Convoy (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Convoy | |
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 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Sam Peckinpah |
| Produced by | Robert M. Sherman |
| Written by | B. W. L. Norton |
| Starring | Kris Kristofferson Ali MacGraw Ernest Borgnine |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling, Jr. |
| Editing by | Garth Craven John Wright |
| Running time | 106 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Convoy was a movie released in 1978, directed by Sam Peckinpah, and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, and Burt Young. The movie also co-starred Madge Sinclair, Seymour Cassel, and Franklyn Ajaye. The movie was based on the 1975 hit country song by C.W. McCall.
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[edit] Synopsis
Trucker Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald (Kristofferson) comes into conflict with Sheriff Lyle "Cottonmouth" Wallace (Borgnine). He and several other truckers, Pig Pen (Burt Young), Spider Mike (Ajaye), and Widow Woman (Sinclair) get into a fight with Wallace and his deputies at a truck stop. A photographer named Melissa (MacGraw) joins Rubber Duck in his cab, and the pair find themselves falling in love.
These truckers drive off in a convoy across Arizona and New Mexico. Other independent truckers join them to form a mile-long convoy in support of Rubber Duck's vendetta with the abusive Wallace. The truckers communicate with each other via CB Radio, and much of the jargon associated with the CB radio craze are found in the film. The trip touches on social empowerment issues of class, race and gender as well as the place of the law in modern society. As the rebellious truckers run from the police, "The Rubber Duck" (Kristofferson) becomes a reluctant folk hero.
Soon it becomes apparent that the truckers have a great deal of political support, and Jerry Haskins (Cassel) - the Governor of New Mexico - meets with Rubber Duck. At about the same time, Wallace and a brutal Texas sheriff manage to arrest Spider Mike, who had left the convoy to go home after his wife gave birth to their son. This is part of a plan to trap Rubber Duck, who they know would come to rescue his friend once he heard of the arrest. A janitor at the jail, unaware of the trap, uses a CB radio to send the message out that Spider Mike had been arrested and beaten by the Texas sheriff. Various truckers relay the message west to New Mexico, where Rubber Duck hears about the arrest.
Rubber Duck leaves the meeting with Haskins to rescue Spider Mike. Several other truckers also head east to Texas, determined to help Rubber Duck rescue Spider Mike. Once reaching Texas, the truckers destroy the jail where Spider Mike was being held, and rescue Spider Mike. Knowing that they would be hunted down, the group of truckers head for the Mexican border.
The film culminates in a show down near the U.S. - Mexico border, when Rubber Duck faces down Wallace and a National Guard unit on a bridge. His truck is destroyed by the Guard, with Wallace firing a machine gun at the truck. Rubber Duck's truck goes over the bridge and crashes into the river, Rubber Duck apparently dies in the crash.
The movie ends with a public funeral for Rubber Duck, in which Haskins promises to work for truckers by taking their case to Washington, D.C. Becoming upset, Pig Pen leaves the funeral, feeling that Haskins is using the truckers as a red carpet to the White House. Melissa, who is at the funeral, is asked by a group to join them in their van, where she finds Rubber Duck sitting in the back of the van. He asks her if she ever knew of a duck who couldn't swim.
[edit] Trivia
- Director Sam Peckinpah had a cameo as a sound gaffer during the on the road interview scene.
- The truck Burt Young was driving belonged to "Paulie Hauling" of New Jersey, after Young's Paulie character in Rocky.
- Rubber Duck's truck is (generally represented in the movie as) a 1977 Mack RS786LST[1].
[edit] Soundtrack
Features
- "Convoy" by C.W McCall
- "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 Joe Spears
- "Keep On The Sunny Side" by Doc Watson
- "Walk Right Back" by Annie Murray
The soundtrack album has sold in the region of 3 million copies to date.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Convoy at the Internet Movie Database
- Convoy The Movie
- C.W. McCall: An American Legend
- the Convoy Rubber Duck Hood Ornament
| Films directed by Sam Peckinpah |
|---|
| The Deadly Companions • Ride the High Country • Major Dundee • The Wild Bunch • The Ballad of Cable Hogue • Straw Dogs • Junior Bonner • The Getaway • Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid • Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia • The Killer Elite • Cross of Iron • Convoy • The Osterman Weekend |
