Movie "The Chase"

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Saw another B&W oldy moldy this afternoon that featured two 1941 limos. (Although they hoped we'd think they were both the same one.) The featured car was a 1941 7559 with the fabric top and no rear quarter window. It wasn't an Imperial as the front seat was fabric. They may have used the steering wheel from the convertible I mentioned in Notorious the other day as it was translucent ivory but had spoked arms instead of the regular '41 wheel.

It did use a '41 dash to show the speedometer. They had taken the skirts off, and in one shot, the driver was going to make a U-turn and they used a '41 Series 67 instead, evidently not knowing that a Cadillac nut was going to be watching 74 years later and catch the error.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I forgot to mention that the 7559 had a cute alteration in it. The owner had a separate set of controls built into the divider portion between the front and back seats. The prop department spent a little time on it, as I think they used a 1938 speedometer in the unit.

The premise was trying to beat a train to a crossing without the driver being able to control the car. The owner did hit the brakes (in an impossibly short distance) and skidded to a quick stop.

I think he was trying to check Bob Cummings' nerve or something like that.

[Halcyondays]

Two possible reasons for the Series 62 occur to me.  First, was the u-turn tight?  (I don't believe I have seen the movie.  Or if I have, I don't recall it at all.)  When I consider the turning circle of my 1940 Series 75, I can understand that the smaller car may have been required.  Second, were the scenes with the Series 62 possibly library shots?  Very common to dig something out of the studio library to save time and money.  Especially on low budget programmers.  If the actors are not recognizable due to distance or darkness in those scenes, there would be little interest in filming anew.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Frank, your premise would be fine except that the Series 67 is actually longer than the Series 75. So that doesn't hold water. Your second premise is more likely, that the studio had a nice shot studio shot (which it was) of the Series 67 making the U-turn. There actually was a policeman "helping" the driver make the turn.

And I saw a nice 1941 60S peeking out of a parking lot in "In Harms Way" which we started last night. Many times, a studio will substitute a lower valued car when a more valuable one needs to be in a total wreck scene. However, I think the nice 1941 cream colored Continental convertible driven by the airman who was involved with Kirk Douglas' wife on the beach the morning of Dec. 7th was actually run over a cliff and burnt up. (At least if there was a substitution, both were light colored.) Argh!

Actually, the fact that they were driving back to Pearl at all was "wrong." The car shouldn't have started because the airman left the driver's door ajar when he got out and the courtesy lamp might have run the battery down overnight.

In fact that entire scene was a stretch as back in those stuffy days, the officers' wives association (Or the Duke) would have had Douglas get rid of her the FIRST time she acted up the way she did at the party.

I did like the 1941 Packard used as a staff car. Thanks for listening to my comments.

[RFelts]

It's on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9T0mEtpeqQ

I started watching it...the scene Barry Wheeler mentions where the rear controls are used ends in a remarkably short skid to a stop at about 13:20.