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Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Rene Auberjonois, Ned Beatty ... see more see more... , Bob Dishy , José Ferrer , Ruth Gordon , Harold Gould , Larry Hagman , Sally Kellerman , Richard Mulligan , Lynn Redgrave , Richard B. Shull , Stuart Margolin , Howard Hesseman , Mary Charlotte Wilcox , Walter Brooke , Vic Tayback , Murphy Dunne , Miriam Byrd-Nethery , Dennis Kort , James Jeter , Selma Archerd , Dan Barrows , Joe Brooks , Richard Crystal , David Essex , Raymond Guth , Harry Holcombe , Judy Motulsky , Vito Scotti , Cynthia Szigeti , Morgan Upton , Ann Weldon , Bert Williams , Andrew Winner , Carol Worthington , Mickey Fox , Alex Brown , Nick Pellegrino , Harry Frazier

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 thos... read more read more...e 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, Rovi

Flixster Users

52% liked it

1,735 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

6 critics

PG, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: James Frawley

Release Date: June 23, 1976

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DVD Release Date: July 16, 2002

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Stats: 109 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (109)

  • jjnxn
    December 20, 2011
    jjnxn
    Very much a mixed bag with a lot of talented performers trapped in this scattershot mess. Tries to lampoon the disaster movie craze and scores occasionally but mostly of the jokes fall flat.
  • 69Emoney
    May 3, 2009
    69Emoney
    Funny as hell older moive. Have a drink and a smoke and lol all the way through the movie!

    Take well known stars of the late 70's This movie is absurd and it is absurdly funny. It has some serious moments and is a spoof that you can really enjoy. So take a sit and enjoy !
  • tyddewi
    March 11, 2009
    tyddewi
    If you were alive and kicking in 1976, the topical humor in this movie will leave you on the floor laughing your lungs out. If you weren't around in 1976, you'll still get a big laugh even if you don't "get it."
  • JustCallJoe
    September 20, 2008
    JustCallJoe
    This movie is absurd and it is absurdly funny. It has no serious moments and is a spoof that you can really enjoy. Take a chill pill and sit down and enjoy it.
  • Astrotrain
    April 25, 2007
    Astrotrain
    Take well known stars of the late 70's and make a movie about the biggest bus ever made, and combine with a maiden road trip that leads to all sorts of problems along the way.
  • traveycakesbh11
    February 14, 2007
    traveycakesbh11
    I remember my mother getting this movie instead of Big Business with Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. This movie was freakin' awful.

View All The Big Bus Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard T. Jameson
February 19, 2012
Richard T. Jameson, Parallax View

I'd like to pretend it's a better movie than it is... its failings aren't gross and its modest pleasures are so far superior to the general run this slummy summer season that I feel very kindly toward... Full Review

Steve Crum
October 19, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Zany bus ride tries to be 'Mad World,' but hits pot hole

Shane Burridge
January 1, 2000
Shane Burridge, rec.arts.movies.reviews

The 'star-studded' cast of familiar faces is one of the conventions of disaster movies that writers Cohen and Fred Freeman have stuck to

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Richard Eder
May 9, 2005
Richard Eder, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Dave Kehr
August 2, 2002
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 9, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
August 11, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Mark R. Leeper
January 15, 2005
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

No review available.

February 9, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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The Big Bus Trivia

  • In what movie did a real band travel in a big union jack covered double decker bus?  Answer »
  • I "surfed" my way onto the big screen with "rock songs of love and peace". I brought a "bus load people at 50+mph" only to save the world by dying for the "machines". Who Am I?  Answer »
  • What movie involves 4 kids going into the big city to rescue a friend from the bus station in downtown chicago?  Answer »
  • In the film Almost Famous, what is the song that everybody sings on the bus after the big fight between the band?  Answer »
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