Continuing our look at the influence of trucking services on American cinema, here’s a couple more trucking film classics.
Convoy (1978): This action film is quite possibly the most ’70s thing that has ever existed: a truck driving movie based on a novelty country song directed by Sam Peckinpah starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw (with a perm!). For a peek into the national psyche of the ’70s, look no further. Expanding C.W. McCall and Chip Davis’ trucking anthem into a feature length film, Peckinpah casts Kristofferson as a trucker (C.B. handle: “Rubber Duck”) who, along with his friends (“Pig Pen” and “Spider Mike”) are entrapped by a corrupt sheriff and decided to make a break for New Mexico. As the news spreads over the C.B. airwaves, truckers from all over the state join the convoy as a show of support, leading to an epic stand-off between the trucking industry and pretty much the entire Arizona police force.
Black Dog (1998): The trucking film trend arguably reached its apex (or nadir, depending on your point of view) at the end of its box office prominence with the Patrick Swayze vehicle Black Dog. About 25 years removed from the trucking films initial prominence, Black Dog sees Swayze play a trucker who’s tricked into delivering a load of illegal assault weapons by none other than hard rock crooner Meat Loaf, donning a villainous bolo tie for the full effect. Hijackings, high speed chases and Swayze’s patented form of fisticuffs ensue.
No comments yet.