Smokey and the Bandit was a box office hit and one of the biggest action film of the '70s, second only to Star Wars. How could a Pontiac Trans Am flying 150 feet in the air ever got old? We still love watching Bo "Bandit" Darville (played by Burt Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (played by Jerry Reed) drive from Atlanta to Texarkana for their cases of Coors Beers in under 28 hours. With Sally Field and Jackie Gleason rounding out the all-star cast, the film is unforgettable.
According to Arkansas Online, Smokey and the Bandit was one of the first major films to be filmed in Georgia. It helped pave the way for other big-budget Hollywood films like the Marvel franchise, Hunger Games and various TV shows. If you're a true fan of the film, you can follow along the iconic drive from Atlanta to Texarkana with a memorable road trip that stops at various filming locations along the way.
In fact, this road trip has been dubbed "The Bandit Run." Trans Am owners were encouraged to follow the route for the film's 30th anniversary and then again for the 40th anniversary. Burt Reynolds himself actually made an appearance at the 40th where there was a recreation of Bandit and Frog's big jump across the river.
Here are some of the Smokey and the Bandit filming locations they hit along the way:
Jonesboro, GA (aka Texarkana in the movie)
Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
Pretty much all of Texarkana in the film was really Jonesboro. If you drive around Main Street you'll definitely notice a lot of the same buildings from the film.
Lakewood Fairgrounds
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Lakewood Amphitheater hosts concerts for the greater Atlanta area, but if you visit on an on a day when it's empty, you can imagine scenes from the film filling the empty field.
Carrie and Bandit Romance Scene
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The bridge that the couple walks over is long gone, but you can still find the film location in Unicoi State Park & Lodge in Helen, Georgia.
The Classic Car Jump Scene
FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images
While it's now just remnants of the old wooden bridge, you can find the iconic film location where a stuntman in the Trans Am flew through the air at Flint River Crossing in Jonesboro.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in 2019. It was updated on July 24, 2023.
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