Cannonball Run II
Encyclopedia
See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
Cannonball Run II (1984) comedy film
featuring Burt Reynolds
and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros.
and Golden Harvest
. Like the original Cannonball Run, it is a set around an illegal cross-country race.
The film received eight Golden Raspberry Award nominations at the 1984 Golden Raspberry Awards
, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Actress, but no wins.
This was the last of the "formula" comedies for Reynolds. It is also marked the final feature film appearances of Dean Martin
and Frank Sinatra
. Their appearances, coupled with those of Sammy Davis, Jr.
and Shirley MacLaine
, marked the final on-screen appearance of the old Rat Pack
team.
) is ordered by his father (Ricardo Montalban
) to go back to America and win another Cannonball Run in order to "emblazon the Falafel name as the fastest in the world." When Sheik Abdul points out that there is no Cannonball Run that year, his father simply tells him to "buy one."
To make sure his ulcer doesn't prevent him from winning, the Sheik hires Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam
), who teamed with JJ (Burt Reynolds
) and Victor (Dom DeLuise
) in the first race as his in-car physician. He brings along a blond-haired servant (Doug McClure
), who receives numerous slaps in the face from both the sheik and his father. Most of the participants from the first race are lured back, including JJ and Victor, who have taken jobs working with a flying stunt crew.
In a subplot, Blake (Dean Martin
) and Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.) are in financial trouble with Don Don Canneloni (Charles Nelson Reilly
), who in turn is in financial trouble with mob enforcer Hymie Kaplan (Telly Savalas
). After the Sheik manages to bail out Blake and Fenderbaum by handing one of Don Don's thugs a stack of cash, Don Don hatches a plot to kidnap the Sheik in an attempt to extort money from him.
The race begins with JJ and Victor dressed as a US Army general and his private driver. They catch the attention of Betty (Marilu Henner
) and Veronica (Shirley MacLaine
), who are dressed as nuns for a musical, but willing to hitch a ride with JJ and Victor when they think the guys could become overnight millionaires. They don't lose their habits until later.
Don Don's enforcers continue to blunder one plan after another, with predictably slapstick results. The racers band together to invade the bordello. JJ, Victor, and Fenderbaum infiltrate
it in drag
, dressed as belly dancers. Others barrel in by car and rescue the Sheik, who is reluctant to leave since he has his pick of women there.
In the end, the Sheik bankrolls Don Don's bordello and then declares that he's upping the stakes to $2 million for the winner. All jump into their vehicles and make a dash for the finish line. The Sheik, as it turns out, loses yet again (this time blaming the doctor who rode with him for injecting him with an unknown substance), but convinces his father that he'll win the return-trip race, having hired the winner of this one. It turns out to be an orangutan
with a penchant for destructive behavior and giving elderly ladies the middle finger.
Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash
The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City and Darien, CT, on the US Atlantic coast, to Redondo Beach, a Los Angeles...
Cannonball Run II (1984) comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
featuring Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
and an all-star cast, released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It played a major role in becoming the first Chinese film company to successfully enter the western market for an extended period of time, especially with the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan...
. Like the original Cannonball Run, it is a set around an illegal cross-country race.
The film received eight Golden Raspberry Award nominations at the 1984 Golden Raspberry Awards
1984 Golden Raspberry Awards
The 5th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 24, 1985 at Vine Street Elementary School in Hollywood, California, to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1984. Classic German silent film Metropolis was nominated for two Razzies, both for Giorgio Moroder's new score for the...
, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Actress, but no wins.
This was the last of the "formula" comedies for Reynolds. It is also marked the final feature film appearances of Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. Their appearances, coupled with those of Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, marked the final on-screen appearance of the old Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
team.
Plot
Having lost the first Cannonball Run race, Sheik Abdul Ben Falafel (Jamie FarrJamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
) is ordered by his father (Ricardo Montalban
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
) to go back to America and win another Cannonball Run in order to "emblazon the Falafel name as the fastest in the world." When Sheik Abdul points out that there is no Cannonball Run that year, his father simply tells him to "buy one."
To make sure his ulcer doesn't prevent him from winning, the Sheik hires Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing (Jack Elam
Jack Elam
William Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
), who teamed with JJ (Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
) and Victor (Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
) in the first race as his in-car physician. He brings along a blond-haired servant (Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
), who receives numerous slaps in the face from both the sheik and his father. Most of the participants from the first race are lured back, including JJ and Victor, who have taken jobs working with a flying stunt crew.
In a subplot, Blake (Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
) and Fenderbaum (Sammy Davis Jr.) are in financial trouble with Don Don Canneloni (Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
), who in turn is in financial trouble with mob enforcer Hymie Kaplan (Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
). After the Sheik manages to bail out Blake and Fenderbaum by handing one of Don Don's thugs a stack of cash, Don Don hatches a plot to kidnap the Sheik in an attempt to extort money from him.
The race begins with JJ and Victor dressed as a US Army general and his private driver. They catch the attention of Betty (Marilu Henner
Marilu Henner
Mary Lucy Denise "Marilu" Henner is an American actress, producer and author. She is best known for her role as Elaine O'Connor Nardo on the sitcom Taxi from 1978 to 1983.-Early life:...
) and Veronica (Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
), who are dressed as nuns for a musical, but willing to hitch a ride with JJ and Victor when they think the guys could become overnight millionaires. They don't lose their habits until later.
Don Don's enforcers continue to blunder one plan after another, with predictably slapstick results. The racers band together to invade the bordello. JJ, Victor, and Fenderbaum infiltrate
Infiltration tactics
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small, lightly equipped infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front line strongpoints and isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons.-Development during World War I:...
it in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
, dressed as belly dancers. Others barrel in by car and rescue the Sheik, who is reluctant to leave since he has his pick of women there.
In the end, the Sheik bankrolls Don Don's bordello and then declares that he's upping the stakes to $2 million for the winner. All jump into their vehicles and make a dash for the finish line. The Sheik, as it turns out, loses yet again (this time blaming the doctor who rode with him for injecting him with an unknown substance), but convinces his father that he'll win the return-trip race, having hired the winner of this one. It turns out to be an orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
with a penchant for destructive behavior and giving elderly ladies the middle finger.
Cast
- Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as J.J. McClure - Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
as Victor Prinzi/Captain ChaosCaptain ChaosCaptain Chaos is a fictional character in the Cannonball Run movie series. He is the alter-ego of mild-mannered mechanic Victor Prinzim .Whenever Victor or any of his friends are being threatened, Victor is instantly compelled to don his satin cape and mask to become Captain Chaos...
. DeLuise also appears uncredited as Don Canneloni - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
as Jamie Blake - Sammy Davis, Jr.Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
as Morris Fenderbaum - Jamie FarrJamie FarrJamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
as The Sheik - Ricardo MontalbanRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as The Sheik's father, The King - Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
as Hymie Kaplan - Marilu HennerMarilu HennerMary Lucy Denise "Marilu" Henner is an American actress, producer and author. She is best known for her role as Elaine O'Connor Nardo on the sitcom Taxi from 1978 to 1983.-Early life:...
as Betty - Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
as Veronica - Susan AntonSusan Anton-Youth:Anton attended Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, and graduated in 1968. After high school, Anton attended San Bernardino Valley College...
as Jill - Catherine BachCatherine BachCatherine Bach is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Margo Dutton in African Skies.-Career:...
as Marcie - Foster BrooksFoster BrooksFoster Brooks was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunken man in nightclub performances and television programs.-Biography:...
, Sid CaesarSid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
and Louis NyeLouis NyeLouis Nye was an American comedy actor.-Early years:He was born Louis Neistat in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Joseph Neistat and Jennie Sherman . His sister was Rose Neistat...
as the fishermen in the rowboat - Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
as Jackie Chan, MitsubishiMitsubishi Motorsis a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
engineer - Richard KielRichard KielRichard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
as Arnold, Jackie's driver - Tim ConwayTim ConwayThomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...
and Don KnottsDon KnottsJesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
as California Highway Patrol officers who pull over the driving monkey - Mel TillisMel TillisLonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
as Mel (back from the first film) and Tony DanzaTony DanzaTony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
as Terry, the limo drivers with the orangutanOrangutanOrangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping... - Jack ElamJack ElamWilliam Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
as Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing - Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
as Don Don Canneloni - Michael V. GazzoMichael V. GazzoMichael Vincenzo Gazzo was an American Broadway playwright who later in life became a film and television actor....
, Alex RoccoAlex RoccoAlex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
, Henry Silva and Abe VigodaAbe VigodaAbe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
as Sonny, Tony, Slim and Caesar, Don Don's henchmen - Jim NaborsJim NaborsJames Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
as Private Homer Lyle, a parody of his popular character, Gomer PyleGomer PyleGomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim... - Molly PiconMolly PiconMolly Picon was an American actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a lyricist and dramatic storyteller....
reprises her role of Mrs. Goldfarb, Seymour's mother. In this film, Cannonballers drive into her house. - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
as Himself - Joe TheismannJoe TheismannJoseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
as Mack, the truck driver who helps out Jill and Marcie - Shawn Weatherly as the girl in Jamie Blake's bed
- Dale IshimotoDale IshimotoDale Ishimoto was an American actor of Japanese descent. He was born in Delta, Colorado in 1923 and was raised in Guadalupe, California.-Military service:...
as a Japanese businessman - Arte JohnsonArte JohnsonArthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson is an American comic actor. Johnson was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His best-remembered "character" was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase: "Verrrry interesting, but...['stupid', 'not very funny', and other variations]".-Early life:Johnson...
as a pilot - Fred DryerFred DryerJohn Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...
as a California Highway Patrol sergeant - Chris LemmonChris Lemmon-History:Lemmon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Cynthia Stone and actor Jack Lemmon. With a natural talent for music, he was encouraged by his father to study piano. Lemmon considered playing piano professionally after having graduated from the California Institute of the...
as a young California Highway Patrol officer - George LindseyGeorge LindseyGeorge Lindsey is an American character actor, best known for his role as "Goober Pyle" on The Andy Griffith Show, as well as for his tenure on Hee-Haw.-Early life and career :...
as Uncle Cal - Doug McClureDoug McClureDouglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
as The Sheik's servant - Jilly RizzoJilly RizzoErmenigildo "Jilly" Rizzo was an American restaurateur and entertainer.-Biography:A long-time friend of Frank Sinatra, Rizzo was mentioned in several of Sinatra's recordings and made cameo appearances in several of Sinatra's films. Mr...
as Jilly - Dub TaylorDub TaylorWalter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
as a sheriff - Director Hal NeedhamHal NeedhamHal Needham is an American stuntman and film director.-Early years:Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Edith May and Howard Needham. He was raised in Arkansas and Missouri...
appears uncredited as a Porsche 928Porsche 928The Porsche 928 was a sports-GT car sold by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 to 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's iconic 911, the 928 attempted to combine the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxury sedan to create what some...
driver in a cowboy hat, whose car is crushed flat in the movie by the monster truckMonster truckA monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
, BigfootBigfoot (truck)Bigfoot, introduced in 1979, is regarded as the original monster truck. Other trucks with the name "Bigfoot" have been introduced in the years since, and it remains the most well-known monster truck moniker in the United States. Bigfoot 4x4, Inc. is owned and operated by its creator, Bob Chandler.-...
(Driven by owner/creator Bob ChandlerBob ChandlerRobert Donald Chandler was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League.-Professional career:...
)