Famous Movie Truckers
Duel
No list of famous movie truckers can be complete without mentioning the 1971 thriller Duel. This iconic film was directed by a young Steven Spielberg and its plot is both simple and effective. The film tells the story of Dennis Weaver, a motorist, who makes the mistake of slighting a psychopathic truck driver. He’s subsequently stalked and terrorised along a remote and lonely highway by an adversary as malevolent as he is mysterious – the unseen driver of a tanker truck. Duel benefits greatly from its perfect pacing, as the protagonists continue their duel…. to the death.
Convoy
Another classic trucking story is the 1978 film Convoy, based on a country song of the same name by C.W. McCall. The film follows the story of a freewheeling trucker who goes by the name of Rubber Duckie. The film sees this interesting character unite a gang of drivers to fight back against an abusive local sheriff who relentlessly pursues the team across several state lines. Interestingly, a common tool of the trucker trade in the U.S. at the time, the Citizens Band Radio, features heavily in the film.
Smoky and the Bandit
Perhaps the most famous movie about truck driving is the comedy classic Smokey and the Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. The film’s success led to the development of a number of other trucking films, including two sequels and a TV series. The film follows a maverick race car driver, The Bandit, who makes an $80,000 bet that he can transport an illegal shipment of Coors beer all the way from Texarkana, Texas to Georgia in under 28 hours. A long chase ensues after the authorities catch on to their escapades, in an epic cat-and-mouse game that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Black Dog
Another epic trucking movie is Black Dog, starring Patrick Swayze as an ex-con, called Jack Crews, who reluctantly takes on a job driving a truck across the country in order to get himself out of a bad situation. He then finds out that all is not what it seems and the truck is filled with a stash of illegal weapons, leading to an action-packed fight for survival as he attempts to save both himself and his family. Pursed by government agents, gun-runners, and a fleet of monster trucks, Jack Crew really is up against it.
White Line Fever
The final film on our list is White Line Fever, a cult classic in which trucker Carrol Jo Hummer borrows money to purchase a truck of his own. Only later does he make the unfortunate discovery that the people he borrowed from are racketeers, and expect him to smuggle goods for them as part of his “repayment plan”. Standing by his principles, Carrol refuses to play ball and participate in their schemes, and the fun begins, as he fights back with a vengeance.
Hopefully this list will have inspired you to discover some of these great trucking movies for yourself, if you haven’t already. Here at Fueltek we’re passionate about trucks and have extensive experience of providing fuel management solutions for the commercial transport industry. We’re able to provide a wide range of high-quality fuel storage tanks, including bunded fuel tanks . For more information about our fantastic selection of products and services, please don’t hesitate to contact us and a member of our friendly team will be happy to help you with your enquiries.
