Corvettes In Films

[Brian D.]

My dvd player finally bit the dust after years of use. This gave me an excuse to go through many of the VHS tapes I have, both professional and dubbed. It's amazing how many movies I copied from rentals (you didn't read that here, you FBI informants), as well as taped shows off TV or life's memories with the old shoulder mounted camcorders .

Since I obviously enjoy Corvettes so much, I started keeping track of where I'd see them in movies. Not just the obvious silly ones like "Corvette Summer", but the good ones that just happened to have one in by chance. "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" shows a very early (53, 54, 55 range) white roadster at two different points during the final chase scenes when Spencer Tracy is being pursued. (Hope I didn't ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't seen that.)

"Apollo 13" has two beautiful shark-era cars. Sadly, the tech advisers didn't do very well. Gary Sinise drives what certainly appears to be a Warbonnet Yellow coupe, which means '71 or '72. Of course, the movie's events took place in April 1970 before those existed... but why let facts get in the way of good storytelling?

Maybe my favorite is the continuity error in "Passenger 57". Wesley Snipes is on his way to a lunch meeting with a prospective new employer. There are aerial shots of him in a bright red 86 convertble with black body rub strip, split side marker lights, the works. Along the way, he must have decided ahead of time to accept the new position, and traded up. He arrives at the restaurant in a Torch Red 93 convertible, with body color rub strip, wraparound marker lamps, etc. I should check to see if he changed clothes, too.

[Gary R.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

The other night the 1974 movie Earthquake was on and in the opening minutes had George Kennedy as a cop chasing a guy in a beat up 58 or 59 and crashed it into hedges.

[Michael J.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Watch "White Sands", the classic Corvette movie with Willem Defoe in my home state:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_641924-Chevrolet-Corvette-1966.html

[Duke W.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

In addition to White Sands being a good movie and Dafoe one of my favorite actors the '65 L-78 was definitely a co-star.

Does anyone know where that car is now?

Duke

[Eric E.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Ad the sad scene on the mid year silver convert tied to the airplane in Con-Air.

[Michael J.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Duke started a good discussion of the '64 in Body Heat here:
https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...at-quot-(1981)

[Bill M.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Watch stingray bank robbers hide money in a mid year convertible that is sold the next day before they can get money. Whole movie a chase. Don't forget true lies red and white SACE car. Bullit a 65 0r 6 blue with hard top. And if you watch the uncut Columbo movies there seems to be a vette in every few shows. Watch the original Munsters movie there is a race with vettes cobras ect...

[Joe M.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Mrs robinson, when Dusty is on his way to the church and stops at a gas station to use the phone, see a line of early vettes, < 62, in various stes of repair.

[Stephen B.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

check out the latest TV show "Lucifer" he runs around in an old black corvette - steve benson

[Patrick N.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Anyone know about the yellow corvette in Steve McQueen's LeMans movie? Was that the L88 Greder car? that was a bad ass car!

[Duke W.]

Re: Corvettes In Films

Coincidentally, I happened to watch the film, again, last night (DVD version that has a great sound track) along with, for the first time, the 2015 documentary on the making of "LeMans". I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about the yellow Corvette, but I suspect it was a French entry that was leased for the duration of the filming, which started about two months after the 1970 race.

From Wikipedia the 1970 race featured two Corvettes with all French drivers: #2 Greder/Rouget finished overall eighth (but behind a 911S and 914/6 in GT); #1 driven by Bourdon/Aubriet was a DNF completing only 37 laps, finishing 45th overall. The white 914 that is seen in the movie must have been the 914/6 that finished second in GT as it was the only 914 entered.

Corvettes have always been popular at LeMans because, after all, both the marque and model names are of French origin.

The documentary along with the Wikipedia write-up has some interesting information about some of the film participants. The Swedish actress who played the wife of the German driver that Delaney replaced for the last stint in #21 continues to act on Swedish television, and she spent a brief time as a member of the Swedish Parliament.

The German actress who played the widow of the driver killed in the previous year's race passed away in 1994 at only 59, cancer apparently. In the late seventies she married Peter Gimbel (Gimbel's department store heir) who recovered the safe from the Andrea Doria in 1981, and there is a documentary on those expeditions.

Back in the day I don't think I knew that David Piper lost his right leg below the knee as a result of an accident during filming, nor did I know that he bought a brand new 917K and, apparently, at age 85 still owns it!

I'm almost surprised I didn't get any neighbor complaints as I watched the movie fairly late and had the sound system cranked way up... love the wail of those beautiful twelves!

Duke