''Bandit'' is a 1994 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

spin-off

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

based on the ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

'' franchise. The four telefilms – ''Bandit Goes Country'', ''Bandit Bandit'', ''Beauty and the Bandit'' and ''Bandit's Silver Angel'' – were produced for

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

's Action Pack programming block from original ''Smokey and the Bandit'' director/writer

Hal Needham Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast c ...

. Brian Bloom stars as a younger version of Bo "the Bandit" Darville, the character originated by Burt Reynolds in ''

'' (1977) and ''

Smokey and the Bandit II ''Smokey and the Bandit II'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason and Dom DeLuise. The film is the sequel to the 1977 film ''Smokey and the Bandit''. ...

'' (1980). The series serves as a reboot set in 1994. The car featured in this series is a Dodge Stealth, while the ''Smokey and the Bandit'' films introduced two generations of the

Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

''Bandit Goes Country''

The Bandit ( Brian Bloom) goes home for a family reunion and along the way, he meets music star

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

, who is forced to make an emergency landing when his plane malfunctions. The Bandit helps Mel, but soon finds himself in hot water when his cousin Johnny (

Christopher Atkins Christopher Atkins Bomann (born February 21, 1961) is an American actor and businessman, perhaps best known for his debut in the 1980 film '' The Blue Lagoon'' and playing Peter Richards in ''Dallas'' (1983–1984). Early life Christopher Atki ...

) gets into the music bootlegging business. The film was written by Chris Abbott and originally aired on January 30, 1994.

''Bandit Bandit''

A Bandit impostor (

Gerard Christopher Gerard Christopher (born May 11, 1959 in New York City) is an American actor, writer and producer. He was the second actor to play the eponymous role in the television series ''Superboy'' (from 1989 to 1992), replacing John Haymes Newton who pla ...

) lands the real Bandit (Bloom) in jail, but he needs to break out so he can deliver a futuristic car safely to Governor Denton ( Gary Collins). The film was written by

Brock Yates Brock Wendel Yates (October 21, 1933 – October 5, 2016) was an American print and TV journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was longtime executive editor of ''Car and Driver'', an American automotive magazine. In 1971 Yates, his son, and a f ...

and originally aired on March 13, 1994.

''Beauty and the Bandit''

The Bandit (Bloom) is on the run with Crystal "the Beauty" (

Kathy Ireland Kathleen Marie Ireland (born March 20, 1963) is an American author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, philanthropist, and former fashion model. Ireland was a supermodel in the 1980s and 1990s, initially known for appearing in 13 consecutive ''Spo ...

), a young woman being pursued by a mobster (

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

), a bounty hunter (

Joseph Cortese Joseph Cortese (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor who had major roles in films such as ''Windows'' (1980), '' Evilspeak'' (1981) and ''Monsignor'' (1982). Early life Cortese was born on February 22, 1948 in Paterson, New Jersey. He ...

) and the FBI. The film was written by David Chisholm and originally aired on April 3, 1994.

''Bandit's Silver Angel''

The Bandit (Bloom) gets an unexpected visit from his Uncle Cyrus (

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His b ...

) who later dies of a heart attack, leaving his carnival to his widow Angel (

Traci Lords Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She entered the adult film industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of eighteen. Lords starred in adult f ...

). The Bandit helps Angel face off against some shady characters smuggling stolen silver ingots hidden in the carnival. The film was written by

Jay Huguely James Wesley "Jay" Huguely (September 21, 1940 – December 13, 2008) was an American stage actor, singer, advertising executive, and television writer and executive. He enjoyed a brief run of popularity as a novelty recording artist in the 1 ...

and originally aired on April 10, 1994.

Home media

On October 12, 2010,

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

released all four television films on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

along with the ''Smokey and the Bandit'' trilogy as part of ''Smokey and the Bandit: The 7-Movie Outlaw Collection''.Smokey and the Bandit The 7-Movie Outlaw Collection at Amazon.com
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * {{Smokey and the Bandit 1994 films 1994 television films 1994 action comedy films Film series introduced in 1994 American television films American action comedy films American film series Television prequel films Film spin-offs First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Films directed by Hal Needham Films scored by Steve Dorff Action Pack (TV programming block) Smokey and the Bandit 1990s American films American prequel films Films with screenplays by James Wesley Huguely