Crosleys In The Movies & TV Shows

"War Bond Newsreel" (1942)
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy during a War Bond parade, sitting up on the rear body ledge. The newsreel was made in Des Moines in 1942. A Des Moines Tribune photographer was on hand and shot a photo for the paper. Till we can find a copy of the Newsreel, I have an amateur photo also taken at the event  as a place holder?

"The Crystal Ball" (1943):
Lots of footage of a 2-cylinder convertible without door-window frames driven by wealthy bachelor Ray Milland who's dating Paulette Goddard. (In real life, Paulette owned a 2-cylinder Crosley, which was a gift from her mother.) At one point, Ray gets a flat and pulls over. He complains to Paulette that he has no spare, and says "If I had a rubber band, I could fix it myself!"

Later at a shooting gallery, Ray comes back to his car to find a lipstick message on the windshield.

Later in the film Ray pulls onto a nighttime highway without looking and sideswipes a watermelon truck, and dozens of watermelons spill into the open Crosley, one of which knocks Ray out. (I don't think the vehicles actually touched.) The next day there's a newspaper article telling of the accident, saying that Ray was "driving his interim wartime vehicle".






"Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" (1945):
Lou is a uniformed delivery man, and has a brief scene with a 2-cylinder Parkway Delivery. (There's a famous publicity photo with Bud and Lou by the car.)




"This Man's Navy" (1945):  Staring Wallace Beery, Tom Drake and James Gleason.  Several members have spoted in just one scene, Wallace Beery driving a Crosley into a farmyard.  However, in the next scene he is driving a Ford convertible.
Photo Needed

"The Noose Hangs High" (1948):
Lou Costello backs his car hard into a line of parked cars, locks bumpers with ALL of them including a CC sedan, and then drives off, pulling the empty cars behind him.

"Africa Screams" (1949): 49-50 CD Station wagon, Abbott & Costello Right at the end, Speedo, one of the richest guys in the world arrives at his own building in a chauffeured Crosley wagon.

"On the Town" (1949): Staring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett. Three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City look for fun and romance before their twenty-four hours are up.  Rear shot of CC Wagon shows up in one of street scenes driving by.

"Shockproof" (1949): Starting Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey. A Parole Officer falls in-love with his client, a ravishing blonde who served time for murder, and he's determined to help her go straight despite her interfering criminal boyfriend.
Director: Douglas Sirk. Four spots a two tone CC sedan shows up in the Mexican border scene that go from roughly 1:01.18 to 1:01.50. Here is a short clip of the CC in action.

"Side Street" (1950): Staring Harley Granger and Cathy
O'Donnell. The main character Joe Norson, a letter carrier, has just gotten done stealing some money from a filing cabinet early in the movie. As he is crossing the street leaving the scene he walks in back of a postwar CC Crosley wagon. Unfortunately the car does not show up in the rest of the movie.

"Radar Secret Service" (1950): Staring John Howard, Adele Jergens and Tom Neal.  Looks like a notch or so below a B movie.  G-men track stolen Uranium-238 shipment using new radar technology; they also recruit the girlfriend of a gang member as an informant. Radar helps, but it takes an undercover blonde to really get the goods on criminal masterminds. Shows a 48 Crosley.

"Follow the Sun" (1951):
A CC pickup truck is in a generic street scene right at the beginning. This has also been called "The Ben Hogan Story".

"Tokyo File 212" (1951):
A Communist spy ring in Japan is hard at work trying to sabotage the American war effort during the Korean War, using kidnapping, murder and a disturbed former kamikaze pilot. Has a 1947-48 Wagon in background.

"Toda Maquina" (1951):
Nice scene of a 1950 Super Sports in traffic jam. 8 guys (including 2 cops) pick up the car with driver up and carry her out of the traffic jam.  Lots of close up shots including a cop repeatedly leaning on the windshield,  I cringed as it flexed knowing how weak the casting is in the standoffs. Link to YouTube clip, look at around 2:45 to 7:15.

"Singin' in the Rain" (1952): Staring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.  A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.  A VC was reported but since the movie is suppose to take place in 1927 I think this is the wrong title.
Photo Needed
"Without Warning!" (1952):
Quiet, unobtrusive LA citizen Carl Martin picks up look-a-likes for his estranged blonde wife and murders them with garden shears. What looks like a 1949-52 Wagon driveing by in background.

"Sudden Fear" (1952)
After an ambitious actor insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged playwright and marries her, he plots with his mistress to murder her. Rear shot of Hotshot or Supersports.

Boston Blackie: (1949-1953???)
I got a report that either in one of the last Boston Blackie movies (1949) or possibly the TV program (1951-1953), the main character drove a Crosley Super Sports of or Hot Shot. Anybody remember this?  It was reported that there were a few chase scenes where he used the handling of his car to great advantage.

New info is that at least one car was built on a Super Sports or a HotShot frame but has entirely different body work. The current owner says this car was used in the 1950s television series but not the 1940s movies. I have seen pictures of the car but not the TV clip to verify.
Photo Needed

"Three Ring Circus" (1954): A red 49 or 50 CD Sedan painted with black top so it looks like a convertible with the top up. Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis




"Miracle on 34th Street" - (1955 TV):
 CC Sedan parked on left side in parade scene.  Only a little over a minute in to the movie, right after parade starts. This frame shot was from the TV show The 20th Century-Fox Hour release.  Looks like they used the footage from the 1947 film as the back drop and put new actors over the canned footage but I didn't have the earlier version to check. It is only there for a frame or two so keep a close eye out. Click on image for full frame of movie.

"Code 3" - (1957 TV):
Short lived series, a 1948 wagon made it into episode 1.

 La mémoire courte - (1969 Documentary): Obscure documentary with a 39 Convertible Coupe.



"National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978):
A CC pickup is among some disabled cars on the "lawn" of the fraternity house. At times the hood is open, other times closed. At one point, John Belushi chugs down some alcoholic beverage and flings the bottle backward over his shoulder seemingly into the Crosley, which is otherwise never referred to. (In the book, the Crosley is referred to by name several times there.)




"The Long Summer of George Adams" (1982):
A newspaper reporter interviewing George Adams (James Garner) happens to drive a CD station wagon.




"Porky's II, the Next Day" (1983):
The adventures of a high-school boy and his pals. He owns a yellow CC convertible which is seen and driven a lot but never referred to otherwise. ( It is believe the car was borrowed from Lewis Crosley, and was repainted by the studio after shooting was completed.) At one point the boy jumps out of the car, but the engine obviously was still running and it jumps forward a bit, which is seen to surprise him and the others standing by. He puts his hands on the hood and says "Whoa!". They decided to leave that in the final print.




"Chances Are" (1989):
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter. Ryan O'neil, Cybil Shepard, Robert Downey Jr

I think the photo was just taken on the set not a grab from the film.  This is member John Van Sickle's car and he sent me the pictures. I saw the movie before I knew there was a Crosley in it and missed it so watch carefully.

1988 CBS Network Promo - I don't know anything about this program.


"Avalon" (1990):
Right after World War II, a father and his young son are driving down wintertime streets in Baltimore. Suddenly the dad points to a parked car (a red CC convertible) and asks the boy "What kind of car is that?" The boy answers "Crosley!" The dad says "And that one?" (pointing to a Nash sedan across the street.) The boy: "Nash!" The dad smiles and says: "Pretty good!" (Later there's a spectacular streetcar wreck which looks real, but it's only a plywood replica.)

Running Delilah (1993): Top agent Delilah (Kim Cattrall) dies in a risky mission against weapon dealer Alec Kasharian (Yorgo Voyagis). But she's revived with high-tech medicine and artificial body parts. Staring  Kim Cattrall, Billy Zane.

 Pete Droge: If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself), Music Video, (1994): 1947-48 cut down wagon used as part of the backdrop in about 1 minute and 40 seconds.

"Gone In 60 Seconds" (2000):
An engine in [remake] is sitting on a workbench in the scene when the police inspector visits the shop.




Car Crazy, Ep. 1.01 2001-:
Reality car show.
Episode 1 shows a 1947 Roundside Pickup

Episode 109 shows 1948 Crosley Pickup


 A Decade to Remember (2007): The 1950's

Has a scene with Eisenhower's Crosley custom golf cart

"Synecdoche, New York" (2008): Staring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton and Michelle Williams. A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. What looks like a 1951-52 CD Sedan appears on one of their stage settings.

"My One and Only" (2009):
Taking place in 1953 a self-absorbed woman leaves her philandering band-leader husband and takes her two teen-aged sons across the country, searching for a new husband. 

Lots of nice vintage cars and trucks including a 1951-52 yellow Crosley sedan sitting by a drive-in restaurant. The Crosley got a fair amount of background time about 23 min 30 seconds into the movie.  3 frames from the scene to the right, notice the car hop on rollerskate.





American Picker (2010-):
Crosley appear in numerous episodes of this reality show, usually as a car sitting in the background or even on a shelf.
Episode 1.02 featured Paul Gorrell and his large collection of Crosleys.
Episode 1.10 shows a 1947-48 or early 1949 Wagon.


True Detective (2014-19): TV Series 3rd season 5th episode If You Have Ghosts - Episode aired February 1, 2019. In 1980, all hell breaks loose at the home of Woodard, while in the present, Wayne and Roland reconnect after Wayne makes a discovery. CD pickup in weeds.

Jay Leno's Garage (CNBC) (2015-):

Ep. 4.08 - 1951-52 Super Sports and a Crofton, probably at Lane Motor Museum

America in Color, Documentary Ep. 4 (2017-):
America in Color showcases all the key moments from the 1920's to 1960's. Episode 4 shows a  1949-52 Hotshot driving down the beach.

The Cars That Made America Ep. 3 (2017):
The history and influence of cars in America. Episode 3 has 1946-48 Crosley Sedan made into a drag car.

Passport to the World: Route 66, Documentary (2019):

Nose of 1951-52 CD shown.

The Last Laugh (2019:

Nose of a CC conveyable as decoration in Mexican bar. about 35m 30s in to movie.

When retired talent manager Al Hart(Chevy Chase) is reunited with his first client, Buddy Green(Richard Dreyfuss), a comic who quit show business 50 years ago, he convinces Buddy to escape their retirement community and hit the road for a cross-country comedy tour.

Thanks to Lou Rugani for furnishing many of the titles and much of the descriptive text for the movies listed.

If you have any movies or TV shows to add or pictures that can be included, send them to me.

 

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