Car 54 ~ The Movie that should never been…

In 1994 some studio head had the not so bright idea to make a movie based on the 1960′s TV show, Car 54 Where are You?  It was doomed to failure.

Making Car 54 without the unique chemistry of the original actors, Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne was like trying to make a new version of The Honeymooners without Jackie Gleeson.

Take a look at the movie trailer and then compare it to some classic clips of the show.  Am I right? or What?

A bit zany and certainly mild by today’s standards, Car 54 was a popular series that ran from September 17th, 1961 until September 8th 1963.

The series starred Joe E. Ross as Officer Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne as Officer Francis Muldoon. The chemistry between the two stars was the deciding factor on the shows success.

Following the often hilarious adventures of the fictional 53rd precinct in The Bronx, New York, the show was actually shot in parts of the Bronx as well as Biograph Studios.

To keep from alarming the public, the studios had all the police cars painted a bright red. Thankfully with the Black and White filming of the day, the cars showed up in a perfect shade of black and white on film.

Additional Cast members included Hank Garrett as Officer Ed Nicholson, Jim Gormley as Officer Nelson, Albert Henderson as Officer Dennis O’Hara, Bruce Kirby as Officer Kissel, Al Lewis as Officer Leo Schnauser, and the reuniting of Beatrice Pons with Joe E. Lewis (formerly, husband and wife on Sgt Bilko) as Lucile Toody.

Charlotte Rae portrayed Sylvia Schnauser, Paul Reed was Capt. Paul Block, Joe Warren was Officer Steinmetz and the amazing Nipsey Russell stepped in as Officer Anderson.

Quite an impressive cast for it’s time.

Equally impressive was the catchy opening tune and catch phrase that can still bring a smile today. “Car 54…Where are you?

Several episodes guest starred some familiar faces including this one with Tom Bosley who later went on to star in Happy Days.

Mythbusters takes on the Car Stunts…

If you haven’t seen an episode of the Discovery Channel hit show, Mythbusters I highly recommend you give it a look-see.  Stars Jaime Hyneman and Adam Savage seem to have a knack for screwing up even the simplest of stunts only to conquer them in the end.

My favorite shows are the ones where they take on the  movie stunts to prove whether they are indeed possible in real life.

In the following clip from the show, Jamie and Adam take on the Knightrider to prove or disprove whether you can drive a car up a ramp into a truck while going 60  miles per hour.

I was expecting to see a nice explosion as the car crashed into the back of  the truck but see for yourself, the proof.