Tank (film)
Encyclopedia
Tank is a 1984
comedy
, drama
, and action movie starring James Garner
, Jenilee Harrison
, and C. Thomas Howell
. The film was written by Dan Gordon
and directed by Marvin J. Chomsky
. It was produced by Lorimar Productions
and was commercially released in the United States
by Universal Studios
on March 16, 1984.
This film was rated PG
by the MPAA.
(loosely based on Fort Benning
and filmed there). Despite being offered the position of Sergeant Major of the Army
, he insists he just wishes to finish his tour and retire in peace to spend time with his family. Several years earlier, his older son had been killed in an accident, and his relationship with his only surviving son, Billy (played by Howell), is strained. He is quickly shown to be a tough but fair NCO, who quickly earns the respect and admiration of his troops.
Zack owns a vintage Sherman tank
from World War II
that he has restored with his son's help, and he uses it for parades and public relations. While visiting an off-base bar, he sees a deputy sheriff
(James Cromwell
) beat a hooker named Sarah (Jenilee Harrison
) and defends her. Unfortunately, Sarah had been forced into prostitution by Cyrus Buelton, the corrupt sheriff (G. D. Spradlin
). Sheriff Buelton tries to arrest Sgt. Major Carey, but finds his jurisdiction won't let him touch him while he's on the base, which is Federal territory. To get revenge on Carey, Sheriff Buelton frames Billy for drug possession by planting marijuana in his gym locker at school.
Sheriff Buelton offers to drop the charges, if Sgt. Major Carey would give the Sheriff a hefty bribe, approximately equal to his retirement savings. However, Zack's wife, LaDonna (Shirley Jones
) refuses to take part in "good old boy" justice and calls a lawyer. The lawyer is thrown into jail himself on trumped-up contempt of court
charges, Billy is put on trial immediately and is promptly found guilty and sentenced to several years of hard labor at the county work farm. LaDonna, finally realizing the depths of Sheriff Buelton's cruelty, goes to Carey and tells him what happened. When Sgt. Major Carey tries to offer the bribe, Buelton accepts the money, but refuses to release his son, simply stating that it will prevent him from being shot "accidentally" or while "attempting to escape", or from being raped by other inmates – temporarily.
Carey decides to take matters into his own hands, and climbs into his vintage tank. To prevent the police from following him immediately, he destroys the local jail & police station, shoots the local telephone exchange, and destroys the parked police cars with his tank's cannon. He then liberates Billy (and all the other prisoners) from the county work farm and takes him, as well as Sarah, away. Once away from town and the jail, he reveals his plan: to escape to Tennessee
, where they can get a fair hearing in a court of law regarding extradition, which will at least be a fair hearing instead of the kangaroo court
that Billy received in Georgia.
The matter quickly escalates. Sheriff Buelton demands military intervention from Carey's commanding officer
, but the commander points out that Carey had already retired from the Army, so he's broken no military law (other than breaking a small section of fence to leave the base); he hasn't stolen the tank, which is legally his; and all his violations are of civilian law. He also happily points out the Posse Comitatus Act
, prohibiting him from providing any military aid to civilian law enforcement. In a running joke of the movie, Sheriff Buelton does not understand the name of the act, and thinks he's being called a "pussy communist".
Through a long series of chases and evasion through rural Georgia, including being aided by relatives of people he broke out of jail earlier, the tank and its crew quickly become folk heroes throughout the country. Despite Sheriff Buelton insisting they are criminals, the nation rallies behind them as a sort of modern-day Robin Hood
, meaning the Sheriff has little public support for his hunt for the tank. On the Tennessee side of the line, thousands of people gather to welcome the tank. Meanwhile, LaDonna has had a personal audience with the Governor of Tennessee, managing to get a formal guarantee that they will be given a proper extradition hearing (and informally implied that they will be granted asylum).
However, a showdown brews at the Tennessee state line, where a huge crowd of supporters for the tank and its crew have gathered, including LaDonna and the Governor of Tennessee, who arrive via helicopter. However Buelton has managed to block the road with tractor-and-semi-trailer rigs and set up an ambush, including a large mud trap to inhibit the tank's freedom of movement. Using a vintage bazooka
, (actually a German "Panzerschreck
") Buelton manages to disable the tank within sight of the state line. However, the tank's firepower is unaffected and the Careys and Sarah are able to hold the Sheriff and his forces at bay. Carey, who had been injured earlier while attempting to repair the tank, instructs Billy and Sarah to sneak over the state line at night. They refuse. With his father going from bad to worse, Billy is even willing to surrender to Buelton in exchange for his father getting hospitalized.
Meanwhile, seeing the tank in dire straits, a motorcycle gang steals the materials to build a ramp, and one of their number jumps into the muddy field where the tank is trapped, sending them a rope (connected to a tow cable in Tennessee). Billy gets out through the escape hatch at the bottom of the tank and quickly goes to the aid of the biker with the cable, while Sarah holds the Sheriff and his posse back with the tank's machine gun. Once the tow cable is attached, the collected people on the other side of the line begin to pull the tank out of the mud. Sheriff Buelton orders his posse
to open fire on the crowd, but as the deputies pull their guns, the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulls their guns on the Sheriff's men and shouts over the megaphone that if he opens fire, it will be "another Little Big Horn
".
Thus the Sheriff is forced to stop the crowd another way; he and his men all run for the mud field and begin pulling on their end, resulting in a tug of war between the crowd and the posse. The crowd find themselves unable to help pull the tank free this way and decide to try something else. The posse cheers their victory, and Sheriff Buelton climbs on top of the tank and demands its occupants surrender. Zach motions to Billy to turn the tank's turret, which he does, knocking the gloating Buelton facedown into the mud. And on the other side of the state line, the tow cable is affixed to a bulldozer
and the crowd renews their pulling efforts. This time, the posse's attempts to stop them are completely futile, and the tank is hauled out of the mud and over the state line to safety. LaDonna happily greets her husband and son, as well as Sarah, as they climb out of the tank to a hero's welcome by the people and the Governor of Tennessee.
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, and action movie starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, Jenilee Harrison
Jenilee Harrison
Jenilee Harrison is an American actress possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.- Early years :...
, and C. Thomas Howell
C. Thomas Howell
Christopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
. The film was written by Dan Gordon
Dan Gordon (screenwriter)
-Career:Dan Gordon graduated from UCLA as a film and television major, and went on to write screenplays including Passenger 57 , Wyatt Earp , Murder in the First , The Assignment and The Hurricane , as well as several novels.His play, Irena's Vow, premiered at the Baruch Performing Arts Center,...
and directed by Marvin J. Chomsky
Marvin J. Chomsky
Marvin J. Chomsky is an American television and film director. He has also worked as a producer. He is a cousin of academic Noam Chomsky....
. It was produced by Lorimar Productions
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
and was commercially released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
on March 16, 1984.
This film was rated PG
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
by the MPAA.
Plot summary
US Army Command Sergeant Major Zack Carey (played by Garner) is about to retire from the military after taking his last post, in rural GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(loosely based on Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
and filmed there). Despite being offered the position of Sergeant Major of the Army
Sergeant Major of the Army
The Sergeant Major of the Army is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Army. The holder of this rank is the most senior enlisted member of the Army, unless an Army NCO is serving as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, when in that case that NCO will be the most senior...
, he insists he just wishes to finish his tour and retire in peace to spend time with his family. Several years earlier, his older son had been killed in an accident, and his relationship with his only surviving son, Billy (played by Howell), is strained. He is quickly shown to be a tough but fair NCO, who quickly earns the respect and admiration of his troops.
Zack owns a vintage Sherman tank
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...
from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that he has restored with his son's help, and he uses it for parades and public relations. While visiting an off-base bar, he sees a deputy sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
(James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
) beat a hooker named Sarah (Jenilee Harrison
Jenilee Harrison
Jenilee Harrison is an American actress possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.- Early years :...
) and defends her. Unfortunately, Sarah had been forced into prostitution by Cyrus Buelton, the corrupt sheriff (G. D. Spradlin
G. D. Spradlin
Gervase Duan "G.D." Spradlin was an American actor. He often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film productions, and performed alongside actors including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and George C. Scott.-Early life:Spradlin was born in Pauls...
). Sheriff Buelton tries to arrest Sgt. Major Carey, but finds his jurisdiction won't let him touch him while he's on the base, which is Federal territory. To get revenge on Carey, Sheriff Buelton frames Billy for drug possession by planting marijuana in his gym locker at school.
Sheriff Buelton offers to drop the charges, if Sgt. Major Carey would give the Sheriff a hefty bribe, approximately equal to his retirement savings. However, Zack's wife, LaDonna (Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
) refuses to take part in "good old boy" justice and calls a lawyer. The lawyer is thrown into jail himself on trumped-up contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
charges, Billy is put on trial immediately and is promptly found guilty and sentenced to several years of hard labor at the county work farm. LaDonna, finally realizing the depths of Sheriff Buelton's cruelty, goes to Carey and tells him what happened. When Sgt. Major Carey tries to offer the bribe, Buelton accepts the money, but refuses to release his son, simply stating that it will prevent him from being shot "accidentally" or while "attempting to escape", or from being raped by other inmates – temporarily.
Carey decides to take matters into his own hands, and climbs into his vintage tank. To prevent the police from following him immediately, he destroys the local jail & police station, shoots the local telephone exchange, and destroys the parked police cars with his tank's cannon. He then liberates Billy (and all the other prisoners) from the county work farm and takes him, as well as Sarah, away. Once away from town and the jail, he reveals his plan: to escape to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, where they can get a fair hearing in a court of law regarding extradition, which will at least be a fair hearing instead of the kangaroo court
Kangaroo court
A kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
that Billy received in Georgia.
The matter quickly escalates. Sheriff Buelton demands military intervention from Carey's commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, but the commander points out that Carey had already retired from the Army, so he's broken no military law (other than breaking a small section of fence to leave the base); he hasn't stolen the tank, which is legally his; and all his violations are of civilian law. He also happily points out the Posse Comitatus Act
Posse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act is an often misunderstood and misquoted United States federal law passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction. Its intent was to limit the powers of local governments and law enforcement agencies from using federal military personnel to enforce the laws of...
, prohibiting him from providing any military aid to civilian law enforcement. In a running joke of the movie, Sheriff Buelton does not understand the name of the act, and thinks he's being called a "pussy communist".
Through a long series of chases and evasion through rural Georgia, including being aided by relatives of people he broke out of jail earlier, the tank and its crew quickly become folk heroes throughout the country. Despite Sheriff Buelton insisting they are criminals, the nation rallies behind them as a sort of modern-day Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, meaning the Sheriff has little public support for his hunt for the tank. On the Tennessee side of the line, thousands of people gather to welcome the tank. Meanwhile, LaDonna has had a personal audience with the Governor of Tennessee, managing to get a formal guarantee that they will be given a proper extradition hearing (and informally implied that they will be granted asylum).
However, a showdown brews at the Tennessee state line, where a huge crowd of supporters for the tank and its crew have gathered, including LaDonna and the Governor of Tennessee, who arrive via helicopter. However Buelton has managed to block the road with tractor-and-semi-trailer rigs and set up an ambush, including a large mud trap to inhibit the tank's freedom of movement. Using a vintage bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
, (actually a German "Panzerschreck
Panzerschreck
Panzerschreck was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse , an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Another popular nickname was Ofenrohr ....
") Buelton manages to disable the tank within sight of the state line. However, the tank's firepower is unaffected and the Careys and Sarah are able to hold the Sheriff and his forces at bay. Carey, who had been injured earlier while attempting to repair the tank, instructs Billy and Sarah to sneak over the state line at night. They refuse. With his father going from bad to worse, Billy is even willing to surrender to Buelton in exchange for his father getting hospitalized.
Meanwhile, seeing the tank in dire straits, a motorcycle gang steals the materials to build a ramp, and one of their number jumps into the muddy field where the tank is trapped, sending them a rope (connected to a tow cable in Tennessee). Billy gets out through the escape hatch at the bottom of the tank and quickly goes to the aid of the biker with the cable, while Sarah holds the Sheriff and his posse back with the tank's machine gun. Once the tow cable is attached, the collected people on the other side of the line begin to pull the tank out of the mud. Sheriff Buelton orders his posse
Posse comitatus (common law)
Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
to open fire on the crowd, but as the deputies pull their guns, the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulls their guns on the Sheriff's men and shouts over the megaphone that if he opens fire, it will be "another Little Big Horn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
".
Thus the Sheriff is forced to stop the crowd another way; he and his men all run for the mud field and begin pulling on their end, resulting in a tug of war between the crowd and the posse. The crowd find themselves unable to help pull the tank free this way and decide to try something else. The posse cheers their victory, and Sheriff Buelton climbs on top of the tank and demands its occupants surrender. Zach motions to Billy to turn the tank's turret, which he does, knocking the gloating Buelton facedown into the mud. And on the other side of the state line, the tow cable is affixed to a bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
and the crowd renews their pulling efforts. This time, the posse's attempts to stop them are completely futile, and the tank is hauled out of the mud and over the state line to safety. LaDonna happily greets her husband and son, as well as Sarah, as they climb out of the tank to a hero's welcome by the people and the Governor of Tennessee.
Cast
- James GarnerJames GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
as CSM Zack Carey - Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
as LaDonna Carey - C. Thomas HowellC. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
as William "Billy" Carey - Mark HerrierMark HerrierMark Herrier is an American actor and film director, best known for his role as Billy in the 80's teen trilogy Porky's. He graduated from Lompoc High School in 1972....
as SSG Jerry Elliott, Soldier Magazine Reporter - Sandy Ward as MG V.E. Hubik
- Jenilee HarrisonJenilee HarrisonJenilee Harrison is an American actress possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.- Early years :...
as Sarah, hooker - James CromwellJames CromwellJames Oliver Cromwell is an American film and television actor. Some of his more notable roles are in Babe , for which he earned Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Star Trek: First Contact , L.A...
as Deputy Euclid Baker - Dorian HarewoodDorian HarewoodW. Dorian Harewood is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his portrayal of Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.-Career:...
as SFC Ed Tippet, Provost Marshal's Office - G. D. SpradlinG. D. SpradlinGervase Duan "G.D." Spradlin was an American actor. He often played devious authority figures. He is credited in over 70 television and film productions, and performed alongside actors including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and George C. Scott.-Early life:Spradlin was born in Pauls...
as Sheriff Cyrus Buelton - John HancockJohn Hancock (actor)John Hancock was an American film and television actor.Born in Hazen, Arkansas, Hancock is possibly best remembered for his role as "Scotty" in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations...
as Mess MSG Johnson - Guy BoydGuy Boyd (actor)Guy Boyd is an American character actor. He has starred in over fifty films from the late 1970s to the present. He is probably best known for his role as Detective Jim McLean in Brian De Palma's thriller Body Double...
as SGT Wimofsky - Randy Bass as Governor's Aide
External links
- James Garner Interview on the Charlie Rose Show
- James Garner interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....