Chevelles
(and
other A-bodies) in Movies and TV (1973-77) -- 80s Era Movies
This was a time in which we went through the Reagan/Bush
years, inflation, stagflation, and during this transition, there was a
significant change, like MTV, video arcades, and of course, the war on
drugs. By this time, the RWD A-car became the G-car in 1982.
The RWD Malibu lasted until 1983, but the El Camino stayed in production
until 1988. One thing that sprouted from the 1980s for the classic
A-car was the resto craze, and companies like Ausley's contributed to the
resto efforts of classic A-cars. 1980s muscle was fueled with small-cubed
V8s and V6s, like the Grand National, Monte Carlo SS, and 442, along with
the IROC-Zs. Only GM and Ford were the major players, since Chrysler
went FWD throughout the 1980s.
2/27/00 update: I have decided to split
the 1964-72 and 1973-77 bracket, since the listing of movies have grown
to over 200+ flix. Everything is the same, but this measure was taken
because of the size of the pages.
During the scene with the girls and
a college professor, the professor and his wife are leaving the scene,
and a 1975-77 Buick Century station wagon is seen in the background.
In a later scene, in front of an appliance store, the serial killer is
standing in front of a 1977 Grand Prix (when looking at the reflection
in the TV screen).
Several A-bodies are seen, which include a 1969/70 Grand
Prix and 1975-77 Regal, where Chris Makepeace rides his bicycle during
the opening credits. Later, in front of the high school, a 1973 Cutlass
S Colonnade coupe is seen in traffic. When Chris Makepeace enters
a diner, after squirting ketchup and mustard on a rival gang, he flees
the diner, and a 1973-77 Vista Cruiser shows up. In the next scene,
after the young kid gives Matt Dillion the finger, a traffic scene is shown,
and a 1974 Chevelle coupe is seen in traffic, along with a 1975-77 Regal.
During the scene where Linderman (Adam Baldwin, of Independence Day fame)
walks on a sidewalk, a 1971/72 Chevelle hardtop is seen, parked on the
side of the street. A1976 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine follows the
kid, and during the sidewalk scenes, Adam Baldwin walks past a 1973/74
Pontiac LeMans.
Trivial note: this film marks the debut of actors
Adam
Baldwin and Joan Cusack,
as well as Matt Dillon's
second film role. He previously starred as a juvenile delinquent
in Over the Edge, his feature film debut Joan Cusack's father (Richard
Cusack) appears as the school principal. Watch for a scene where
George Wendt (Cheers) appears as a janitor.
A 1977 Malibu Classic wagon is used
as the picture car. In one scene, the car spins out of control, but
remains undamged. Later, the car is ripped off (where Chevy Chase
dumps his ex-wife and the driver).
A 1974 Chevelle 4-door sedan is seen,
where one of the villains recover their billfolds from a mailbox.
This scene takes place with a couple of Puerto Vallarta cops, holding the
villains in custody.
A 1977 LeMans sedan is seen briefly
in one scene, when Junior and Carrie are at a motel.
Clark Kent is crossing the street,
and he is hit by a 1973 Chevelle sedan (a Metropolis {a.k.a. NYC} taxicab).
The core support ends up like if it was rammed into a utility pole.
A silver 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix is seen as a picture car that shows up
in several scenes (e.g. in a traffic jam, and in a small town). Another
1973 Chevelle is seen, parked in a used car lot, right after General Zod
(Terence Stamp, of Alien Nation and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
fame) fires at a jeep with lasers. During the street showdown, one
of the cars that is uprooted is a model of a 1973-77 GM A-body (which resembles
a 1973 LeMans sedan).
The three villains (Sarah Douglas,
Terence Stamp, and Jack O'Halloran) were briefly seen in Superman (1978),
who were sentenced to exile by Jor-El (Marlon Brando). One of their
abilities is that laser beams are used as weapons, which originate from
their eyeballs.
During the opening credits, where the
scene takes place in the parking lot of Gilley's in Pasadena, TX, a 1977
Monte Carlo is seen in the parking lot. In a later scene, at a diner
located near the intersection of Spencer Highway and South Shaver, a 1976
Malibu is seen in the background, where John Travolta socks Scott Glenn.
William Hurt is at a pay phone, and
leaves a message on Sigourney Weaver's answering machine. A 1973/74
Chevelle 4-door sedan passes by, and in a later scene, where he is about
to meet her, two Vietnamese hitmen, in a 1977 Cutlass Supreme 4-door, show
up. This particular scene occurs when Sigourney Weaver is roughed
up, and a chase scene occurs. WIlliam Hurt bashes the windshield
of the Cutlass with a chain (he is on a BMW motorcycle), and the Cutlass
rams into a light pole.
Several scenes alternate between the
NYPD briefing room orientation, and Manhattan traffic. One of the
scenes depicted featured a 1975 Monte Carlo seen in traffic. Before
the film's end, when Wulfgar (Rutger
Hauer) is hiding outside of Lindsay Wagner's home, a 1977 Vista Cruiser
drives past by.
The late Persis Khambatta appears
as Wulfgar's female accomplice, and to this day, another noted role for
the late Indian actress (previously seen as Lt. Ilia in ST:TMP).
Charles Bronson is stuck in traffic
(he drives a 1980 Ford Thunderbird) at a road construction site, and a
1977 Cutlass Supreme is briefly seen, after the traffic director allowed
him to move along. This scene takes place when Chuck is heading home,
after murdering the last thug, who raped and murdered his housekeeper and
daughter.
Trivial note: Laurence Fishburne
(Boyz N The Hood, The Matrix, Hoodlum) appears as one of the street thugs
with the funky shades. He is the one that holds a boom box in front
of his face, and Charles Bronson fires a 9MM Beretta pistol, shattering
the boom box in half, and Fishburne with a slug in his skull.
A brief scene in the high school parking
lot featured a 1973 El Camino.
Robert Beltran (well known as Chakotay
on Star Trek: Voyager) is a Texas DPS trooper, and when he later shows
up in Mexico (right after Chuck Norris goes to the border, he drives a
1974 Monte Carlo.
Right after Debra Winger spots Flap
(Jeff Daniels) and a student together, she decides to take the kids back
to Houston, TX. A 1975 Monte Carlo is seen in the background, right
after she parks her 1965 AMC Ambasssador wagon in a River Oaks area driveway.
Kevin Bacon is washing his VW Beetle
at a car wash, and a gang of teens (who give him the finger) are in a 1976
Cutlass Supreme sedan.
During the demolition derby scene,
where C. Thomas Howell drives a 1973 Ford LTD, a couple of 1973-77 A-Specials
are seen as demolition derby cars. They include a 1973 Cutlass Supreme
and 1974 Monte Carlo (Patrick Swayze drives the Monte Carlo).
Daniel-san flees from the Halloween
dance (where Cobra Kai dojo subordinates in skeleton bodysuits are in hot
pursuit), a 1973 Chevelle 4-door is seen, right after he douses Johnny
(William Zabka) with a water hose. In this scene, he is rollin' a
joint of marijuana, laced with PCP.
A 1975 Malibu Classic is seen briefly,
where Reese goes shopping, after leaving the motel.
When Reese (Michael Biehn) first
hotwires the LTD, he suffers a nightmare, in which he is in combat, and
there is a scene in which he hops into a 1976 or 1977 Pontiac LeMans sedan,
which is a combat vehicle that tries to outrun a pilotless aircraft. The
LeMans does not survive, and this is when Reese has a nightmare in which
he is incinerated in the car, after it crashes.
There is a scene in which the slacker
lays down on the bowling alley parking lot, in which a 1976/77 Malibu Classic
4-door is seen.
There is a scene where Sean Penn is
having a conversation with the Soviets, and a flashback scene at a motel
(in Mexico City) is shown. The taxicab that Sean Penn arrives in
is a 1973 Chevelle 4-door sedan.
Trivial fact: the real Christopher Boyce escaped
from the Lewisburg federal penitientary on 1/25/80, and was recaptured
in 1982. His original sentence was 40 years, but with the escape
incident in 1980, he now serves an additional 25 years.
A 1976/77 Cutlass Supreme 4-door is
seen at the Dynatechnics parking lot, before the movie's end.
A couple of Oldsmobile Cutlass sedans
are seen, which include a 1973 Cutlass S 4-door (ends up driven off a bridge),
and a 1976/77 Cutlass S sedan (sloped nose), where the woman driver bashes
the crap out of the car in a parking lot.
When Patrick Swayze flees town (with
several teens in the back of his pickup), there is a scene where a Latino
man is captured by Soviet and Cuban troops. A 1973/74 Cutlass Supreme
is seen in the background.
The street scenes outside of Miracles
had a 1977 Monte Carlo parked on the street.
The
60s
Disco
Era Movies
1990s
and Beyond
A-Car Sightings
(new location)
*Listed in WhoWhere
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