BY JOHN M. WHALEN

Back in 1978, Burt Reynolds was still at the beginning of a cycle of six action comedies that he made with director Hal Needham—a cycle that started with “Smokey and the Bandit “(1977) and ended with “Cannonball Run II” (1984).  One of the best of these films was “Hooper”—a tribute to Hollywood’s unsung hero, the Hollywood stunt man. “Hooper” was a very personal film for both Reynolds and Needham who both started their movie careers as stunt doubles. Needham started doing stunt work in the early years of live TV in New York and is best remembered for his stunt driving in Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” (1968). Reynolds also began in TV and parlayed his athletic ability along with his good looks to become one of tinseltown’s biggest stars. In a very real way, “Hooper” is even more personal film for Reynolds, because one of the characters in the film is based on a legendary, real-life stunt man/movie star, whom Reynolds knew personally and in fact idolized.

“Hooper” begins with opening credits superimposed over Sonny Hooper (Reynolds) putting on braces, ace bandages, and padding over a body bearing multiple scars. “March of the Toreadors” plays on the soundtrack as he dons a motorcycle outfit and strides out into the sunlight to perform a dangerous stunt, skidding a motorcycle under a moving truck. He’s working on a spy movie starring Adam West who appears in the film as himself. That stunt completed, next day he takes a high fall off a roof with a dog. “Make me look good,” West tells him. But it’s after that fall we discover Sonny’s got a bad back. He gets his friend Cully (James Best) to walk him to his trailer, where he gives him a shot of Xylocaine. “You know what I’d do if I ever met the guy who invented Xylocaine?” Sonny asks. “I’d get on my knees and kiss his ass.”

In the meantime, a new younger stuntman said to be the next Sonny Hooper, arrives on the scene. Ski (Jan Michael Vincent) meets Sonny during filming of a chariot race scene. Although he sees Ski as a threat, Sonny can’t help liking the young up-and-comer. For one thing, the kid is damn good at what he does. Maybe too good. As the story progresses, Sonny realizes the new generation of stunt players coming up are smarter and tougher, if not better than he and his contemporaries were. “They don’t take pills,” he tells Cully, “they don’t drink, they don’t take shots, and they carry little pocket calculators. We don’t watch out, they’re gonna blow us right out of the tub.”

The story follows a simple straight line, the old timer trying to keep up with the younger rival even if it costs him his life. His doctor tells Hooper that his vertebrae are torn almost beyond repair. One heavy impact or fall could paralyze him for life. Naturally the film leads to a climax that calls for Hooper and Ski to perform the greatest stunt ever filmed—one that involves jumping a rocket car 325 feet over a collapsed bridge.

In addition to the main plot line there is a subplot that in a way is even more interesting than the rest of the movie, once you know the inside story. Hooper has a sweetheart, a gal named Gwen, played, of course by Sally Field, Reynolds’ main squeeze at the time. Gwen has a father, Jocko Doyle (Brian Keith) who was once known as the greatest stunt man alive. It’s no coincidence that in real life Sally Field’s stepfather was none other than Jock Mahoney one of the greatest stuntmen who ever lived. Keith first appears on horseback wearing a fringed buckskin jack, the kind that was Mahoney’s trade mark when he played the Range Rider, a Gene-Autry produced TV series that aired in the 1950s. Mahoney, who was known in the trade and by his friends as “Jocko,” had been a stunt double for Charles Starrett in the Durango Kid features. He played Yancy Derringer on a CBS series and went on to play Tarzan in two features that were filmed in Asia. Unfortunately, he contracted dysentery and dengue fever while on location in Thailand and his general health took a heavy hit. During the filming of an episode of the Kung Fu TV series in the seventies Mahoney suffered a stroke and was confined to a wheel chair for some time.

I mention all this because near the end of Act Two of “Hooper,” Jocko Doyle also suffers a stroke, mirroring the same fate suffered by Mahoney. In Gene Freese’s biography, Jock Mahoney, The Life and Films of a Hollywood Stuntman, the author tells us that both Reynold and Needham were Jocko fans, and of course he was Sally Field’s stepdad. Freese says the part of Gwen’s father was “based on Jock Mahoney himself.” Both the star and the director wanted Mahoney to play the part, but the studio didn’t want him. Some fans, who knew the Mahoney/Doyle connection thought that perhaps he wasn’t physically able to play the part. But that wasn’t it. He was fit enough, Freese writes, but the studio wanted a bigger name. However, Mahoney was on hand during filming in an advisory capacity and provided some of the “Mahoneyisms” that the actors used in their dialog.

“Hooper” is one of those special movies that really deserved to be released on Blu-Ray. For one thing it’s the kind of movie that they don’t make any more, and probably never will again. As Hooper said, the boys with the calculators and computers have taken over. A lot of stunt work has been replaced by CGI. “Hooper “is light hearted and fun to watch because everyone in it seems to be enjoying themselves. Reynolds does his usual mugging and winking into the camera, and there was real chemistry between he and Field back then. But more importantly, “Hooper” pays homage to the men and women who made the stars look good, as Adam West said. And it shows the price these legendary people paid, in terms of broken bones, chronic pain, in some cases permanent injury and even death. Yet despite the odds of surviving a career like that intact, the film conveys a sense of good humor mixed with bravado that’s hard to find in movies these days. It’s no Range Rider, but it’s a damn good movie.

Warners Home Video released “Hooper” in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The picture is excellent. The soundtrack contains the usual country western tunes, but is in mono with too much shrill high end and not enough bass. The only extra is a standard format trailer. This is another case where an iconic film significant at least of the time period in which it was released, is presented with no commentary or documentary features. I would really have enjoyed hearing Reynolds or Field talk about it.

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(John M. Whalen's latest book is "The Big Shutdown". Click here to view promotional trailer. Click here to order from Amazon.)