Wednesday, August 09, 2006

 

Thunder Road,
was a movie that was make fifty years ago. I have a copy of it and watch it a time or two every year. For you older folks you may remember it was about a 1950 Ford as much as it was about the story. To me it was a car movie.

Some interesting facts have come to life as a result of my assembly of a reproduction "Thunder Road" 50 Ford. And for you "Thunder Road" fans, and who isn't one, I pass along the following:

1. Mitchum apparently had been thinking about a movie with the theme of Moonshiners v. Revenue Agents for some time before he begin to write down his thoughts. After collaberation with a couple of screen writers the concept begin to jell. Through his Hollywood connections he got an audience with the ATF gurus in Washington D.C. where he was given a warm welcome to include an introduction to the local ATF office in Ashville, N.C. Mitchum apparently gave the inmpression that he was going to film a story sympathetic to the ATF so he was welcomed with open arms by the local ATF authorities.

2. Mitchum and his screen writers were anxious to start filming so even without a complete script they arrived in Ashville in the summer of 1957 and begin to scout both scenery and local actors. Mitchum quickly was accepted by the local citizenry and readily provided autographs without complaint, especially at the local watering holes which he frequented. Once the project began he soon begin to search for the equiptment needed for the film, whiskey cars, and with a fair budget for such his representatives bought several, many of which were in fact used in the moonshining business and were bought from "trippers". Mitchum soon began to take on the persona of a moonshiner, driving the high powered Fords personally around town and bragging about how they could out run the law. Some accounts even say that he, his director, Ripley, his stunt driver, Loftin and his screen writer had no problem getting free samples of the subject matter of the film and proceeded to get smashed on more than one occassion from such "samples". There were apparently several 50 Fords used in the film, one or more which were powered by souped up flathead engines, but the main vehicle the 1951 with 49 hood and 50 grill was powered by a 1955 Ford Y block with three carbureators. This fact is confirmed by one or more of the locals. However, no one knows what happened to the Ford after the filming was complete. Rumors of its being in a basement in a house in Ashville circulated for several years. Others say that Mitchum was so fond of the engine in the Ford that he had it shipped to Hollywood, but this can't be absolutely confirmed. However, what can be confirmed is the fact that ATF dignitaries who visited the filming quickly saw that the film was not portraying the ATF in a sympathic way and suddendly dropped their support of the project. As a plum to the Hollywood censors and perhaps to the ATF, the opening scene does have a disclaimer sympathic to the efforts of the ATF. Needless to say the portrayal of the "Thunder Road" 49-50-51 Ford in the film turned out to be a classic and one which had a lot of fact to back the fiction underlying the script.

I dated a Fifty Ford in 1957 for the whole summer. I drove that car everyday and put hundreds of mile on it. The only set back was the girl that owned it insisted that she go with us. So it was the three of us. Me and her worked the grave yard shift at the local mill. She would come to our house about 7 pm and I would get in under the wheel and we would drive around till work time a 11 pm. At 7 am when we got off we would hit the road again till lunch. I love that car. I sent the girl a picture
of my car that was took at a car show in her home town a few years ago.

old geezer

posted by Johnnie 3:57 PM

Comments:

The explosion scene
is a whole story in itself. According to accounts from the "Ashville Citizen", the local newspaper at the time, the explosion scene was set up on a vacant lot near town where a mock service station was built. The cars shown in the scene, a 49 Mercury and a true 50 Ford were procured from local junk yards and gutted of their interiors, engines, transmissions, etc. and then rigged with explosives which were set off by the special effects crew. The exact site is apparently now a part of the right-of-way of a four lane road leading into Ashville. It's a shame that they blew up a couple of solid shoeboxes as they did, but remember it was 1957 and such cars were relatively cheap and plentiful. More later.

# posted by  Johnnie : 10:49 AM

How many cars did they destroyed?


something like 6 or 7!
Probably at least that number. Two 57 Fords driven by the mob characters went over the guardrail and down the waterfall/cliff. Two more 57 Fords were severely damaged in the blockade scene where Mitchum drives another 57 Ford between them (the Chalk Gap incident). Mitchum's 57 Ford was written up in the July 58 issue of Motor Trend Magazine. A specially reinforced front end and special tires were used to sustain the crash while the two black 57's that he ran between were used without engines so as to provide less resistance. Then there were the two (49 Mercury and 50 Ford)in the explosion scene. That's at least 7 with the 57 Fords being brand new cars or at least nearly new.
I understand that the US Forest Service finally, after 40 odd years, required the removal of 57 Ford that went over the falls. For all those years it remained where it landed at the bottom of the falls awaiting the era of ecological awareness. That would never happen in a production this day and time.

# posted by  Johnnie : 10:48 PM

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