Obsessive about car details in movies.

[Great Lakes Greg]

"A River Runs Through It" was on last night. Full of Model A's, which is swell except it's supposed to be 1926. Despite being a great movie, I managed to rile the wife by pointing out all the missplaced A's, and apparently ruined it for her. I think her exact words were, "You're an idiot". Yes, I'm sure of it now. That's what she said.
It also happened in "Walk The Line". Radial tires in the mid 1960's? Really? I couldn't keep my mouth shut about that either.
Does anybody else have this flaw of obsessive movie automobile observation (OMAO)?
Last one: Tom Hanks' '30's Buick in "Road to Perdition" has sealed beam headlights. There, I'm done...maybe.

[RHD]

I am exactly the same.

[Roadster62]

The worst is a Charles Bronson 1930's gangster movie with a shot of him and a passenger inside a 1930's car. If you look out the windows you see 1960's & 1970's cars on the streets. Squeeling tires on dirt roads is the movie sound effect I can do without.

[Peter J]

On the other hand, I can date a movie by the latest cars in the scenes but that's usually in the 50' and 60's when they looked different from one another.

[Charlie Stephens]

If I remember correctly they used a Shay in the movie Pearl Harbor.

Charlie Stephens

[roccaas]

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Didn't the T in "There Will Be Blood" have an electric starter? And The Walton's had a white A?

[jkcrosson]

Originally Posted by roccaas

Didn't the T in "There Will Be Blood" have an electric starter? And The Walton's had a white A?

If I remember correctly, the coupe started out as green??? I think there was an episode of John Boy painting the car.
Good Night John Boy.

[ldj1002]

Smokie and the bandit would have a shot of the inside with auto trannie then next shot it would be standard. I have also saw movies with inside shots of a different model than the outside. Didn't make any difference to me. About the shay model A, well it probably wasn't even in Pearl Harbor. I had a couple cars in movies and the setting was NYC which was 2000 miles away. Would be impossible and or cost prohibited for them to make every thing right

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by Roadster62

Squeeling tires on dirt roads is the movie sound effect I can do without.

happened on the dukes of hazard every episode. That and the fact they jumped a car, and slow-motion the landing, so clear that that car will never drive again without some major work... but NO it goes on to do another 5 minutes of car chase

Really liked hbo's boardwalk empire cars.

The race scene in American Graffitti, falfa's chevy had chrome wheels till it rolled. Television magic!

[Rowdy]

I had a field day with "Last Man Standing", both with the cars and the guns that never need reloading. Rod

[dave in australia]

Not as bad as John Wayne's Stagecoach, although it is an outright error and not a continuity error.
Set in the mid 1800's and in one scene you can see an F100 or similar style truck in the background.
Or in Ben Hur you can see the tyre tread marks of the camera vehicle during the chariot race.

[Bassman/NZ]

Originally Posted by Tinker

happened on the dukes of hazard every episode. That and the fact they jumped a car, and slow-motion the landing, so clear that that car will never drive again without some major work... but NO it goes on to do another 5 minutes of car chase

Really liked hbo's boardwalk empire cars.

The race scene in American Graffitti, falfa's chevy had chrome wheels till it rolled. Television magic!

It was also a tudor that somehow became a fordor when lying on it's roof with the above mentioned silver painted wheels.

[Bassman/NZ]

The movie Cadillac Records is a great movie, but some of the continuity there leaves a bit to be desired.

[inex01]

My car "1931 Slant Sedan" was recently used for the upcoming movie that Clint Eastwood is directing call "J Edgar" My car and another one exactly the same were used for the stars car. I had the oppertunity to discuss movie cars with Mr Eastwood and he is very serious to have only era correct autos in his movies. He is the exception in the industry.

[Terry, NJ]

It seemed to me that the A's in Splendor In The Grass (1962) had solid rims and smaller wheels than stock. I can't tell you how many movies had cars that were too new for the era portrayed.
Terry

[37 Coupe]

I like to watch and pick apart old movies featuring cars of the era. Awhile back a Boston Blackie movie on TCM ,which I forget the title,Blackie commandeers a lady and her new 37 Ford cabriolet with whitewall tires,today this would be called "carjacking". Anyway after tearing up most of the beautifull convertible and using up all his bullets on the pursuers (or mayby it was the pursuee), he only has one more thing left to fling at them the beautifull and only untouched thing left on the cabriolet,the V8 gear shift knob. Next scene and all is calmed down he is still driving the lady around in her now beat up 37 the gear shift knob has miracuolusly reappeared and lady has fallen in love with the carwrecker. Another classic to me is a scene from Superman,movie I think not TV and not new one but original black and white. The car is a brand new 1949 or 50 Ford,may have been police cruiser or the crooks car,anyway bullets are fired at the Fords tire to stop the car but a closeup showing the blown tire going flat is a spoke wheel looking very much Model A. A famous TV bloop was a Riflleman episode featuring a jet engine vapor trail over Chuck Connors head. I also drive my wife crazy with details instead of just watching the show. One movie I have never seen yet is Howard Hughes but I already know one fact about it, filmakers were here in Ohio,mayby shooting around Dayton,they needed 30's engine sound effects for Howard Hughes car and recorded engine running on a Model A in Urbana Ohio. I have heard this guys Model A 4 banger and it had couple mods on it and sounds great,but I like to see or hear how it would tie in to one of Hughes big multi cylider cars that evidenly was to quiet for filmakers.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Peter J

On the other hand, I can date a movie by the latest cars in the scenes but that's usually in the 50' and 60's when they looked different from one another.

I was in traffic the other day, and in front of me, side by side, was a Ford Taurus, and a Chevy Impala. Without the nameplates, I couldn't have told them apart. Even to the black stripes on the roofline above the doors.

[Robert]

It seems that history has been rewritten AGAIN. Antique cars in movies made in the past 30 year or so all have white wall tires and ALL Model A's seem to be fully optioned models. HMM?!?!

[2manycars]

In the movie "charge of the Model T's, the story is about a model T guy who saves the day from the Germans of WW one, with a fleet of his friends' model T's including a few 26-27's. Maybe they were prototypes built in 1919?

[Big John]

John Wayne was in the movie, Stagecoach " which was made in 1939....F-100's were not made then... Also why does the majority of the old cars look like new condition... no used or dirty ones for the era....