Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)

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With retirement on the cards for dedicated lawman Buford T Justice (Jackie Gleason), father-and-son duo Big and Little Enos Burdette (Pat McCormick and Paul Williams, respectively) make a last-ditch attempt to challenge his authority.

First published in the September 2026 issue of Street Machine

The pair bet Buford $250K against his badge that he can’t transport a promotional shark for their new seafood restaurant from Miami to Texas in just 14 hours. Buford respectfully declines the wager but soon finds himself frustrated and bored with retired life, so he dons his old uniform and fires up ‘Trigger’, his trusty Bonneville squad car, to accept the challenge.

As in the previous two Smokey instalments, Buford is once again joined for the trip by his delightfully idiotic son, Junior (Mike Henry), and the pair set off for Texas with dollar signs in their eyes.

However, the Burdette boys round up some competition for Buford in the form of Cledus Snow, aka Snowman (Jerry Reed), who slips into the pseudo Bandit role complete with requisite moustache and red shirt, exchanging his truck driving duties for a spot behind the wheel of a new Trans Am.

The traditional Buford/Bandit shenanigans from the first two films once again come into play, with myriad stunts and stupidity attempting to pass for a watchable storyline, which is further kneecapped by the brash and bossy (i.e., annoying) Dusty Trails (Colleen Camp), who shoehorns her way into riding shotgun in the Trans Am.

Big and Little Enos hedge their bets by throwing as many curveballs as possible in the path of all the players, before eventually admitting defeat, coughing up the dough and setting Buford and the ‘Bandit’ off into the sunset in search of their next adventure.

VERDICT: 2.5/5

While it sports a heap of cool car stunts and action sequences, Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is otherwise a pretty lifeless affair. The shining stars are clearly Jackie Gleason – back with his fantastic Buford one-liners – and Mike Henry as his dopey son, Junior, who yet again steals the show. The rest of the flick is just a mash-up of stupidity that knocks a fair amount of shine from the enjoyment of the first two Smokey films.

VEHICLES:

1983 Pontiac Trans Am
1982 Pontiac Bonneville
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood
1977 Chevrolet Camaro
1981 Dodge Power Ram
1982 Ford F350
1982 Peterbilt 359
1967 Chevrolet Malibu

DIRECTOR:
Dick Lowry

ACTION:
Glorious, era-perfect peg-leg burnouts and pile-ups abound, but it’s the opening police car jump – with U-Haul trailer in tow – that takes the cake

PLOT:
A rich father-and-son duo make a sizeable wager with a retiring lawman to transport a menial shipment from Miami to Texas

AVAILABLE:
DVD, Streaming (Amazon Prime; Google Play; Apple TV)

COOL FLICK FACT:
Burt Reynolds declined to reprise his starring role for the third Smokey flick due to filming Stroker Ace at the time (Fanging Flick, SM Oct ’24), but he does make a brief cameo appearance near the end.

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