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1950 6169 in the movies

Started by rghobden, August 15, 2013, 11:50:51 PM

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rghobden

There's only twelve Club members who own a copy of the 1950 6169 Cadillac so this message may have limited interest.  Quite some time ago I happened to be watching an old film on Turner Classic Movies and I saw what looked like my car.  The movie is called "The Prowler" with Van Heflin and Evelyn Keyes (1951).  I purchased a cheap copy which was a waste of time and money.  So I went to TCM and bought a beautifully restored copy and am very pleased.  The cost was around $10 or $11. 

Although The Prowler is filmed in black and white, it was mentioned during the show that the brand-new Cadillac is "dark green".  The car doesn't appear until you have sat through the story for 68 minutes but there are some great shots throughout the remainder of the show.  Some are of the car just sitting pretty and others showing the Cadillac kicking up clouds of dust while racing across the Mojave Desert around the ghost town of Calico, California.  You will get to see Van Heflin putting the final polishes to the front hubcap after he has cleaned all the dust from the car.  And you'll almost cry when you see him ramming the front bumper of a Studebaker pickup with those soon to be Dagmar's on his car.

The story is a murder drama and a not so good one at that.  It was made "on the cheap" and it shows.  But there are some very good close ups of the car, both inside and out.  A couple of interesting things I saw about the car;  The front license plate is mounted between the bumper and the passenger side headlight instead of in the center of the car.  In one scene Van Heflin pulls up in front of the building where he and his wife are staying and he returns to the car to get their luggage.  But he doesn't have to use his key to open the trunk!  Someone off camera must have unlocked it for him because all Heflin has to do is lift the lid to retrieve the bags.  Do you suppose that scene was the inspiration for the remote trunk release that we see today?

The baby Cadillac appears many times during the last 15 minutes and is well worth the cost to own this DVD.  As far as I know, this is the only time a 1950 series 6169 ever made it to the big screen.  Am I wrong?

Russ Hobden, #1235.
Russ Hobden, CLC #1235

Chris Conklin

Some photos here; I think the link is for the correct film. They have it listed as a '50 6219, but I don't think their accuracy is very high with a lot of Cadillac models.

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_486890-Cadillac-Series-62-6219-1950.html
Chris Conklin

C.R. Patton II



Hello Russ

Thank you for sharing.
All good men own a Cadillac but great gentlemen drive a LaSalle. That is the consequence of success.

rghobden

The picture is for sure the car used in The Prowler.  There were much better pictures that could have been selected.  Russ Hobden #1235
Russ Hobden, CLC #1235

R Sotardi #11719

Of course this car in the movie is a 1950 model 6119.  I have a 6219.  Since we are on nostalgia, while on a tour with the VMCCA back in 1998 some of us stopped for lunch in Prescott AZ. I pulled up into a space in front of a restaurant. An elderly gent, probably in his 80s,  walked over to me while admiring my car. Then, he casually said . " nice 50. You know Joe DiMaggio dated Marilyn Monroe in the same car and color." I asked him how did he know that? The other fella asked me if I knew who he( the admirer) was? My answer was no. Well it was Tommy Henrich. Well, being a baseball fan I knew exactly who he was. Sadly, I was also a Dodgers fan. Look up the 1941 World Series. We had a great conversation over a beer. BTW, he retired in 1950 and in '51 Mickey Mantle took that number. Old cars can really bring interesting folks together. Ron

Jeff Maltby 4194

#5
Never seen the movie until now, but I love the fanatic back up dash/windshield clip, much like my 50 coupe picture going forward 'Once Upon A Time" in 1971  ~:<)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmby3xB-hk0
Jeffo 49er chapter

CLC 1985
Honda Gold Wing GL1500