Jerry Reed Movies
The son of an amateur musician, Jerry Reed spent his formative years laboring in the cotton fields of Georgia, teaching himself the guitar in his spare time. At 18, Reed was hired by Capitol Records as a staff songwriter. One of his first compositions, "Crazy Legs," proved to be a hit for C&W star Gene Vincent; likewise, Elvis Presley scored successes with Reed's "Guitar Man" and "U.S. Males." After army service, Reed established himself as one of the most highly sought-after studio guitarists in the business. He made his mark as a singer in his own right with his best-selling 1967 rendition of "Guitar Man." Reed went on to win a Grammy award for his 1970 chart-topper "Amos Moses"; his later number-one hits included 1971's "When You're Hot, You're Hot" and 1982's "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)." He augmented his recording fame as a regular on the TV series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, then as star of his own summer-replacement variety weekly, 1972's The Jerry Reed When You're Hot You're Hot Hour. By 1977, Reed had pretty much put his recording activities on the back burner in favor of his blossoming film career. He made his movie bow in Burt Reynolds' W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), then went on to co-star as Cletus in Reynolds' two Smokey and the Bandit outings, composing the musical score for both films. Reed was elevated to second billing in the Reynolds-less Smokey and the Bandit III (1983), but only after the film had been unsuccessfully previewed with Jackie Gleason playing both Smokey and the Bandit. Jerry Reed made his film directorial debut with 1981's What Comes Around. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1981
In this road movie, two cowboys from Montana are trekking across the nation looking for adventure and fun when they encounter a small carnival owned by a sleazy operator. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jerry Reed, Geoffrey Scott, (more)
- 1981
Country singer Jerry Reed makes a return appearance to Mel's diner in this episode. At the invitation of Mel (Vic Tayback), Jerry deposits a large fish that he has caught in the restaurant refrigerator until he has time to get it stuffed and mounted. But Alice (Linda Lavin) and the girls don't know about this arrangement--and when they come across the fish, they subdivide it into fillets. Diane Ladd (Belle) sings "Uncle Bud." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1978
This episode is founded upon the barely plausible premise that when she was ten years old, Flo (Polly Holliday) babysat a 4-year-old boy named Jerry Reed. Now, of course, Reed is an all-grown-up country superstar (who plays himself in this episode), and Flo is not reluctant to brag about her brush with celebrity. But things turn sour for the wacky waitress when everyone in and out of Mel's Diner demands that she get them free tickets for Jerry's upcoming Phoenix concert. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on a true story, Bat 21 follows the harrowing adventures of Lt. Colonel Iceal Hambleton (Gene Hackman), whose plane is shot down over enemy territory while on reconnaissance behind enemy lines in Vietnam. Because Hambleton used to call the shots from behind a desk, he lacks combat survival experience and is forced to adapt while the enemy surrounds him on all sides. As the Air Force plans a risky rescue mission, he is befriended by pilot Bartholomew Clark (Danny Glover), who can't land to pick up Hambleton due to the enemy activity but keeps him company by radio. Hambleton's plight takes a turn for the worse once the brass decide to execute an intensive bombing mission in the area, whether or not they can rescue Hambleton. The colonel, meanwhile, confronted for the first time by the horrors of war, begins to reassess his role in the bloodshed. An overlooked film at the time of its release, Bat 21 is a smaller war picture that focuses on an ordinary man in an excruciating situation, and how it ultimately changes his life. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, (more)
- 1985
- R
In an "urban cowboy" story, a father decides to take a stand against neighborhood gangsters even at risk to his life. After Louis Thibadeau (Charles Durning) witnesses a gangland-style execution he agrees to help the police nail and jail the murderers, knowing full well the gangsters will not idly sit back and allow him to testify. When a female lawyer friend (Pam Grier) runs across one of the hoodlums in a court case, she warns Louis that he doesn't stand a chance of collecting social security at the moment. Louis sends his children away for the duration and digs out his supply of weapons from his days as a Marine, waiting at home for the assault to come. Following more or less the same build-up as Straw Dogs, this is a milder version of the same theme. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Pam Grier, (more)
Director Michael Ritchie spoofs survivalists in this rambling black comedy. Donald Quinelle (Robin Williams) is a successful young executive who is called to his boss' office one morning and is fired by a parrot sitting in the CEO's chair -- a method the company uses to axe high-powered execs. Donald meets Sonny Paluso (Walter Matthau), a former gas station owner who is out of work because his business was blown up. At a diner, the two newfound friends witness a robbery and catch sight of the perpetrator, Jerry Reed (Jack Locke). Reed is a mob hit man who swears to kill the two men who saw him commit the crime. Donald, formerly afraid of weapons, becomes obsessed with guns as a way to protect himself from the mob. He enrolls in a survivalist training school in the mountains of Vermont. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Robin Williams, (more)
Two Montana saddletramps head for bustling Music City and open up a detective agency in this comical adventure that was originally the pilot of a television series. Not only do the two have to accustom themselves to strange big-city ways, they have to learn to become less inept at the gumshoe game as they try to expose extortionists and return a missing singer. Singers Barbara Mandrell and Roy Acuff make cameo appearances. On video the film is titled Ramblin' Man. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roy Acuff, Claude Akins, (more)
As with his previous films, comedian Adam Sandler and writing partner Tim Herlihy have conceived a simple premise, character, and title, and peppered their creation with visual sight gags. The story concerns Bobby Boucher, a Louisiana-born-and-bred kid living in the swamps with his overbearing, alligator-eating mom (Kathy Bates). Bobby is a water boy for the local college football team, and a damn good one, even good at turning a deaf ear at the ridicule he gets from the players and coach (Jerry Reed). But when Bobby is fired from his job, he is forced to continue his water management skills at the rival college, a losing team with a washed-up coach (Happy Days' "The Fonz," Henry Winkler). It's here that the coach teaches Bobby to channel his anger, and he makes a surprising discovery. The water boy can tackle like no one he's ever seen. Forced to keep his football talents from his mom, Bobby soon joins the college as a student and learns that there's more to life than alligator stew. He even falls for a perky ex-con (Fairuza Balk) who teaches Bobby about the birds and the bees. As Bobby leads his team toward victory, they get an invitation to play in the annual Bourbon bowl against his old college rivals. Bobby must choose between the love of his ailing mother and the glory of the final game -- or maybe there's a way he can get both. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, (more)
- 1985
- PG
In a drama about being exploited by someone you trust, country music singer Jerry Reed, who served as producer and director as well as lead actor, plays Joe Hawkins, a successful performer who has emotionally hit the skids. He has been in the business for 25 years and its effects have turned him into an alcoholic and drugged-out ghost of his former self. His brother, a little slow on the uptake, decides it is time to do something about it and he kidnaps him away from his life on the road. A little investigative work reveals that Joe's manager has cheated him out of $8,000,000 over the years, and now the dried-out, sober-headed Joe and his brother are seeking revenge of the highest order. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jerry Reed, Barry Corbin, (more)
- 1983
- PG
In this plotless, mindless chase movie, papa Big Enos and son Little Enos (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams) hire Cletus (Jerry Reed) to haul a Jaws-replica shark from Miami to Texas to advertise their new seafood restaurant. There is big money in it for Cletus if he can get to Texas on time. Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) mistakes Cletus for his old nemesis the Bandit (Burt Reynolds, who only appears briefly at the end of the film), postpones his retirement, and with his inept son Junior (Mike Henry) in tow, chases Cletus across the South for a disconnected series of misadventures and bad jokes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, (more)
Former stuntman Hal Needham made his directorial debut with the first Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and repeated his success with the sequel, a virtual remake that substituted a live elephant for a truckload of beer. Burt Reynolds returns as law-defying anti-hero Bandit, now a washed-up alcoholic whose girlfriend Carrie (Sally Field) has left him. When a pair of eccentric, wealthy brothers named Big Enos (Pat McCormick) and Little Enos (Paul Williams) approach Bandit with an offer of work, he and trucker pal Cledus (Jerry Reed) jump at the chance. The gig involves transporting an elephant to the Republican National Convention in twenty-four hours. The wrinkle is that the pachyderm is about to give birth -- any minute. Enter "Doc" (Dom DeLuise) a bizarre medical man who joins the team to care for the expectant mother, and Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), who has not forgotten the humiliations that he suffered during Bandit's last "mission." Needham's films were instantly forgettable cocktails of car chases, car crashes, and lowbrow humor. Reynolds and Needham teamed up over a dozen times in various action comedy pictures. Audiences of the late Seventies loved their anti-authority redneck humor and made their early collaborations into box office smashes. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, (more)
- 1979
- PG
In this comedy a trio of undercover government cops in Miami decide that it would be a good idea to open a bogus fencing operation so they can trap criminals. When the crooks find out, trouble ensues and the fun begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dom DeLuise, Jerry Reed, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Peter Fonda and Jerry Reed star as truckers pitted against a rival big-rig boss who wants them off the highway. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Jerry Reed, (more)
"Smokey," aka Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), is the prospective father-in-law of unwilling bride Carrie (Sally Field). The Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a maverick racecar driver, makes an 80,000-dollar bet that he can transport a shipment of Coors beer from Texarkana, TX, to Atlanta within 28 hours. It's important to note that in 1977, it was illegal to sell the Coors brand east of the Mississippi River without a permit; if we don't note that, then the plot won't make sense at times. Already in danger of arrest from redneck lawmen like Buford T. Justice, Bandit furthers his chances at a stiff jail term when he offers a ride to Carrie, who hopes to escape her unwanted wedding to Justice's boy. The rest of the film is one long chase; not quite as subtle as a Road Runner/Coyote cartoon, not quite as restrained as a Three Stooges comedy. Universally panned by critics upon its first release, Smokey and the Bandit reportedly pulled in just under $126 million and led to two sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, (more)
Having created the character of Gator McKlusky in 1973's White Lightning, Burt Reynolds reprises the role in the appropriately titled Gator. Once again, ex-convict McKluskey is strong-armed into helping the feds nab a dangerous criminal, who turns out to be an old high-school chum (Jerry Reed). He is aided and abetted by TV reporter Aggie Maybank (Lauren Hutton) and comedy-relief FBI agent Irving Greenfield (Jack Weston). Talk-show host Mike Douglas makes his film debut as a Jimmy Carter-style governor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Jack Weston, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Burt Reynolds stars in this fast-paced "road" picture as W. W. Bright, a 1950s Southern con man. He takes over Takes over the Dixie Dancekings, a two-bit country-western act headed by Dixie (Conny Van Dyke). Bright wheels and deals to get the Dixie Dancekings into the Grand Ole Opry. Meanwhile, he robs the gas stations of an oil company which he feels has cheated him, and is pursued by Bible-thumping lawman Deacon Gore (Art Carney). W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings is highlighted by musical renditions from Conny Van Dyke, Jerry Reed and Furry Lewis--and from Ned Beatty, playing an image-conscious Porter Wagoner type. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Conny van Dyke, (more)
This forgettable comedy finds Joe Lightcloud (Elvis Presley) as a mixed-blood Indian with strong ties to his tribe and his father Charlie (Burgess Meredith). Joe tries to get government assistance for the tribe in exchange for permitting the local congressman to graze cattle on Indian land. Maime (Quentin Dean) is the object of Joe's affection, but they are under the watchful eye of her mother Glenda (Joan Blondell), who owns the local saloon. The Jordanaires back up Elvis on a few songs, most notable being "U.S. Male" by guitar-great Jerry Reed. By this time, Elvis was extremely tired of churning out movies with such dismal scripts. Later in 1968, he would make a triumphant return to live performing with his NBC television special which featured Jerry Reed's "Guitar Man." Elvis was playing out the string of films set up by his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, who never wanted Elvis to be considered as a serious dramatic actor. Parker even went so far as to take Elia Kazan to task for even mentioning such an idea. It was such thinking that prompted the King Of Rock & Roll to return to the stage once again after an eight-year hiatus. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, (more)
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