Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)

★ 4.4 1h 25m 175 votes IMDb

Action Comedy Crime

The Enos duo convince Cletus, aka The Bandit, to come out of hiding and help them promote their new restaurant. With a little coaxing, he agrees, producing an almost-creaky Trigger as his mode of transport. But his nemesis, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, is on the hunt, forcing Cletus and Trigger to hit the road. Can they steer clear of the vengeful sheriff?

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Cast

Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice Died 1987 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and composer known affectionately as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growing...

Paul Williams as Little Enos Age 85 · Bennington, Omaha, Nebraska, USA Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. (born September 19, 1940) is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1...

Pat McCormick as Big Enos Died 2005 · Lakewood, Ohio, USA Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 – July 29, 2005) was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels..

Jerry Reed as Cletus / The Bandit Died 2008 · Atlanta, Georgia, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songw...

Mike Henry as Junior Died 2021 · Los Angeles, California, USA Michael Dennis Henry (August 15, 1936 – January 8, 2021) was a former American football linebacker and film and television actor, best known for playing the main role as Tarzan in the 1960s movies Tar...

Director Dick Lowry

Cast Jackie Gleason, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry, Colleen Camp, Faith Minton, Burt Reynolds, Sharon Anderson, Silvia Arana

Wuchak 4/10 Jun 08, 2018

RELEASED IN 1983 and directed by Dick Lowry, "Smokey and the Bandit Part 3” is a car chase comedy about Big Enos and Little Enos (Pat McCormick & Paul Williams) betting Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) that he can’t drive from Miami to the Enos ranch in Texas in a short period of time. The Sheriff is joined by his dimwitted hunk of a son (Mike Henry). Meanwhile Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) takes the place of The Bandit, teaming up with a woman who just quit her job at a used car lot (Colleen Camp).

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field are absent in this third entry of the Good Ol’ Boy series, except for Burt having a glorified cameo at the end. Gleason takes the lead with Mike Henry’s support. The latter is so effective in his inane role that you completely forget that he played a serious Tarzan in three movies from 1966-1968, not to mention the formidable corrupt Sheriff in “Rio Lobo” (1970). At 46 during shooting, you’ll observe that he certainly kept in shape.

Car chase comedies like this are meant for leaving your brain at the door and having fun, but this inferior sequel makes me want to up my rating for the original “Smokey and the Bandit” (1977). There’s an amateurish vibe, particularly with the writing and editing, which prevents it from attaining even the low level of "Cannonball Run 2" (1984). Still, it’s the most action-packed (and goofy) entry in the series and it has its points of silly amusement.

Colleen Camp is serviceable essentially replacing Field on the female front, although not enough is done with her. If you’re not familiar with Colleen, she played the Indian playmate in “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and the hot French maid in “Clue” (1985). Anyway, this segment arguably features the best women in the periphery. Faith Minton is on hand as a 6’1” Amazonian who takes a liking to the Sheriff.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 25 minutes and was shot entirely in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Ocala, Clearwater and Miami).

GRADE: C-/D+