The Cannonball Run (1981)
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31% of critics liked it
(29 reviews) -
58% of users liked it
(45,921 ratings)
Burt Reynolds and director Hal Needham team up for the fourth time, this time bringing an all-star cast of characters on a cross-country car race in the vein of 1976 release The Gumball Rally. The police are the least of the Cannonballers' worries as they push the pedal to the metal in a race… More Burt Reynolds and director Hal Needham team up for the fourth time, this time bringing an all-star cast of characters on a cross-country car race in the vein of 1976 release The Gumball Rally. The police are the least of the Cannonballers' worries as they push the pedal to the metal in a race from Connecticut to California. Reynolds stars as J.J. McClure, a speed-loving racer disguised as an ambulance driver to outsmart the police. He is paired up with Dom Deluise, who plays his dimwitted sidekick Victor and who, on occasion, dons the suit of Captain Chaos. Rat Packers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. join the lineup as Ferrari-driving priests, while martial arts expert Jackie Chan takes on one of his first U.S. film roles driving a souped-up Subaru. Among the many other stars are Roger Moore doing a parody of his 007 character, complete with secret devices and weapons, Farrah Fawcett as Pamela, a woman McClure and Chaos pick up, and Jamie Farr as a deranged Islamic sheik. Jack Elam joins the cast as a crazed proctologist along for McClure's ambulance ride, and Needham makes a cameo as a patient. ~ Rachel Koetje, Rovi
- Directed By
- Hal Needham
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 19, 1981 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Full of terribly inside showbiz jokes and populated by what could be called Burt and Hal's Rat Pack, film takes place in that redneck never-never land where most of the guys are beer-guzzling good ole boys and all the gals are fabulously built tootsies.
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, Time Out
The last five minutes, when they show out-takes of flubbed lines, etc, are hysterical. The rest is strictly for those willing to pay for a series of TV chat show performances.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The Cannonball Run is an abdication of artistic responsibility at the lowest possible level of ambition. In other words, they didn't even care enough to make a good lousy movie.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Inoffensive and sometimes funny.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Harmless entertainment at its most commercial and least artistic, offering some fun spotting the stars in cameos
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Burt Reynolds
as J.J. McClure
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Roger Moore
as Seymour
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Farrah Fawcett
as Pamela
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Dom DeLuise
as Victor
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Dean Martin
as Jamie Blake
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Sammy Davis Jr.
as Fenderbaum
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Jack Elam
as Doctor
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Adrienne Barbeau
as Marcie
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Terry Bradshaw
as Terry
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Jackie Chan
as Subaru Driver #1
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Bert Convy
as Brad
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Jamie Farr
as Sheik
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Peter Fonda
as Chief Biker
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George Furth
as A.F. Foyt
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Michael Hui
as Subaru Driver #2
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Bianca Jagger
as Sheik's Sister
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Molly Picon
as Mom Goldfarb
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Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder
as The Greek
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Mel Tillis
as Mel
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Rick Aviles
as Mad Dog
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Warren Berlinger
as Shakey Finch
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Tara Buckman
as Jill
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Lois Areno
as Seymour's Girl
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Norman Grabowski
as Petoski
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Lois Hamilton
as Seymour's Girl (Spike)
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Joe KJecko
as Racing Driver
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Linda McClure
as Dour Lady
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John Megna
as Arthur Rose
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Dudley Remus
as New Jersey Patrolman 1
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Laura Lizer Sommers
as Lady in Distress
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Roy Tatum
as Connecticut Patrolman
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Robert Tessier
as Biker
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Alfie Wise
as Barman
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John Fiedler
as Desk Clerk
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Fred Smith
as Californian Patrolman 1
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Brock Yates
as Organizer
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Johnny Yune
as TV Talk Show Host
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Richard Losee
as Trans Am Driver
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Susan McDonald
as Seymour's Girl
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Jimmy Lewis
as Missouri Patrolman 1
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Kathleen M. Shea
as Starting Girl
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Grayce Spence
as Chair Person

