Convoy (1978) | Rubber Duck, Rebel Truckers & 70s Road Movie Chaos | VHSSB

<p>Dave’s pick this week is Convoy, Sam Peckinpah’s 1978 trucker movie starring Kris Kristofferson as Rubber Duck, alongside Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair and Franklyn Ajaye. Filmed largely across New Mexico, the production rolled badly over budget, ultimately costing around $12 million — more than twice its original estimate.</p><p>Behind the camera, things were almost as unruly as the convoy itself. Peckinpah shot roughly 800,000 feet of film and struggled to bring his cut below three-and-a-half hours before the producers took control of post-production. Reviews were mixed, but audiences turned up: the film earned about $45 million in the US and Canada, becoming the biggest box-office hit of Peckinpah’s career and later developing a cult following</p><p><strong>TRAILER GUY PLOT SYNOPSIS</strong></p><p>In a land of speed traps, CB radios and deeply questionable law enforcement… one trucker has finally had enough.</p><p>Rubber Duck and his fellow drivers hit the highway with Sheriff “Dirty Lyle” Wallace on their tail. But what starts as a roadside feud soon becomes something much bigger, as one truck becomes ten… ten become fifty… and America discovers that truckers are considerably harder to arrest when they arrive as a small industrial nation.</p><p>This summer, keep the hammer down, the CB switched on, and whatever you do… don’t get between the Duck and the open road.</p><p><strong>FUN FACTS</strong></p><ul><li><p>The film was inspired by C.W. McCall’s 1975 hit song “Convoy”; McCall recorded a revised version referencing characters created for the movie.</p></li><li><p>Kris Kristofferson’s concert commitments caused filming to pause for around 11 days.</p></li><li><p>Several “Jesus freak” bus passengers were played by members of Kristofferson’s touring band.</p></li><li><p>Peckinpah appears briefly on screen as a sound engineer.</p></li><li><p>Rubber Duck’s main rig is represented by a 1977 Mack RS712LST, with other Mack trucks used as doubles.</p></li><li><p>Burt Young’s truck carries the name “Paulie Hauling,” a nod to his Rocky character.</p></li><li><p>The climactic bridge location near Needles, California, was a temporary structure demolished later in 1978.</p></li><li><p>Convoy became a major hit in the Soviet Union, selling a reported 35.9 million tickets.</p></li><li><p>The end credits include a few shots not seen in the finished film and roughly run backwards through the story.</p></li></ul><p><strong>SUPPORT THE SHOW