MovieChat Forums > The Man from Planet X (1951) Discussion > Little car stars in scifi thriller!

Little car stars in scifi thriller!

posted 12 years ago by lanlguy
3 replies | jump to latest

The little car in this film is a Standard Eight Tourer (1945 – 48) from the Standard Motor Company of Great Britain. I was curious about it because it seems to be the only authentic British/Scottish prop in the whole film. Ulmer was not known for expensive films so a question might be, did they import the car just for the film, or were these cars sold in America at the time? Here are some links in case you’re interested in the car and SMC history. In the first link the SMC club has posted a screenshot of the Planet X car on their website (January 12).

http://www.standardmotorclub.org.uk/cars/flying/features/8planetx.htm

http://www.standardmotorclub.org.uk/cars/flying/features/alaska8.htm

http://www.standardmotorclub.org.uk/cars/flying/features/planetX8tourer.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EMvDeNnuII&feature=endscreen&NR=1

http://www.simoncars.co.uk/standard/flying.html

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

No way they imported the car for this film, which cost just $41,000 and was shot in six days. Clearly the car had to have already been in the L.A. area and was loaned or rented to the production, either by its owner, or perhaps a dealer. It would be nice to know where they got it from. Maybe William Schallert, the film's last surviving cast member, knows.

I always loved that little car. Not only is it the one authentic British item in the movie, it was in the film's only scenes shot outdoors -- the brief establishing shots of Robert Clarke and Margaret Field driving along the rocky hill road. The rest of the movie was filmed on the studio sound stage.

[–] highwaystar50 10 years ago

Many homeward bound servicemen brought cars home from Europe after WWII, though they were usually sports cars. It's not too improbable to imagine that someone might have brought one of these Standards home - or even an out of service London Taxi for that matter.
KS

[–] lanlguy 10 years ago

I'll bet that's true. I'm also wondering if the post-war emphasis on rebuilding Germany and importing Volkswagens to the US put the Standards on the back burner. The Standard Company would have been hard-pressed to ramp up production to match the allied effort in Wolfsburg. Too bad.

Updated link for the British SMC website and their page for the little car:

http://www.standardmotorclub.org.uk/page540.html