No doubt about it, Sam Peckinpah was a gifted director, and he made several movies that bore his genius. American film wouldn't be the same were there no "Wild Bunch," "Straw Dogs," "Cross of Iron," "Ride the High Country," "The Getaway," "Killer Elite," "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia," and "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid." As his life ran down, so did the quality of Peckinpah's films. "Convoy" exemplifies this problem. Made in 1978 on the basis of a hit county music single by C.W. McCall, aka Bill Fries, "Convoy" qualifies as a non-stop road farce in the tradition of Hal Needham's "Smoky and the Bandit." Whereas Burt Reynolds and Needham produced what essentially amounted to a good ole boy road picture with comedy galore, Peckinpah's "Convoy" doesn't share the light-hearted spirit. Scenarist Bill Norton draws on the song for inspiration, but reportedly Fries reconfigured the song to accommodate the whims of the film. A study in rebellion, "Convoy" chronicles the trials and tribulations of the Rubber Duck (Kris Kristofferson of "Payback") who finds himself caught up in a pseudo political movement between truckers and law enforcement that turns into a media farce before it grinds to a halt atop a bridge over a muddy river. Unlike "Smokey and the Bandit," "Convoy" plays it straighter and its characters have a nasty side that generates the whole subplot about African-American trucker Spider Mike (Franklyn Ajaye) is beaten up and thrown into jail when he leaves the convoy to see his pregnant wife who is about to pop. Slimy, low-down Sheriff Lyle Wallace (Ernst Borgnine of "The Wild Bunch") and good guy, activist Martin 'Rubber Duck' Penwald have a history that would have been interesting to know more about. Suffice to say, they are each other's enemy, at least until the ending. Everything gets off onto the wrong foot when 'Rubber Duck' is cruising down the highway in his 18-wheeler and he encounters sexy, brunette Melissa in her convertible sports car and the two toy with each other until they notice an Arizona Highway Trooper that they force off the road. The rest is history as Melissa hangs out and rides with the 'Rubber Duck' until he sends her packing before he streaks across a bridge and runs into Lyle on a machine gun. Peckinpah and "Little Big Man" lenser Harry Stradling Jr., have created a beautiful looking movie with scenic terrain and splendid stunts. At its best, "Convoy" represents a collection of dramatic scenes culled from Peckinpah's own classics. The chief problem is the lack of characterization and the reason behind all the strange relationships that occur in the film. Nevertheless, Peckinpah aficionados will appreciate all the references to previous Peckinpah films, so that "Convoy" is a better-than-average road trip that could have been better. The stunt driving is top-notch, especially the scene when Lyle smashes a car through a billboard with 'Take a Friend to Church' on it. The opening credit sequence with the snowy white deserts and the heat waves wrinkling on the horizon are cool to look at.
