William C. Jones Jr. as Fish
• Jorge Russek as Sheriff Tiny Alvarez
• Tom Runyon as Runyon
• Vera Zenovich as Thelma
• Patrice Martinez as Maria
• Donnie Fritts as Reverend Sloane

Production[link]

Convoy was filmed almost entirely in the state of New Mexico.^[1] Production began in 1977 when the CB Radio/trucking craze was at its peak, inspiring such films as Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Handle with Care (1977), Breaker! Breaker! (1977) and High-Ballin' (1978), as well as the television series Movin' On (1974-1976) and B.J. and the Bear (1979–1981).

During this period of Sam Peckinpah's life, it was reported he suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction. His four previous films, Cross of Iron (1977), The Killer Elite (1975), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), had struggled at the box office and the director needed a genuine blockbuster success.^[2] Unhappy with the screenplay written by B.W.L. Norton, Peckinpah tried to encourage the actors to re-write, improvise and ad-lib their dialogue, with little success.^[3] In another departure from the script, Peckinpah attempted to add a new dimension to the film by casting a pair of black actors as members of the convoy including Madge Sinclair as Widow Woman and Franklyn Ajaye as Spider Mike.^[4] The director's health became a continuing problem, so friend and actor James Coburn was brought in to serve as second unit director. Coburn directed much of the film's footage while Peckinpah remained in his on-location trailer.^[5]

The picture finished 11 days behind schedule at a cost of $12 million, more than double its original budget. Surprisingly, Convoy was the highest-grossing picture of Peckinpah's career, notching $46.5 million at the box office. But his reputation was seriously damaged by rumors of increasingly destructive alcohol and cocaine abuse. Peckinpah would make just one more film, The Osterman Weekend in 1983, before his death the following year.^[6]

The famous scene where the tanker truck goes off a bridge and explodes was filmed in Needles, California, on a one-way bridge over the Colorado River between Arizona and Needles. The Needles City Fire Department provided fire protection during this scene. The bridge was soon thereafter removed as a new span connected the two sides of the river.

Peckinpah has a cameo as a sound gaffer during an interview scene.^[7] Rubber Duck's truck is generally represented in the movie as a 1977 Mack RS712LST although several other Mack RS700L series trucks were used as a double and as stationary props.^[8] The original 1977 Mack truck, its on-road movie double and the only original remaining tank trailer are in St. Louis, Missouri on display at the Museum of Transportation.

Soundtrack[link]

Features

• "Convoy" by C.W McCall (a new version, written especially for the film, with saltier language)
• "Lucille" by Kenny Rogers
• "Cowboys Don't Get Lucky All The Time" by Gene Watson
• "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle
• "I Cheated On A Good Woman's Love" by Billy "Crash" Craddock
• "Okie From Muskogee" by Merle Haggard
• "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell
• "Blanket on the Ground" by Billie Jo Spears
• "Keep On The Sunny Side" by Doc Watson
• "Walk Right Back" by Anne Murray

References[link]

External links[link]

• Convoy at the Internet Movie Database
• Review by Scott Vondoviak
• Convoy The Movie
• C.W. McCall: An American Legend
• The Trucks from Convoy

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