A movie that featured Burt Reynolds in a role that predated Smokey and the Bandit by nearly a decade was partially filmed in the Ocala area 57 years ago.
Sam Whiskey was filmed in the Spring of 1968 and released in theaters across the United States on April 1, 1969.
The film follows the titular character, played by Reynolds, after he is seduced by a widow to retrieve gold bars that were stolen by her dead husband and left in a sunken river boat in Colorado. Whiskey is tasked with discreetly returning the gold bars to the U.S. Mint.
According to the International Movie Database, the film was directed by Arnold Laven, written by William W. Norton, and was produced from April to June 1968…