lzcutter Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 No, this is not a political thread (and please, if you feel the urge to post that way, take a deep breath and rethink. I will personally thank you and be eternally grateful). That said, it is the 50th Anniversary of the interstate highway this year. And being a big user of the highway for my job and my vacations, I have a deep affinity for my car and for good roads. That said, here's the topic: The automobile (going all the way back to silents) and the open road plays a big role in both Hollywood and literature. What would movies be like if there were no highways, no call of the open road, no rebels/bad boys looking for redemption further down the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackBurley Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I was about to point out that Hitchcock's Saboteur wouldn't have worked so well, but then realized that Barry Kane's desperate travel across the country was before the interstate highway system was born. And now that I think of it, some of his trip was simplified -- if we can call it that -- by a circus train. For prominent automobiles in movies, I'm reminded of "The Flying Wombat" from Selznick's Young in Heart. Streamlined and futuristic. But perhaps the ode to the Interstate was best presented in Thelma and Louise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzcutter Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Jack, It doesn't necessarily have to be an ode to the Interstate, just the Open Road. The anniversary of the Interstate is what got me thinking of the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Monte Hellman's 'Two Lane Blacktop' with James Taylor, Dennis Wilson and Warren Oates is a classic of the genre. The ending is particularly interesting, because Hellman equates the existential 'high' of the car accelerating into the vanishing point of the open road with the film's emulsion burning up in the projector, as if the spectator's association with both speed and cinema were commensurate phenomena. Highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayresorchids Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 lz wrote: > What would movies be like if there were no highways, > no call of the open road, no rebels/bad boys looking > for redemption further down the road? There'd be even more trains. I know you said not to get political, but socially speaking, I wish we'd kept the train system and not developed the Interstate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I would like someone to help me confirm something. In the old clips of an Academy Award's premier, or some such FABULOUS affair, Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland (or was it Ceasar Romero?) are getting out of this fantastic wicker-doored Rolls Royce. Now, in the movie Go West, Young Man with Mae and Randolph Scott, the car in which she is traveling breaks down. As they are fixing it, I noticed it is also cane-doored. Same car? Constance was Paramount wasn't she? Now, where would film be without the Rolls? Oh, and Jack, Young At Heart is one of my favorite films. Wish TCM would show it again, soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglis Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I like this thread and have always wondered and excuse me if this does not fit here but where are all those old cars from those movies I know that obviously some are long gone but is there a place where cars from movies long ago are kept. . I love old cars and trucks and always have enjoyed looking for the differents models that are driven in the movies . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbabykmd Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 "There'd be even more trains." I'm with you on this, it is a pity the train system has just about disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yeah, inglis! Like where is Norma Desmond's Isotta Fraschini? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeanddaisy666 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 inglis, I believe Gary Cooper's Deusenberg is in the car museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts, U.S. I fell in love with George and Marion Kirby's Cord in Topper the very first time I saw the movie. Since Mr. stoneyburke is a car fanatic, I have come to find out there are very few left in the world and they are extremely expensive. Leave it to me to know something good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 stoneyburke, A few months ago I was looking for some automobile designs to create a model car out of copper metal. The car in the movie "Topper" was at the top of my list of possible templates. I did a little internet investigation. The "Topper" car is a singular vehicle--a modification of a Buick roadster. If you are interested, the following link details a bit about the "Topper" car and the people who created such a wonderful thing (the same folks who created the "Young At Heart" Phantom Corsair): http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/b/bohman_schwartz/bohman_schwartz.htm BTW: I decided to fabricate a model of the 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow...maybe the most valuable production car in the world. And a real beauty. Rusty Message was edited by: jarhfive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Great site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOOMANYNOTES Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 . Message was edited by: TOOMANYNOTES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeanddaisy666 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I'll be darned, a Buick made to look like a Cord! Thanks, Rusty. How big was your final copper car? Can you post a picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 stoneyburke, Overall length about 18 inches. Estimated weight 40 pounds. Still working on the car...thinking about how to do the wheels and tires (maybe a patina to color the copper(?)...yes, the model is 100 percent copper metal). Isn't "The Flying Wombat" an incredible design?! Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeanddaisy666 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Isn't "The Flying Wombat" an incredible design?! It is indeed. I was wondering why I don't have Young At Heart taped....looked it up and found it was a movie with Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. Ick. I'll have to try to catch it next time it's on just for the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movieman1957 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I watched "Back Street" with Susan Hayward once. I was amazed at all the cars. All those big finned Chryslers seemed to overtake the movie. At least they had some style to them. I also kept being distracted as they used the theme from a Brahms symphony prominently in the score and I had to spend about half the picture trying to remember it. Consequently, I don't remember much about the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I remember the cars in that movie! They were great. Kinda makes me want to get it out and watch it, again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Stoneyburke, The Wombat movie is "The Young In Heart" from 1938. No Doris Day. Oops. GarboManiac...I don't know how many "wicker on body panel" cars were made, but another famous rattan paneled auto was Norma Desmond's Isotta Fraschini. I just read that the Isotta Frachini automobile was the most expensive (and prized) foreign built car during the 1920s. Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 WELL! Norma would have nothing but the best! She had the whole floor ripped out and replaced with tile because Valentino said there is nothing like tile for a Tango! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeanddaisy666 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Ohhhh. Googled and read too fast. Now I will have to watch for it and tape it. Thanks, Rusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackBurley Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yes, Young AT Heart is Doris Day/Frank Sinatra; Young IN Heart is the Gaynor/Fairbanks[Jr.]/Goddard gem. The somber, fanciful automobiles in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events seemed to pay homage to "The Flying Wombat", didn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 GarboManiac, A bit of car trivia: Valentino was given an Isotta-Fraschini by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, but Valentino died before a first ride. The custom cobra hood ornament on Valentino's Fraschini was replicated for the "Sunset Boulevard" car. Gloria Swanson owned an Isotta-Fraschini and used the thing. However, I don't know if she hired a glowering Teutonic chauffeur. Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traceyk65 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hi all-- Been gone a while and come back to this thread--cool! I love old cars. My dream car is an old Packard convertible, preferably one of the 1930's Dietrich models. I found a restored one, with wood inlay and leather seats on ebay motors once and coveted it mightily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Too bad for Valentino!! I wonder what happened to that car? It must have been great to have all the money in the world! Well, Gloria had to have a chauffeur of somekind! You couldn't very well drive those yourself, although William Holden's character (what was his name?) drove that one around town by himself. Ha! And, tracey65, my grandfather always drove a Packard. It is kind of a legend in our family, told and retold. He'd get all dressed up and light up that cigar and drive around town back in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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