Truckers on the big screen
For many people outside of the industry, their perception of the trucking lifestyle is based off of film. The number of American “trucker movies” exploded in the 1970s. Truckers alternated between being portrayed as heroic outlaws or villains. The heroic outlaw motif is best represented by Smokey and the Bandit, the 1977 film starring Burt Reynolds as legendary driver Bo Darville, otherwise known as the Bandit. If you read our article on trucking slang, you’ll know that Smokey is slang for a highway patrolman. The film chronicles Darville’s quest to undertake an illicit and seemingly impossible job: transporting 400 cases of beer from Texas to Georgia in 28 hours. While we don’t recommend taking on any jobs that would cause you to be pursued by a policeman, Smokey and the Bandit is notable for capturing the public’s imagination and adding to the industry’s notoriety. The film led to two official sequels and a number of 1994 television movies.On the other side of the spectrum, you have Steven Spielberg’s debut feature film, Duel (1971). In the movie, an almost supernatural Peterbilt 281 tanker truck terrorizes an ordinary businessman, played by Dennis Weaver. The driver is never seen, but was played by stuntman Carey Loftin, who also did part of the famous car chase in Bullitt (1968). Spielberg has claimed that this film is analogous to his later blockbuster Jaws, in that they are both “about these leviathans targeting everyman.” While the film may not have painted truckers in the best light, it did capture the lonely appeal of the road. It was shot on various roads of California, including the Sierra Highway, Soledad Canyon Road, the Angeles Forest Highway, and the Agua Dulce Canyon Road. Duel also featured a notable rest stop on the Sierra Highway, known as Chuck’s Caf in the film, but now home to a French restaurant called Le Chene in real life.Recently, the “thriller” has seemingly taken over the trucking movie genre, with films like Breakdown (1997), Blacktop (2000), and Joy Ride (2001) and Joy Ride 2 (2008), which hardly reflects the true trucking industry of today. However, the 2008 independent film Trucker is a low-profile but poignant look at the reality of life for one fictional female truck driver (played by Michelle Monaghan). Keep in mind that this film is still fictional, though, and that the trucking lifestyle differs widely for each individual.