Henry Fonda

Eileen Brennan

Austin Pendleton

Robert Englund

Dub Taylor

John Byner

Susan Sarandon

Melanie Mayron

Leigh French

Mews Small

Daina House

Gary Sandy

Valerie Curtin

Johnnie Collins III

Bibi Osterwald

Ben Freedman

Lyman Ward

Tony Cacciotti

Dave Morick

Rick Sandack

Lesley Woods

Herb Armstrong

Hank Rolike

Gary Downey

Sander Vanocur

Herman Rowland

Ernie Paul

Sherri Wheaton

Jackson Baker

David Bond

John Leone

Thomas E. Ackerman

Art Names

Gary McLarty

Jean-Pierre Dorléac

Michael Leone

Craig Safan

Peggy Names

Erik Cord

Jesse Corallo

Mitchell Cannold

Corky Ehlers

Ramsay King

Allan F. Bodoh

Melanie Levitt

Robert Lothrop

John Patterson

Pat Triandos

Hubie Kerns Jr.

Larry Holt

Ron Stein

Flora M. Gordon

Carey Loftin

Wally Crowder

Edward R. Brown

Victor Paul

Roz Harris

Joel Westbrook

Robert Pickering

Lou Dyer

Mike Berlin

Edward Brown Jr.

Michael F. Newman

Merrick Martin

Tom Finan

Peter Garbarini

Betty Moortgat

Action

Comedy

The Great Smokey Roadblock

Cinema Arts Associated

Mar Vista Productions

Western Film Productions

United States of America

_**Comedic road flick about a Trucker’s final run with Henry Fonda**_

A dying trucker (Henry Fonda) throws caution to the wind by stealing back his repossessed semi and venturing his last haul across the country with a Bible-spouting sidekick (Robert Englund), a madam (Eileen Brennan) and her six girls.

"The Great Smokey Roadblock" (1977) was originally titled “The Last of the Cowboys” and was presumably changed to take advantage of the success of “Smokey and the Bandit.” While this one focuses on a trucker and a band of prostitutes, it’s just as entertaining as that more popular road farce and maybe a smidgen more.

The movie repeatedly points out that Fonda’s character is 60 years old, but he was actually 71 during filming and looked it. Don’t get me wrong, he looked good for his age and had his usual charisma, but he didn’t look 60, unless he had lived a very hard life.

Curvy Daina House is the highlight on the feminine front, but I strangely found grumpy Alice (Mews Small) notable too. Susan Sarandon is also on hand before she made it big. Actually the entire female cast is entertaining because they’re fleshed out as individuals.

The geography is disingenuous as Northern California is passed off for places like Missouri, the Smokey Mountains and the Carolina coast. Yet even big budget movies back then did this, let alone small flicks like this one.      

The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Oroville, California. 

GRADE: B-

English

The Last of the Cowboys (1977) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]