The Best Movies With Truckers in Them

Lots of movies have put an emphasis on vehicles. Days of Thunder focused on race cars, the Fast and the Furious series has focused on cars used in illegal street racing, and Top Gun certainly gave us a nice look at some fighter jets. However, there have been, some would say, a surprising number of movies dealing with truckers. Maybe it's the mystique of the open road, the anonymity of CB handles, or just the idea of driving a vehicle that eats Miatas for breakfast, but people seem to enjoy trucker movies. Here are some of the best.

Smokey and the Bandit - 1977

How popular was this movie? The only film that made more money that year was Star Wars. Starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, Smokey and the Bandit is basically an hour-long, high-speed chase with a little bit of lead-in at the start to give you a reason for the chase. Gotta love a movie that doesn't try and skirt the issue of what's going to make it popular.

Convoy - 1978

A movie inspired by a song that was a gimmick about truck drivers from the very beginning. Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, and Ernest Borgnine star in this movie about a convoy of truckers fighting against and running from the law. With names like "Rubber Duck", "Spider Mike", "Widow Woman", and "Sneaky Snake" it's no surprise that the film was popular amongst those with an interest in truckers and CB culture.

Big Trouble in Little China - 1986

Starring a very young Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall, this movie about mixes martial arts and truckers into something that could have been overwhelming but is, quite frankly, very 1980s. While not focusing on trucks and trucking culture as much as other films, Kurt Russell's Jack character's truck comes into play often.

Breaker! Breaker! - 1977

It's a trucker movie featuring Chuck Norris. How is this not in every list of the top 100 movies of all time? Don't you know that Chuck Norris' truck has a grill that is really a fist? Exactly. One of the first films that made CB radio a central plot point, this movie mixed trucker culture with the Chuck Norris requirement that he roundhouse kick something.

Sorcerer - 1977

A role that was originally intended for Steve McQueen went to Rob Scheider and a movie about truckers carrying unstable explosives through Central America was born. A commercial failure, it still does a good job of focusing on the obstacles faced by some truckers, especially those that deal with shipping hazardous materials.

Joy Ride - 2001

Starring Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, and Leelee Sobieski, the film uses the CB radio as a method for a deranged trucker to harass the main characters after he feels they have made him the butt of a joke.

Black Dog - 1998

Patrick Swayze, Meat Loaf, and Randy Travis star in this movie about a truck driver that finds out he is moving illegal firearms and his attempts to get the weapons to the FBI while saving his wife and daughter.

They Drive By Night - 1940

A noir style film starring Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Ann Sheridan, and Ida Lupino, the film focuses more on the interpersonal relationships, but uses the trucking as a backdrop for all of the conflict. Fortunately this film has Bogart so you know it can't be bad.

Over the Top - 1987

Only Stallone could combine long haul truck driving and professional arm wrestling into a film. To make extra money, trucker Lincoln Hawk (which may be the greatest non-porn name ever), engages in arm wrestling competitions and eventually wins back the love of his son and a new truck to begin his own trucking operation.