CTA in the movies (was: The Blues Brothers)

What better way to kick off the re-introduction of this forum than with somethng from one of the greatest films of all time (in my own, personal oppinion).

There's that classic scene in the movie where Elwood (Dan Akroyd) takes Jake (John Belushi) back to his appartment which is located right next to the El. As a train rattles by, Jake asks, "How often does the train go by?" To which Elwood replies, "So often you won't even notice it." The trains then proceed to roll past the window every five seconds or so.

I'm just currious to know how John Landis (the director) was able to pull it off. Did they block off a section of the El for filming, dispatch extra trains into the mix, or was it all done on a soundstage with some clever modelwork/reproduction trains? Anyone out there working on the El or lived/worked near the El while they were filming this scene? Just currious.

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Elwood: "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses."
Jake: (pause) "Hit it!"

I doubt they ran extra trains. it was probably the same train shown over again.

Another great movie with CTA footage was "The Hunter" with Steve McQueen. They had some great footage of those oddbal trolley poled 6000's. Of course they had to modify them with trolley poles form the electric buses so Steve McQueen would have something to hold on to. Good stuf non the less!

Fun to watch, but completely innacurate ... the cars were retrofitted with trolley bus poles for the film but didn't have poles in service, the train is signed as a "Ravenswood Express," which never ran in modern times, and the shots go back and forth between Ravenswood, Lake and the North-South subway. Also, the exterior shots were filmed on 6000s while the interior shots were filmed in a 1-50 series car.

Actually the movie was half accurate. There were 8 6000's that had trolley poles. Of course they had single poles. They were 6123-6130 I believe. Some of those cars were use for the high speed testing in the late fifties, and were painted maroon and gray. They were assigned to Evanston for a while and in later years ended up on the Rave. IRM has 2 cars still with poles.

"The Blues Brothers" also has that epic chase scene under the "L". Kinds of reminds me of "The French Connection".

7 Train,

I believe the scene in the Blues Brothers is a Homage to "The French Connection." (John) Landis wanted to have cars racing down the streets of Chicago at 100 m/ph and nothing screams "Chicago" like the "L." Thus, the "feel" and sequence of shots in the chase under the "L" is similar in composition to "The French Connection." The Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com) lists "The French Connection" as one of the movies referenced in "The Blues Brothers." (See link below)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0080455/movieconnections

Although I'll agree, the scene with (Gene) Hackman racing under the 3rd (7th? 9th?) Ave. El in New York is also an impressive scene (considering "The French Connection" was the first film to have a car chase in regular traffic (whereas "Bullit" filmed on the near-empty streets of San Francisco)).

But, "The French Connection" didn't feature a 20-30 car pileup under the "L" ("THEY BROKE MY WATCH!!!!!"), followed by a quick drive through Richard J. Daley Plaza and half a million police, fire, SWAT and military officials storming city hall. :D

The French Connection was actually not filmed under any Manhattan el (3rd, 9th Av). It was shot in Brooklyn, on the BMT West End line. In fact, the Manhattan el had been gone since 1955! The BMT West End, known as the B train then, and the D train now is located along 86th Street & New Utrecht Avenue.

bones wrote:IRM has 2 cars still with poles.

IRM's pole-equipped 6000's are 6125-6126, which were two of the cars used in the filming of "The Hunter."

How about that scene from the movie "Running Scared" where there was a chase scene along the L?

"Gotta watch that third rail, that's 600 volts in there."

"It's not the voltage that gets you, it's the amps."

"How many amps are there?"

"Enough to push a train."

Ohhhhhhh I LOVED that scene, Silverliner II, I even recorded that movie so I could see the scene over and over, along with "The Hunter. I liked it when Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal were chasing "Julio Gonzales" in the undercover taxi and then they stopped at Madison/Wabash Station when Pullman-Standard coach 6193 which had an "Englewood/Howard All Stops" destination signed collided with Gonzales' black Limousine car and tipped it over, they bailed out and bolted from the station. Then, Hines and Crystal go "Hey Father you and your wife owe me $28.50", citing the taxi ride from hell they got.......

I also liked the Steve McQuinn scene which he tries to apprehent the guy, they eventually get into a car chase into a parking garage, and then the bad guy wound up falling 22 stories into the Chicago River.

Robert Paniagua wrote:I also liked the Steve McQuinn scene which he tries to apprehent the guy, they eventually get into a car chase into a parking garage, and then the bad guy wound up falling 22 stories into the Chicago River.

I just saw that movie two weeks ago on TV, LOL!!! Great ending, eh?

Yeah, I thought so, the guy finally lost, and at least Steve McQuinn didn't have to jump in!

Also, the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting starring Elisabeth Shue(Karate Kid) was used, they used 6000 PCC cars.

Not to mention, the 1986-7 movie "Wildcats" starring actress Goldie Hawn also features shots of the EL, but only in two scenes. The first one was when she was turning right from a side street onto the main road where the EL route stands, and there was a train in motion. The second scene, much later in that movie, then shows another train, but in full view as Goldie Hawn pulls her van over on the cross street she drove on when she went into someone's house, and I got to see the train itself which was the old 2000-series. I liked those cars the most.

I like the 1950-51 B&W movie "Union Station" where the climactic scenes were filmed in the freight tunnels beneath the Loop and great car and foot chase scenes using the Stockyards Branch of the South Side El. It's a film-noir type movie with fabulous use of shadows and angles to heighten the suspense. It starred William Holden. Many of the "Union Station" terminal scenes were obviously in LAUPT, but the ones I mentioned weren't.