There have been countless movies featuring cars like the 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible in Grease, the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle in The Love Bug, the 1967 Shelby GT 500 in Gone in 60 Seconds, the 1970 Dodge Charger in The Fast and The Furious, the 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 in Back to the Future, and the list goes on and on! Those are for another day though; what about trucks - and not just trucks - but big rigs? There are a lot of movies featuring big rigs possessed by demons or driven by a serial killer but what about the fun loving, family-oriented, risk-taking, and hardworking truckers!
We’ve picked our favourite big rig adventures, so let’s get trucking with our Top 5 picks!
5. Over the Top
Over the top was released in 1987 as an action/sports/drama starring the king of action/sports/dramas, Sylvester Stallone, as an underdog that suffers loss and struggles to overcome and win. Sound familiar? Stallone has built his career on playing the underdog, but in this movie, Stallone plays Lincoln Hawk, who is a struggling trucker that arm wrestles for extra cash. Struggling to win back the love and trust of his son, Michael, the two roadtrip from Colorado to California, only to have Hawk leave Michael’s side to try and better his life. He heads to Las Vegas, seeking the $10,000 and brand new '86 Volvo big-rig grand prize that the World Championship Arm Wrestling Finals is offering.
4. Black Dog
Released in 1998, Patrick Swayze stars in this film as ex-convict truck driver Jack Crews. Crews is convicted of vehicular manslaughter and is sentenced to serve time in prison. When released from prison he takes a job as a mechanic because, as part of his conviction, he lost his commercial trucking licence. When offered a job hauling a load of toilets he turns it down until coming to the realization he is going to lose his house unless he gets the pay from this job. He takes the job and later discovers the load is something other than toilets, and now his wife and daughter are taken hostage until he “delivers the goods”. Featuring a high-speed chase where Crews is racing around in a ’94 Peterbilt 379, you’ll definitely get a healthy dose of action and thrill throughout the movie!
3. Convoy
Released in 1978 and based on the 1975 country and western novelty song "Convoy" by C. W. McCall, this film features Kristoffer Kristofferson starring as trucker, Martin Penwald (aka Rubber Duck), and follows his adventures in a ’77 Mack, through the Southern USA. Rubber Duck has a sometimes girlfriend that just happens to be the wife of Sherrif Wallace (aka Dirty Lyle), his long-term nemesis! Made in midst of the CB Radio craze, Convoy follows in the tracks of movies like White Line Fever and Smokey and the Bandit, with truckers evading the police while up to entertaining shenanigans.
2. Big Trouble in Little China
Released in 1986, this cult classic stars Kurt Russell as rough-around-the-edges truck driver Jack Burton, who is inseparable from his ’85 Freightliner FLC-120. In this fantasy/martial arts/action/comedy film, Burton and his friend Wang Chi have a run-in with the Lords of Death, a street gang that kidnaps Wang Chi’s green-eyed fiancé. After having his truck stolen along the way, Burton’s focus is reignited to save both his truck and his pal’s girl! On a mission through San Francisco’s Chinatown to rescue them both, they meet an ancient sorcerer with a centuries old curse and get caught up in battle after battle!
1. Smokey and the Bandit
Released in 1977, this classic movie stars Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, and Burt Reynolds as Bo Darville (aka Bandit). Bandit is a bootlegger looking for an $80,000 payout with his partner Cledus Snow (aka Snowman) and his copilot Fred. Loaded with 400 cases of Coors beer and only 28 hours of time, they are relentlessly pursued by Buford T. Justice on their illegal run from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia. During this showdown on the road, Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am and tries to keep Justice distracted and off of Snowman’s trail, who’s doing the hauling with a ’73 Kenworth W900.
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There never seems to be a dull moment with these big rig drivers - they are either saving someone from the bad guys, avoiding being caught by the law, or getting up to some adventurous shenanigans! During all of the on-road antics, did you ever feel like you were missing what was being said amongst all the trucker slang being used and did you catch that everyone had their own, unique CB Radio handle? Find your own handle by using your first and last name initials on our graphic below!
10-4 readers this is our magic mile, so, keep your rubber down and metal up and make it a best seller! Seventy-thirds!