Themes: Daring Rescues, Class Differences, Technology Run Amok
Main Cast: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, René Auberjonois, Ned Beatty
Release Year: 1976
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
The Big Bus is set aboard a nonstop, nuclear-powered luxury bus commandeered by Joseph Bologna. Naturally, Bologna is a tortured hero with a deep dark secret (he keeps insisting he didn't eat all those passengers on his last disastrous drive). Stockard Channing and Harold Gould play the designers of the big bus, and of course they have a few skeletons in their closet. In fact, there isn't a passenger on the all-star manifest that isn't hiding something. The supporting cast features contributions by René Auberjonois (parodying his M*A*S*H role), Ned Beatty, José Ferrer, Ruth Gordon (doing a devastating send-up of Airport's Helen Hayes), Sally Kellerman, Richard Mulligan, and many others; Murphy Dunne contributes a memorable bit as a smarmy cocktail pianist. Unfortunately, The Big Bus was dumped onto the summer 1976 release schedule without fanfare by Paramount, and it sank without a trace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Big Bus predates such Jerry Zucker-Jim Abrahams-David Zucker offerings as Airplane! and The Naked Gun but is conceptually very much in the same mold as these later off-kilter spoofs. What it lacks is the inspired zaniness of the ZAZ films, settling under James Frawley's competent-but-no-more direction for an amiable silliness. While there are a lot of chuckles (and plenty of good-natured groaners), the laughs don't come as fast and as frequently as they need to, and Frawley can't make the visual gags big enough to really pay off. There's also a big problem with the end of the film, in that it seems to just stop. In this kind of movie, a huge pay-off is absolutely essential, and its absence is keenly felt. That said, the general goodwill and silliness of the movie is contagious, and there are a number of wonderful moments (a bar brawl with a milk carton, René Auberjonois stealing a seat from Ruth Gordon and sneering "Where is your God now, old woman?") that stick with the viewer. And the large demi-star cast is quite good; Gordon deserves special praise, but all of the actors are right on the money. The Big Bus won't be a totally satisfying trip for many people, but there are some that will find its charms irresistible. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Bob Dishy - Dr. Kurtz; José Ferrer - Ironman; Ruth Gordon - Old Lady; Harold Gould - Prof. Baxter; Larry Hagman - Parking Lot Doctor; Sally Kellerman - Sybil Crane; Richard Mulligan - Claude Crane; Lynn Redgrave - Camille Levy; Richard B. Shull - Emery Bush; Stuart Margolin - Alex; Howard Hesseman - Scotty's Aide Jack; Mary Wilcox - Mary Jane Beth Sue; Walter Brooke - Mr. Ames; Vic Tayback - Goldie; Murphy Dunne - Tommy Joyce; Miriam Byrd-Nethery - Farmer's wife; Dennis Kort - Farmer's son; James Jeter - Bus Bartender; Selma Archerd - Bus Passenger; Dan Barrows - 2nd Cemetary Man; Joe Brooks - Passenger; Richard Crystal - Passenger; David Essex - Passenger; Raymond Guth - Pickup truck driver.; Harry Holcombe - Priest; Judy Motulsky - Passenger; Vito Scotti - Barber; Cynthia Szigeti - Passenger; Morgan Upton - 1st Cemetary Man; Ann Weldon - Passenger; Bert Williams - Passenger; Andrew Winner - Passenger; Carol Worthington - Passenger; Mickey Fox - Passenger; Alex Brown - Passenger; Nick Pellegrino - Passenger; Harry Frazier - Passenger
Credit
Lynn Stalmaster - Casting, Marianna Elliott - Costume Designer, Mel Efros - First Assistant Director, Chris Christenberry - First Assistant Director, James Frawley - Director, Edward Warschilka - Editor, Michael Phillips - Executive Producer, Julia Phillips - Executive Producer, Joel Schiller - Composer (Music Score), David Shire - Composer (Music Score), Joel Schiller - Production Designer, Harry Stradling, Jr. - Cinematographer, Larry Cohen - Producer, Lawrence J. Cohen - Producer, Fred Freeman - Producer, Barbara Krieger - Set Designer, Joel Schiller - Set Designer, Lee Vasque - Special Effects, Bob Dawson - Special Effects, Doc Wilkinson - Sound/Sound Designer, Al Overton, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer, Larry Cohen - Screenwriter, Lawrence J. Cohen - Screenwriter, Fred Freeman - Screenwriter
The Big Bus is a 1976 American James Frawleyspoof comedy starring Stockard Channing as Kitty Baxter and Joe Bologna as controversial driver ("Eat one lousy foot and they call you a cannibal") Dan Torrance. A spoof of most disaster movies up until that time, it follows the maiden cross-country trip—New York to Denver, non-stop—of an enormous nuclear powered bus named Cyclops that's equipped with a bowling alley, swimming pool, formal dining room ("The Bicentennial Dining Room"), piano bar ("The Oriental Lounge"), Automatic Washing System ("AWM"), Automatic Tire Changer, and The Flags of All Nations. A bomb planted by a saboteur (hired by the oil sheiks to discredit non oil-powered transport) damages the bus's braking system, preventing the bus from stopping.
Actor John Beck plays the co-driver "Shoulders" O'Brien, a nickname he acquired because he has narcolepsy and often falls asleep and drives on the shoulders of the road. Coincidentally, he also happened to have big shoulders.
The Big Bus was notorious for its mostly bad reviews and disastrous performance at the box office. Nevertheless, it has gained something of a cult following among fans of spoof comedies.
The central set piece of the film is, of course, the bus itself. The bus was a nuclear powered, double-decker, articulated bus with 32 wheels. The bus was named "Cyclops" due to the single large headlight prominent on the front of the bus. The front of the bus featured large wraparound windows on both upper and lower decks--with the lower deck containing the cockpit and the upper, front portion containing the lounge/bar. The bus required the operation of two drivers (Driver and Co-Driver). In the film the bus is equipped with a bowling alley, Oriental style cocktail lounge (complete with piano bar), swimming pool, Captain's dining room, private marble & gold bath room with sunken tub, chef's kitchen, exterior automatic washing mechanisms, flags of all nations (that retract from the roof, automatic in-route tire changers, as well as a passenger capacity of 110.
The real bus was indeed a large road-worthy monster created by the film's production designer Joel Schiller. The Big Bus was said to have actually led the 1976 Bi-Centennial parade in Los Angeles, California. Though the most visible front portions of the bus (bar & cockpit) appeared to be functional, the remainder of the body of the vehicle was most likely empty--containing only the engine, suspension and essential mechanisms used for exterior trick shots. While the bus was an awe inspiring sight, few behind-the-scenes and construction photos or plans have surfaced. The whereabouts of the actual bus used in the film are not known.
In the closing credits of the film, Trailways Bus Lines is thanked for their help in creating the bus. It is not known how much help or what role they took in creating the Cyclops.
The fictional bus line in the film that operates the Cyclops is called Coyote Bus Lines.
