Wonderful Movie

So much average

Fresh and Exciting

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This movie begins with three truckers driving under the handles of "the Rubber Duck" (Kris Kristofferson), "Pig Pen" (Burt Young) and "Spider Mike" (Franklin Ajaye) minding their own business and cruising down the highway. Suddenly, from out of nowhere they get a message that the highway is totally clear and advising them to speed up. Naturally, they eagerly follow this advice only to find out that the person on the other end of the CB radio is actually an Arizona sheriff named "Lyle Wallace" (Ernest Borgnine) and he has tricked them into violating the speed limit. Not only that, but he then proceeds to pocket their money in exchange for letting them go on their way. Needless to say, this doesn't make them very happy and when one of the Sheriff's deputies tries to harass Spider Mike at a nearby truck stop things quickly go south from there. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie is based on a song that came out a year or two earlier and helped to further a new American fad involving CB radios and films based on highway truck drivers. Although these films seemed quite new and exciting at the time, the luster has essentially vanished from most of these movies and this particular picture is no exception as it now seems rather dull and outdated. Slightly below average.

a group of struggling truckers run into a situation which ignites their indignation. They arrange to form a truck convoy under the leadership of the man whose CB nickname is "Rubber Duck". He is the most aggrieved of the bunch, having been harassed beyond the point of endurance by Lyle Wallace, a blackmailing traffic cop who pursues him frantically through several states after he fails to submit to the phony speed trap he had set up. As news of the truck convoy spreads, unexpected allies join the line, and the now-gigantic illegal protest becomes the subject of national news reports.....If you ever yearned for a film featuring Kristofferson driving for almost the entire movie with his shirt off, whilst the narrative is sung on the soundtrack, then this is the movie for you.It's basically one long chase movie, featuring people with comedy nicknames, and if you were a fan of movies such as The Cannonball Run, or Smokey and The Bandit, or any film featuring Eastwood and Clyde, then this sort of goes into that short lived sub genre.But after all these years, it hasn't held up well, and the film has underlying race issues throughout. the only thing that is missing from Borgnine is a white hat, because there is only one fundamental reason he is chasing Rubber Duck, and that is because he's trying to help someone along the way.But the soundtrack is a good laugh, and it features some really good stunts, and one of the funniest bar fights ever seen, but all in all is just about Kris driving a truck with his shirt off.

CONVOY Release Date: 6/28/1978 Runtime: 110 MinutesSTARRING: Convoy is a 1978 action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine and Burt Young. The movie is based on the 1975 country and western and novelty song "Convoy" by C.W. McCall. It is considered a member of the CB Radio/trucker film genre which rose to prominence in the 1970s following the success of Smokey and the Bandit, White Line Fever and the television series Movin' On.SUMMARY: Truck driver Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald (Kristofferson) comes into conflict with Sheriff "Dirty Lyle" Wallace (Borgnine). Rubber Duck and his trucker friends, Pig Pen (Burt Young), Spider Mike (Franklyn Ajaye) and Black Widow (Madge Sinclair), get into a fight with Wallace and his deputies at a truck stop. After handcuffing Wallace to a barstool, they decide to head for the state line to avoid prosecution. Melissa (MacGraw), a photographer whose car has broken down, agrees to ride with the Rubber Duck, and the pair soon falls in love. The truckers drive across Arizona and New Mexico, with Wallace in belated pursuit. Additional independent truckers join them to form a mile-long convoy in support of the Rubber Duck's vendetta against the abusive Wallace. The truckers communicate with each other via CB Radio, and much of the jargon associated with the CB craze is sprinkled throughout the film. The trip touches on social empowerment issues of class, race and gender as well as the place of the law in society. As the rebellious truckers run from the police, Rubber Duck becomes a reluctant folk hero. It becomes apparent the truckers have a great deal of political support and the Governor of New Mexico, Jerry Haskins (Seymour Cassel), meets Rubber Duck. At about the same time, Wallace and Alvarez, a brutal Texas sheriff, arrest Spider Mike, who left the convoy to be with his wife after giving birth to their son. Wallace's plan is to trap Rubber Duck. A janitor at the jail, unaware of the plan, messages by CB radio that Spider Mike has been arrested and beaten. Various truckers relay the message to New Mexico. QUESTIONS: Why did Governor Jerry Haskins want to meet with the Rubber Duck? Why was Spider Mike in jail? Why did some of the other truckers join the Rubber Duck and head to East Texas? Why was Wallace and the National Guard called in on this situation? MY THOUGHTS: This was a good truckers movie. Once again this was the type of movie that kept you on the edge of your seat. However once again in my eyes this movie had no leading lady. Based on the action and no leading lady I give this movie 8 weasel stars.

More than 20 years ago my most favorite movie... and still has been! Has seen it multiple times. This movie is damn good, no modern movie won't even come close to it; very good acting from some very good actors and funny too. The raw action is good, the (true) racism against black people in Texas good displayed, the free spirit of the profession excellent displayed (pity nowadays it's just gone). Displays the real life of truck-drivers all over the world and their constant battle against corrupt and money hungry police agents who are, as most non-truck-drivers are, not loving truckers very much, despite they're merely human and doing only what they are (under)paid for, just like anybody else. A must be seen movie for all your truckers out there and wanna-be's! Haul a$$!