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Convoy (1978 film)

From Alfawiki
Convoy
Company typeFilm
IndustryMotion picture
Founded1978
FounderSam Peckinpah (director)
ProductsAction film

Convoy is a 1978 American action film set on the road, directed by Sam Peckinpah and featuring performances by Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair, and Franklyn Ajaye. The movie draws inspiration from the 1975 country novelty hit "Convoy" by C. W. McCall. Created during the height of the CB radio and trucking phenomenon in the United States, it followed a wave of similarly themed movies such as Moonfire (1970), Duel (1971), and Smokey and the Bandit (1977).

The narrative follows a group of truck drivers in Arizona who confront extortion attempts by a local sheriff. Following an altercation in which one driver assaults the sheriff, a band of defiant truckers sets out to cross into New Mexico while evading law enforcement. Their mission also includes rescuing a fellow driver detained in Texas and subjected to police brutality. The film premiered first in Japan on June 10, 1978, before its U.S. release on June 28 through United Artists. Although critical reception was mixed, Convoy became Peckinpah’s highest-grossing film, earning $45 million on a $12 million budget.

Plot

In the Arizona desert, trucker Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald is overtaken by a woman driving a Jaguar XK-E, then encounters fellow drivers Pig Pen/Love Machine and Spider Mike. A CB radio message from a "trucker" signals they may increase their speed—this turns out to be Sheriff "Dirty" Lyle Wallace, who demands an extortion fee of $70 from each driver.

The convoy stops at Rafael's Glide-In diner, where Duck’s occasional girlfriend Violet works as a waitress. Also present is Melissa, the Jaguar driver whose vehicle has broken down; she is en route to Dallas seeking employment and has sold her car and possessions. Duck offers her a ride, much to Violet’s displeasure, who gives him a special birthday present before they leave. While they are away, Wallace arrives to check license plates. Pig Pen and Spider Mike mock Wallace over the diner’s CB radio, provoking Wallace to attempt arresting Spider Mike for vagrancy. A fight breaks out when Mike strikes Wallace; although troopers come to Wallace’s aid, the truckers overpower them and decide to flee toward the state border, disabling police vehicles along the way.

As they drive through Arizona and New Mexico with Wallace in pursuit, Duck intensifies hostilities by forcing Wallace off the road, causing a crash. When additional officers arrive, Duck leads the convoy off the highway onto difficult desert terrain, resulting in several police crashes and crushing Wallace’s vehicle between trucks. During their escape from law enforcement, Rubber Duck rises as an unexpected leader.

New Mexico Governor Jerry Haskins meets with Duck after learning about plans to deploy the National Guard against the convoy. Meanwhile, Wallace and a Texas sheriff apprehend Spider Mike in Alvarez, Texas, using him as bait for Duck. A jail janitor alerts other truckers via CB radio that Mike was unjustly arrested and beaten. The message spreads among the truckers in New Mexico.

After concluding his meeting with Haskins, Duck leads the convoy eastward toward Texas. They cause destruction in Alvarez and free Spider Mike. Now fugitives, they head toward the Mexican border. Rubber Duck becomes separated when Pig Pen causes a minor collision. Nearing the US-Mexico border, Duck confronts Wallace and National Guard forces on a bridge. Wallace fires at Duck’s tanker trailer, triggering an explosion; Duck intentionally drives off the bridge into the river below and is presumed dead.

A public funeral is held for Rubber Duck. Melissa boards a school bus filled with "long-haired friends of Jesus," where she discovers Duck alive in disguise—he had swum away from the wreckage. The convoy resumes its journey with Duck’s coffin accompanying them. Passing by Wallace, who laughs upon spotting that Duck is still alive.

Cast


Production

The movie’s financing was chiefly provided by EMI Films, a British company. Filming took place almost exclusively in New Mexico. Production commenced in 1977, coinciding with the height of the CB radio and trucking trend, alongside contemporaneous projects like Smokey and the Bandit and the television series Movin' On.

At this point in his career, director Sam Peckinpah was battling issues with alcohol and substance abuse. His previous works had not achieved commercial success, generating pressure to deliver a major hit. Peckinpah found B. W. L. Norton’s script unsatisfactory and encouraged actors to improvise, though this approach met with limited results. To introduce greater diversity within the convoy, Peckinpah cast Madge Sinclair and Franklyn Ajaye, deviating notably from the original screenplay. A stunt featuring Sinclair’s truck overturning was added with a comedic touch.

James Coburn was brought on board as second-unit director and reportedly took charge of some scenes when Peckinpah was incapacitated. The initial rough cut, assembled by Peckinpah and Garth Craven in early 1978, lasted around 220 minutes and included minimal musical accompaniment beyond the title track and Richard Gillis’s "Blow The Gates To Heaven." Additional scoring was composed by Jerry Fielding.

After a second viewing, EMI executive Michael Deeley dismissed both Peckinpah and Craven in March 1978. Editor Graeme Clifford was appointed to significantly shorten the film for a June release. This edited version faced criticism for excising much of Peckinpah’s original material.

Reflecting on the experience, Peckinpah remarked: "While working on Cross of Iron I kept hearing on Armed Forces radio this song about 'We'll hit the gate goin' 98...,' and I thought 'By God, I'd like to be out on that highway!' But when I got there, I ended up not being there at all."

The production concluded eleven days behind schedule with a budget of $12 million—more than twice the initial estimate.

One of the film’s most memorable sequences—a tanker truck explosion—was shot on a one-way bridge spanning the Colorado River near Needles, California. The local fire department assisted during filming; this bridge was dismantled shortly afterward.

Peckinpah makes a brief appearance as a sound technician during an interview scene. The truck driven by Rubber Duck is primarily shown as a 1977 Mack RS712LST model, with other Mack RS700L variants used for doubles and props. A restored 1970 Mack RS731LST employed in second-unit filming is planned for exhibition at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri.

Pig Pen's vehicle is mainly depicted as a 1977 Mack Cruiseliner WL786LST, while a 1973 Kenworth K-123 served as its stunt double.

Release

The movie premiered in Japan in mid-June 1978, followed shortly by its debut on June 28, 1978, in 700 theaters throughout the United States and Canada.

Critical reception

Although Convoy achieved commercial success and developed a lasting cult audience, critical opinions were divided. It currently holds a 56% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 18 critic reviews.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times dismissed the film as "a bad joke," criticizing its failure to deliver either compelling melodrama or effective comedy, and labeling it an expensive indulgence in myth-building. Arthur D. Murphy from Variety found the film muddled and overburdened with excessive truck collisions and chaotic destruction, ultimately describing it as "a whole lot of nothing going on here." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded it 1.5 stars out of 4, referring to it as sluggish entertainment and admitting he favored the law enforcement characters over the leads. Los Angeles Times critic Charles Champlin called it "a multivehicle wreck of a movie," failing both as a romantic drama and an anti-establishment statement, arriving too late to benefit from the CB radio fad.

Gary Arnold at The Washington Post compared it to a blend of Billy Jack and Smokey and the Bandit, criticizing Peckinpah’s inability to elevate the material beyond loud spectacle. Conversely, John Pym of The Monthly Film Bulletin offered a more favorable assessment, commending Peckinpah’s talent in adapting Western themes within the structure of a road movie.

Empire assigned the film a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as an entertaining but unsubtle demolition derby that lacks the creativity or craftsmanship found in Spielberg's Duel.

Box office

Within its initial nine days, the film earned $4 million in Japan. Convoy became Peckinpah’s highest-grossing work, accumulating $45 million at the box office across the U.S. and Canada.

Home media

On April 28, 2015, Kino Lorber issued Convoy on both DVD and Blu-ray formats.

Soundtrack

Included tracks:

Novelization

The 1978 paperback adaptation authored by screenwriter B.W.L. Norton (ISBN 9780440112983) adopted a more serious tone with reduced humor, expanded character backstories, and plot modifications including heightened tension between Rubber Duck and Wallace, as well as Widow Woman’s fifth marriage.

External links

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