(first posted 11/2/2012) Since we’re talking Imperials here today on CC, I’d be remiss in not pointing out one was featured, albeit briefly, in the classic 1963 film It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
This fun, madcap film would be great even without all the Curbside Classics onscreen. But the fanciest and rarest four-wheeled star (only 554 built), was J. Russell Finch’s (Milton Berle) light blue ’62 Crown convertible with pearl white leather interior.
The ’62 was a finless, somewhat toned-down version of the ’61, which topped the 1959 Cadillac for sheer automotive outlandishness. Free-standing headlights? Giant fins in 1961, when cars like the ’61 Continental and Electra 225 were setting the pace for elegance and good taste in this brave new decade? What was Chrysler thinking? Buyers apparently asked that very same question, as only 429 of these drop-top party barges were built. That said, I love ’em.
As befitting an upwardly-mobile edible seaweed executive from Fresno, Finch, his wife Emmeline (Dorothy Provine) and his insufferable mother-in-law (Mrs. Marcus, played by Ethel Merman) traveled in white-leather-upholstered splendor–$5770 worth.
The last time we see the Imperial is when they arrive at the air field. Unfortunately for them, Melville Crump (Sid Caesar) and his wife Monica (Edie Adams) have rented the sole available aircraft–an ancient biplane.
Sadly, we lose the Imperial’s imperial presence early on, due to a mishap at said air field, the first stop the characters make after deciding to go get the “350 Gs” put under the “big W” by Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante). You’ll see shortly. But first, let’s look at some of the other cars of this classic film.
It all starts with Grogan driving like a madman in his ’57 Fairlane [ED: Thanks to jpcavanaugh for reminding me!] and crashing. But Fords, although seen in the movie, are not nearly as well represented as Chrysler Corporation products.
Mopar fans will love the variety of ’62 models, such as Mrs. Marcus’s son’s Dart 440 convertible…
Culpepper’s plain-wrapper Dart sedan…
And Melville Crump, DDS’s Belvedere wagon. Here we can also see the VW cabriolet driven by Dingy Bell (Mickey Rooney) and Benjy Benjamin (Buddy Hackett).
As you might have guessed, the Imperial is my favorite, but my second pick would be the Belvedere wagon. I always thought the ’62 Plymouths looked so much nicer than the ’62 Dodges.
Here’s Pike’s (Jonathan Winters) moving van. These were still probably pretty common in ’63, but I’ve never seen one in the metal. And I go to a lot of car shows!
Later on, Otto Meyer (Phil Silvers) joins the fray, though his ’46-’48 Ford Super Deluxe doesn’t last too long either.
After losing his V8 Ford, he tries to flag down a ride. The driver of the Rampside doesn’t stop. Lucky him, given what a shyster Meyer is…
Fortunately for Meyer, he finds a sympathetic driver in Don Knotts, in a short but memorable cameo.
In short order, he tricks Knotts into making a phone call and promptly steals his ’56 Sunliner. Looks rather nice in robin’s egg blue, doesn’t it?
And for you 4×4 fanciers, later on Finch is picked up by Lt. Col. Algernon Hawthorne (Terry-Thomas), driving a green Jeep Station Wagon. Sadly, it crashes some time later, tipping on its side. I bet if they’d tipped back on its wheels, it would have started right up, though!
I’m sure jpcavanaugh remembers the cab chase towards the end of the film. Boy, these were everywhere in Santa Rosita!
As much of the time is spent on the road, there is ample time for car spotting, such as this 1960 Buick ambulance. But what about the Imperial?
Well, it got hit by Pike and his plus-sized F-600. Pretty seriously, too! Yes, the poor Imperial got really crunched. Too bad, as these were considerably rare cars, even when new. At least it is immortalized for all time in this classic film! For lots more info on the movie, and speculation on what happened to this particular Crown, check out the MMMMW page here at the Online Imperial Club.
And for you CCers who have never watched this zany, amusing film, I highly recommend it!
[ED: All screenshots are courtesy of www.imcdb.org. It’s a great place to spend a couple of hours. You can even search by a particular car’s make, model and year! To view the whole list of cars in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, click here. Movie Trailer courtesy Youtube.]
The folklore has it that the studio kept the Imperial for several years after, using it as a gopher car, and never getting it repaired.
Jeez; Almost embarrassed to say that I never saw it. My parents wouldn’t let me when it came out 🙁 and never thought to watch it later.
You simply HAVE to find the time to watch this.
I second.
This was the funniest movie ever!
I second, third and fourth that sentiment. I watched it a few years ago with a few of my old buddies when visiting family in STL over the holidays.
The bipane was a Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny”.
Still one of the funniest flicks ever made. Dick Shawn rocks!
Now I gotta dig out my copy of “What’s Up, Doc?”
Slyvester Marcus and Lorenzo St. Dubois are comedy gold
Just make sure you block out enough time. It’s about three hours long.
Well worth it, just for the cars. There’s also a ’61 Chevrolet Bel Air (my favorite year for the big Chevys) that Milton Berle and Terry-Thomas rent and get in a wild high-speed chase with Dick Shawn in his ’62 Dart convertible.
The entire film (cameos galore by everybody from Buster Keaton to Jerry Lewis and Joe E. Brown), in fact, is a car-lover’s dream ride.
I’ve never seen the movie either. Will have to watch it. I saw the tail end of an old movie this week with a very, very young Robert Wagner. He was a murderer of some sort, riding with his girlfriend in a 56 Sunliner. He gets killed while attempting to murder her.
The girl’s rich father was riding in a chauffer driven black 55 Cadillac Fleetwood. Odd, to see Wagner, barely out of his teens. He must be at least 75 or 80 now.
That movie is, A Kiss Before Dying. 1956. Virginia Leith, Robert Wagner kills Joanne by pushing her off the roof of the Valley Bank in Tucson. Then tries to kill her sister Joanne Woodward.
The first time I’ve been shocked at this site.
I do have to ask, off topic, do you remember the original soundtrack to “Gone In 60 Seconds”?
Yes – all the songs except one are on youtube now.
Paul:
And I thought my mom was over-protective because she wouldn’t let me see anything racier than Doris Day/Rock Hudson (actually pretty cool once you know the backstory). She let me see this one accompanied only by my (same age) cousin when I was 9.
Do yourself a favor and set aside an evening for this movie. It’s pure slapstick comedy gold.
A brilliant film with a brilliant cast, many of whom for the last time. Ethel Merman was fantastic, as was Jimmy Durante.
Saw it when I was about 12, in mid-70’s. Already an “old” movie by then, But one of my top 3 favorites ever since. Cars, comedy, action, and everybody who was anybody in Hollywood at that time, is in it.
My favorite all time movie because of all the different comedians I grew up with are in it! I laughed soooo hard at this movie when I first saw it. I have it on DVD, and break it out every so often I have 3 hours straight to watch. The style of movie was in several other big comedy movies, going from one group to another to see how each is doing. Funny thing happen on the way to the forum, as well as The Hallelujah Trail were similar. You have to see it…..
“Under the big double ya”…..
I saw it in a theater at the mall with a cousin of mine, which gave our moms a couple of hours free from young-boy harassment for clothes shopping. At 9 I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen, and, having since seen it on DVD, I believe it still holds up (and how could it not, with that group of comedic actors, plus cameos by Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, and many more).
Great movie and one of the few times that the re-make—2001’s Rat Race is just as good.
If the on-screen ;ratio of Mopar to Ford and GM products had reflected real life, Chrysler Corp. never would have suffered from financial difficulty.
Especially since Quinn Martin kept blowing up the Fords and buying new ones. 🙂
Don’t forget that the whole affair starts with Jimmy Durante crashing a 57 Fairlane (IIRC).
You called it, Tom – the twin 59 Plymouth taxis are one of my favorite parts – driven by Peter Falk and Eddie (Rochester) Anderson, I believe.
I need to watch this movie again. It is one of my favorites, and I have not seen it in a long time. I rented it when my boys were young (maybe 7 and 5) and they were howling. My younger son John became a lifelong fan of the 62 Dodge Dart as a result. He likes Aztecs too.
Thanks for the reminder JP. I’ve added Jimmy Durante’s ’57 Fairlane to the post.
I believe Leo Gorcey, of Bowery Boys fame, drove a third yellow cab.
One of my favorite movies, so many funny people, so many great cars.
Johnathan Winters destroying the gas station has to be the best single set-piece ever.
The dividing up the shares bit is is hilarious too.
Ethel Merman dividing up the shares, what a hoot!
And the sound of the VW shifting down a gear in the initial chase!
I want the M-37 tow truck from the movie.
Everyone needs to see it at least once!
Not only is MMMMW a huge car chase comedy-suspense movie, it’s a rich tour of early-sixties New Frontier Space Age booming Southern California. Every car and every star was in this movie! Even these guys.
And an even older star: Buster Keaton.
Also add a quick and uncredited cameo of Jerry Lewis when he run over hat with his car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXD6xZVnClk
And The Shirelles contribute two songs to the Soundtrack. Camelot Comedy Time Capsule, circa ’62.
I fell in love with the desert mountains of Southern California while watching that movie.
The movie had a ’63 release date, but it is clearly mid to late ’62 . . . A shame too seeing the Imperial getting messed up like that . . . .
I remember as real little kids, when my switched out the yellow and black Cal plates for the Black and Yellow, he hung the old plates off of our bikes/trikes . . . .
For some reason I have an image of Dick Shawn jumping out of a second floor window into the drivers seat of the dart convertible, but last time I watched the movie I didn’t see it. Is that a deleted scene, or am remembering something else? I know there are several different edits of the movie out there. Anyone else remember that scene?
The car the Dart was chasing was referred to as a “Hertz” Chevy. The tv commercial at the time was “let Hertz put you in the driver’s seat” as a business man floated down from the sky into the driver’s seat. That’s probably what got your imagination working!
Actually, it’s referred to as an “Avis Chevy.” Hertz was all Ford in those days.
You’re correct. That scene was cut from the general release, which is the version most commonly shown. I don’t think he jumps out of the window, but he does jump into the car over the trunk.
I just watched the DVD of this movie a couple of weeks ago – it’s one of my favorites that I still remember watching on TV for the first time as a young child. There are several edits of the movie out there (not sure which length the DVD has on it).
In the township where my aunt lived, I used to see a blue 62 Plymouth station wagon up to around 8-10 years ago, at a local supermarket. The car was in a decayed state, but repaired. The body was a plethora of duct tape, pop rivets, and other amateur repair. The car seemed well maintained in its own way. The last time I saw it, it had new bias ply whitewall tires on it. The interior was immaculate.
The husband and wife (I assume) that owned it were in their sixties. They were very odd looking, poorly but cleanly dressed. By chance, I followed them while taking my aunt home. Their house was in a very nice 3 bedroom ranch plan near my aunt’s. Their’s was the shabbiest house on the block, with what looked like linoleum on the roof for a makeshift repair.
The wierd couple probably were misers, who banked every dime they made. The Plymouth was probably the only car they ever owned, probably bought new.
In the late ’60’s I learned to drive a truck – a 1956 Dodge Horse Van (Job-Rated H) with a flat-head six and a crashbox 5-speed. Most devastatingly slow vehicle I have ever tried. Yet, such sloppy handling, if one could call it that, that I thought of Jonathan Winters on the narrow country roads. Maybe 15 foot wide pavement. Terrifying vehicle! Proved once and for all, that Hollywood does special effects, if Jonathan could do what he appeared to do!!
One of my favorite movies growing up. Was disappointed to discover that Jack Benny wasn’t driving a Maxwell in his cameo tho. Was told it was a LaSalle.
Pretty sure it was a Chevy, about a ‘33, IIRC.
In the 1967 John Boorman film “Point Blank”, there’s a great scene where a double crossed Lee Marvin totally destroys a beautiful Imperial convertible while getting information out of a gangster. Great scene, but I hated to see that car wrecked.
Talk about coincidence! Today for the first time in several years, I saw the white 1961 convertible that lives around here somewhere in Portland. Both times top down. Both times I have been driving my car and the owner has been driving his Imperial, but in opposite directions! So I haven’t been able to talk to him or get a good look at the car, but it seems to be in excellent condition. I looked for it on the Imperial Club website, but no luck. There’s nothing like seeing one of these magnificent, outrageous barges sailing through a sea of generic automotive nonentities.
Everyone should see MMMMW, if for no other reason than the cars and chase sequences. Given the incredible array of comic talent, however, the movie should have been funnier than it is. On the other hand, watching Ethel Merman and Milton Berle spar with each other alone is worth the price of admission. That they do it in an Imperial convertible, makes it even better.
I have seen the Imperial you wrote about . I parked behind it in a line up for a parade downtown several years ago. I took some pictures of it, specifically the tear taillight arrangement, the unusual headlight configuration, and the huge “Imperial” script in the front fender…
I actually DVR’d the movie a couple days ago on AMC. I started watching it today and it occurred to me that it was Imperial Day here on CC. So of course, I had to do a writeup!
I hadn’t seen the movie in probably 15 years. Still a classic!
Catch it on Turner MC. No commercials, widescreen and uncut version. The only way to watch a movie, if yo don’t have the DVD.
Actually it may have been on Turner, as it was in widescreen format and there were no commercials. There was even the original “intermission” screen at the halfway point. Very neat!
Sylvester’s car is listed here as a Dart 440 Convertible. Is it not the first Polara? By the way it whipped its rear around a telephone pole to chase the Bel Air, I could’ve sworn that was pure Polara power in action!
And what a crash scene! The Bel Air rolls into a gulley but the Dodge noses right into the ground. The stunt driver eats the steering wheel and lays there limp. No sign of safety gear anywhere!
I’ve got a VHS tape of that movie around here somewhere… Remember those? I might just watch it tonight. There are so many classic moments in that movie, and a nice variety of cars, which adds a bit of realism to the movie. Speaking of which… if you ever want to see some unintentional humor, try watching an old rerun of the FBI, a TV show that was apparently set in an alternate universe where every single car, even the old cars driven by villains, was a Ford. I’m surprised they didn’t make Efrem Zimbalist change his name to Efrem Ford…. Sorry, starting to ramble…
Quinn Martin strikes again.
Thanks for the Imperial Day! One of those must have cars, particularly a 62. But any will do! Thanks Tom and this movie is one of my all time favs.
That’s not Mrs. Marcus’ son…. that’s Sylvester! the brillant dick shawn! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!
Dick Shawn left ’em laughing. He dropped dead while performing and the audience, thinking it was part of the act, howled!
My brother was in New York for a conference in the summer of 1977, and I got tickets for Dick Shawn in “The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World” his one-man show that ran on Broadway from June-August of that year. After we had all been seated and the house lights went down, a pile of newspapers on the stage began to move and Shawn climbed out of it, dressed like a homeless person. He’d been there for at least half an hour while the audience filed in. His act included references to men as no more than highalutin apes — with chimplike hoots and side scratches overcoming human pretension whenever his character got too big for himself. At the very end, he fully transformed from a self-important, entitled parody of a “superstar” to a not-so-Great Ape, and disappeared into a hail of vinyl bananas that completely covered him. One of the bananas bounced off the stage near us and I scarfed it up. I had it for years.
I guess I was 9 when I first saw this movie. My mom and aunt dropped me and my cousin off at the theater at the mall and went shopping for a while. I just remember we both were in stitches the whole time. Now (having seen it a couple of times since) the highlights are the car chases, Berle and Terry Thomas shaking Merman upside-down to get the keys to the Land Rover out of Merman’s bazzoom, and Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, and a (hungover then drunk again) Jim Backus in an airplane. Oh, then there’s Sid Caesar and Edie Adams in the basement of the hardware store, and Dick Shawn (also see him in The Producers), and… This one is comedy gold, with the plus of lots of 50s-early 60s cars.
There are so many good parts in this movie, but I think the hardware store scenes may be the best. The part where Sid Caesar zips by in a forklift and crashes through was hilarious! It was so brief, but so good. And we don’t see the aftermath, which for some reason makes it even funnier.
Weird part is, compared to 2012, 1963 was a Sane, Sane, Sane, Sane World…
Except for all the hair-trigger nuclear missiles. The world almost ended over Cuba the year before. A week after this movie opened in NYC, Pres. Kennedy was shot. KKK was still active. It was a very, very mad world.
Good point. The good old days were not so great for a lot of people. Many of the people voting this week would not have been allowed to when this movie was made.
The Volkswagen is worth mentioning because it is a fairly early vert. It’s a 50’s oval window era vert. I think it’s a ’54 with the later US bumpers on it.
My dad showed me this movie when I was a kid (it had my attention because of the VW) and about a year ago I found it in a $5 dvd bin and had to buy it.
It’s definitely an early Cab. Here’s another shot from imcdb, showing it from the back.
Another thumbs up for Dick Shawn. That guy could do crazy better than anyone.
The Phil Silvers scene always cracks me up.
Jonathan Winters was also very good, hard to tell if he was in character or not. I think he could have had a good career as a serious actor.
In todays movies, they’d never be able to afford the talent, nor get everyone together at the same time.
here’s another youtube clip from the move
Jack Benny has a quick cameo driving an old car. There’s quite a discussion at this photo’s IMCDb page over whether it’s a Maxwell or not. (Part of his comic persona was that he was so cheap he drove an old Maxwell jalopy.) The page lists the car as a ’31 Cadillac Fleetwood Convertible Coupe, but the commenters haven’t completely settled the question.
Jack Benny is not driving his Maxwell. The car is probably a Cadillac, a 31 like the site argues.
In the old Jack Benny TV shows, (LSMFT, Lucky Strike means fine tobacco) Rochester is seen on occasion driving Jack in an ancient touring car, which makes Benny’s car in the movie look showroom modern. Rochester wears the driving cap of a chauffeur while driving the open car, while Benny sits in the back seat.
The same Maxwell was used in the Texaco ads where he is cajolled to “Please fill up.” Benny replies “All his friends live one gallon away.”
I remember reading somewhere that Don Rickles was quite upset as he felt he was the only comedian in Hollywood that wasn’t in the film
I’d highly recommend this movie to those who’ve never seen it. I was 12 when i saw it in the theater, and my brother and I were cracking up the whole time (of course what 12-year-old boy doesn’t find even a lame fart joke funny).
But it’s a great movie with so many actors/actresses — and so many cars.
My father designed the billboard that the Twin Beech flies through in the film. The stunt pilot had something like 12 inches off of each wingtip to work with. The ad board part of the billboard was styrofoam. But because of the speed of the impact the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The entire leading edge of the wing was flattened. And a Twin Beech was cheap back then.
Did your father also built the service station set? Jonathan Winters’ demolition of that set was the highlight of the film!
Actually, Col. Hawthorne and Russell Finch rented that ’61 Impala from Avis.
In the cab chase scenes toward the end, the crew used “extras” cars in multiple scenes, including a silver 1953 Corvette in two scenes! Kind of a rare car for use in an ordinary cityscape. But then, its southern California, isn’t it?
Another starring vehicle is the tow truck Pike stole from the famous service station destruction scene. Anyone catch the make?
Also, the ubiquitous police cars: there are two of them together when Sylvester passes the tow truck and it briefly turns to chase him. Two scenes follow where the tow truck is on the wrong side of the road and nearly collides with the police — who follow from a distance rather than pull over for reckless driving. Are those police cars Dodges as well?
I think the ‘Vette’ is being used by the Film Crew as a “Chase” vehicle
There are two scenes showing the Three Stooges as firemen( at the airport arriving in a late 30’s pumper, and at the end operating an American La France ladder truck) I don’t know the years.
Recently,’Rat Race’ and ‘Its a Mad( 3 more Mads) World ‘were on on cable. I dvr`ed both of them and watched them on the 5th. of July, one of those hot, humid days where you just don`t want to leave your air conditioned house.Even though ‘Rat Race’ was funny, and had it`s moments,it just didn`t have the same frenzied fun as ‘Mad’,And ‘Mad’ is a car lover`s paradise. I`m a classic movie buff,and this has been my favorite comedy of ALL time, ever since I saw it in the theaters about 4 times back in `65 when it was re-released. I`m keeping it on dvr until I delete it,and will probably watch it again-real soon!
The gas station was constructed for the movie. An executive passed it many times on the way to shooting locations, and thought it was real. He was horrified when he saw it in ruins, and thought the movie crew tore it down by mistake.
I saw it at the theater when it came out, I was 9. I went with an older boy who lived next next door, and his friend. I went back to see it again about a week later with his whole family. I loved the movie then and still do, I watch it whenever I can. It is my favorite comedy movie.
I know I’m going to get chastised for not looking it up first but I’m just going to shoot from the hip. lol
…a few years ago someone made an archeological dig of the opening scene’s wreck site. With that they were able to market genUine MMW jewelry. I don’t recall if it was a for-profit venture, or otherwise.
I haven’t seen this movie in a few years now. It used to be on TCM which I don’t get any more. Great movie. Spencer Tracy did a great job acting in this one. I wish Don Knotts had a larger role, given his talents.
If given 3 hours or so to watch a movie, I might opt for the Godfather and try to catch some of the classic cars in that one.
If this isn’t the funniest film ever, it sure is close to it! My son and I have watched this laugh filled movie numerous times, and yet it is always GREAT the next time, too! 🙂
As I went to S. CA. just @ 2 years later, courtesy of USMC, it amazed me to actually see most of the areas shown in the film. It was then I realized how much film cutting had been done to get from say Long Beach to Santa Monica in the blink of a eye!! DFO
I watch this movie every time it is on JUST for the cars. Endless automotive entertainment.
Jimmy Durante kicking the bucket.
Literally.
I’ve seen It’s AMMMMW a couple of times; it’s a hilarious movie. Another movie featuring an Imperial is the 1967 movie Point Blank with Lee Marvin as a framed crook out for revenge. There is a scene at a used car lot where an absolutely beautiful dark green Imperial gets totally destroyed. It was a great scene, but it really hurt watching the Imperial get totally destroyed.
… and in the 1973 movie “Charley Varick”, the bad guy drove a menacing looking 1967 red Imperial 4 door hardtop.
Great movie, I highly recommend it for those who haven’t seen it.
I saw the movie for the first time in the fall of 1972, when it premiered on network television. That was the “cut” version. My friends all watched it, too, and we all loved the car chases.
As of today, Barrie Chase – the bikini-clad girlfriend of Sylvester Marcus – is the sole surviving credited cast member. Interestingly, in the original, uncut version of the movie, it’s clear that her character is married and having an affair with Sylvester. And that 1962 Dodge Dart convertible is her car, not his.
Sorry, Geeber. Looks like we followed the same storyline. You were there first!
No problem! Barrie Chase danced with Fred Astaire in his 1959 television special that was sponsored by Chrysler Corporation.
It’s on youtube, complete with the commercials pitching the entire 1959 Chrysler Corporation lineup.
In the extended version released by Criterion Collection, with audio and a few b/w screen shots it’s actually her husband’s Dodge.
When I was a kid, the comic singer, Allan Sherman was at the height of his short, comet-like career. He recorded his Jewish parody records live at Hollywood parties to roaring audiences.
“Barry”, a Jewish version of George M. Cohan’s “Mary – It’s a Grand Old Name” was of particular interest to me, as I didn’t know any other kids with my name, nor that it was a popular given name for Jewish boys at the time.
The storyline was that a Jewish couple is excited to choose, “Barry” for their first-born’s name (“We thought of Lance or Josh, but Oh, my gosh! It’s not the same!”).
At the end of the song, Allan sings, “And, if he’s not a “he”, it still could be– like in “Barrie Chase!”
Barrie was a dancer who worked in a lot of movies during the era. I looked her up a few months ago when I discovered she was the woman in the black two-piece dancing with the “beat” Dick Shawn in “MMMMW”. Turns out, she’s still alive in 2022 at the age of 88 — the only person from the movie who had a speaking part who is still with us.
BTW — I know cars leaned a lot in turns back then, but did the stunt men pull a few leaves out of the rear springs for effect?
I saw the movie on an Army Base that my scout troop visited in 1964 which means I was 10 years old that summer.
Speaking of comedians and Jonathan Winters did many know he had serious mental health issues and committed himself in 1961. He got out in 1962 and in his first week out Stanley Kramer called him about being the truck driver and you can hear it from him here. He talks about that, the movie, and the gas station scene.
The movie was A-list all the way, and that includes the stunt coordinator being none other than Carey Loftin who would later be a primary factor in what many consider the premier car chase movie, Bullitt, as well as Max Balchowsky, the guy who prepped both movie’s cars.
Here in 2022, this was an enjoyable re-read, and I do hope Paul has seen the film by now. I catch it now and then on broadcast TV, and enjoy all the cars & stars it captures—most of them not all that old at the time.
There are some nice websites focusing on “what those locations look like now”—meaning fewer wide-open spaces. Getty Images, I see, has more production photos, as well as some from 50th anniversary Cinerama screening (most of the surviving stars looking as we’d guess).
As to the cars: even that ’46 Ford was barely fifteen years old; I wouldn’t have seen these in the midwest, but I’d guess they’d still be found on the streets of Los Angeles in 1962-63.
And now, Tom Klockau, you’ve made me want to borrow it from the library and watch it again!
I remember seeing this in the theater ~ what fun then and many years later when I showed it to my son in the 1990’s .
-Nate
I was curious about the twin yellow cabs. They looked like the 56-7 Plymouth in the movie Christine.. The front bumper was different and so was the tail lights. Maybe the yellow cabs were a later year? Tried to make out the chrome model name tag on the rear fender wing. Could only make out the first letter which looked like a “B” but probably a “P” for Plymouth. Anyone really know?
I loveJim Backus making an old fashioned like grand dad made!!!!
Its been 11 years since I posted here, and I came back while watching the film again. Still no answers to my questions about the tow truck model, though Mark correctly identified the yellow cabs as Plymouths. In this case, they definitely appear to be 1959 Fury Standard hardtops. 17,867 were produced, so the film producers had easy access to them.
Watching Phil Silver’s failed escape from the canyon, I had to marvel as always to the throaty roar of his 48 Ford struggling up the mountain road. It reminds one how that age of motoring involved pure physics — all the power of a motor vs. the weight of steel. It also reminds me when I once heard demolition derbies of the 80s forbade cars earlier than 1962 on account of the amount of steel in them — a demolition derby would never come to an end if they were participants!
Also, nobody ever identified the coupe driven by Jack Benny in the desert. His small scene had him innocently interrupt the argument between Milton Berle and Ethel Merman, being shouted back by the latter to his chagrin. That coupe had a nice clicking purr to its motor. Can’t imagine what year it was, but definitely pre-war.
RE-Watch the film, people. Its longer than ever, clocking in at 3:17:36 since someone reinserted not only cut footage but also rediscovered audio with photo stills. (Personally, I prefer the theatrical release edition.)
IIRC the tow truck was a Korean war vintage Dodge M37…..
I remember seeing this in the theater, what a great movie .
-Nate
That is a classic, all right!
JIM BACKUS: “There we are! Who says this boy can’t fly?”
BUDDY HACKETT: “W-W-What if something happens??”
JIM BACKUS: “What can happen to an Old Fashioned? All right?
“Now I’m gonna make an Old Fashioned the old fashioned way, the way dear old Dad used to!”