Things you're tired of seeing in movies

[blewis17]

The best were The Dukes of Hazzard…but for the opposite reason..

Even as a kid I noticed that the screen would show them traveling down a straight road but Luke or Bo would be erratically turning the steering wheel back and forth…

Holy hilarity…

...as a side note, I never understand the "law" aspect of TV shows like these. In TDOH, Bo and Luke would be up to some shenanigans, and get chased by the local Sheriff or Deputy. The General Lee would outrun law enforcement (who often got sidelined by running into a ditch/lake, or flipping their car upside down). The boys would go back home and have a good laugh about it.

...why didn't the Sheriff just go over to the Duke boys' home, and arrest them? They weren't hiding anywhere, they had a known address living with their Uncle Jessie, and were still seen around town on a regular basis. And if their Uncle helped the boys to escape or hide, then he could be arrested himself.

If local law enforcement KNOWS WHO I AM/ KNOWS MY ORANGE VEHICLE, then sees me run a red light, gets me speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc... and then I lead them in a high speed chase until the fuzz spins out into a tree, my living address is not "home base" where I am now "safe" because I got there first and cannot be ticketed or arrested.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

...as a side note, I never understand the "law" aspect of TV shows like these. In TDOH, Bo and Luke would be up to some shenanigans, and get chased by the local Sheriff or Deputy. The General Lee would outrun law enforcement (who often got sidelined by running into a ditch/lake, or flipping their car upside down). The boys would go back home and have a good laugh about it.

...why didn't the Sheriff just go over to the Duke brothers' home, and arrest them? They weren't hiding anywhere, they had a known address living with their Uncle Jessie, and were still seen around town on a regular basis. And if their Uncle helped the boys to escape or hide, then he could be arrested himself.

If local law enforcement KNOWS WHO I AM/ KNOWS MY ORANGE VEHICLE, then sees me run a red light, gets me speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc... and then I lead them in a high speed chase until the fuzz spins out into a tree, my living address is not "home base" where I am safe because I got there first and cannot be ticketed or even arrested later on.

Or, for that matter, claiming that if they just crossed the county line, law enforcement would just say “shucks” and let them put a point on the board and drop the entire matter in perpetuity?

Even as a kid, I always felt that it was a show by and for morons, to be honest.

 

[greenmachines]

Or, for that matter, claiming that if they just crossed the county line, law enforcement would just say “shucks” and let them put a point on the board and drop that entire matter in perpetuity?

Even as a kid, I always felt that it was a show by and for morons, to be honest.

The COUNTY LINE is like a magical wall that for 2 decades caused numerous 20 car pile ups in our favorite shows. I think that if there were ever a topic that was religous in nature while not being overtly religious in nature, it is our belief in the county line. You go too far today Captain Dunsel , too far indeed......hahahahahHAHA

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I'm pretty sure they just have Daisy go talk to them and they forget whey they were there.

 

[batguy]

Why didn't the General Lee get wrecked when it launched 20 feet high?

How does James Bond pay for all the baby-mammas he must have?

How did Michael Knight keep a skinny figure when he spent all day riding in a self-driving car?

It doesn't pay to ask some questions.

The 'Dukes' show had a backstory. It started as a cheap rowdy 1970s movie called 'Moonrunners'. Later they rebooted it for TV with a prettier cast & car. It still had kind of a PG-13 tone in the first batch of episodes.


The themes of moonshining & running from the cops . . . . that was reality in the 1930s-60s. Illegal (untaxed) whiskey was a big business. The south was still very rural, no suburbs yet. The police were spread thin covering it. Basically, take the world of 'O Brother Where Art Thou' and add faster cars.

NASCAR came from that scene too. Whiskey drivers started holding weekend races with their cars on local horse tracks.

In the TV show, the Dukes were former moonshiners. Bo & Luke were on probation for it. They couldn't own guns so they used bows & arrows. The family had lost the moonshining income so Daisy was waitressing for tip money. And Bo & Luke had to use their weekend dirt track racer (the General Lee) for daily transpo.

The premise started out as "The Duke boys can rack up charges. But they will outwit Boss & Rosco and make them drop the charges." Later the writers quit trying to rationalize it. Also, the Hazzard public was usually on the Dukes' side if somebody had to testify.


Hazzard's strange laws & physics applied to the place more than the people. Anybody who outran Rosco on the road was safe. Any car that jumped in Hazzard was safe from damage as long as it landed right. Even Roscoe & the deputies could do successful car jumps.

 

[AJK001]

What appalled me about the show was the number of Dodge Chargers they destroyed. Back when the show was made they were still fairly plentiful so they didn't really care how many they destroyed where as now it is practically impossible to find one in decent condition without paying a small fortune for it.

 

[Richard Baker]

A friend was on a studio tour and saw several acres of wrecked General Lees, most stripped down for parts to keep the others going.

 

[Richard Baker]

...as a side note, I never understand the "law" aspect of TV shows like these. In TDOH, Bo and Luke would be up to some shenanigans, and get chased by the local Sheriff or Deputy. The General Lee would outrun law enforcement (who often got sidelined by running into a ditch/lake, or flipping their car upside down). The boys would go back home and have a good laugh about it.

...why didn't the Sheriff just go over to the Duke brothers' home, and arrest them? They weren't hiding anywhere, they had a known address living with their Uncle Jessie, and were still seen around town on a regular basis. And if their Uncle helped the boys to escape or hide, then he could be arrested himself.

If local law enforcement KNOWS WHO I AM/ KNOWS MY ORANGE VEHICLE, then sees me run a red light, gets me speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, etc... and then I lead them in a high speed chase until the fuzz spins out into a tree, my living address is not "home base" where I am safe because I got there first and cannot be ticketed or even arrested later on.

I was watching an episode of COPS with a high speed pursuit, the car was running lights, crossing over lawns and side swiping cars. After a fairly long chase he was in a residential neighborhood and pulled into a driveway. He locked his car and was walking to his front door when twelve pissed off cops swarmed him. He actually was astonished they were arresting him since he made it home...

 

[Laspector]

The Duke boys were not brothers. They were cousins.

 

[greenmachines]

I was watching an episode of COPS with a high speed pursuit, the car was running lights, crossing over lawns and side swiping cars. After a fairly long chase he was in a residential neighborhood and pulled into a driveway. He locked his car and was walking to his front door when twelve pissed off cops swarmed him. He actually was astonished they were arresting him since he made it home...

He obviously didn't have Daisy there to distract the cops

 

[greenmachines]

Do you ever wonder if the retirement home for actors/union members has a special wing just for all the injured Dukes stunt people?

 

[batguy]

What appalled me about the show was the number of Dodge Chargers they destroyed. Back when the show was made they were still fairly plentiful so they didn't really care how many they destroyed where as now it is practically impossible to find one in decent condition without paying a small fortune for it.

It's frustrating on principle. But it didn't make a realistic dent in the numbers. Dodge made 170,000 Chargers in 1968/69. The TV show wrecked 100-300 (depending on whose numbers you believe).


The TV show mechanics made some attempts to build a reinforced jump car. It worked on small jumps but the big high ones were too much.

Also, NOBODY expected the show to last very long. It was a simple repetitive formula. They took it one season at a time and never had assurance there would be another. Even at the peak of the show's popularity, the Bo & Luke actors went on strike and they almost canceled it.


Today, way more than 300 people have restored an old Charger because of the show. 'Dukes' has probably saved more Chargers than it scrapped in the long view.

 

[greenmachines]

It's frustrating on principle. But it didn't make a realistic dent in the numbers. Dodge made 170,000 Chargers in 1968/69. The TV show wrecked 100-300 (depending on whose numbers you believe).


The TV show mechanics made some attempts to build a reinforced jump car. It worked on small jumps but the big high ones were too much.

Also, NOBODY expected the show to last very long. It was a simple repetitive formula. They took it one season at a time and never had assurance there would be another. Even at the peak of the show's popularity, the Bo & Luke actors went on strike and they almost canceled it.


Today, way more than 300 people have restored an old Charger because of the show. 'Dukes' has probably saved more Chargers than it scrapped in the long view.

Fan interest has saved a lot of things from the scrap pile. I would guess there are more running driving fully painted General Lee's now than were ever used in the show. May very well add to the scarcity mentioned above.

 

[batguy]

Fan interest has saved a lot of things from the scrap pile.

'Dukes' fans doing a racetrack lap at a convention:

I don't think the '69 Dodge Charger ever needed 'Dukes' to be a collectible. The car was a classic from day one, destined to be expensive. But 'Dukes' helped widen the appeal and keep it in the public eye.

Part of the problem is that Charger production numbers are still not really big. 80,000 Chargers per year sounds like a lot, but Mustangs and Camaros were selling numbers like 400,000.

And Chrysler's paint & rustproofing has always been crappy. Lots of Chargers were too rusty to salvage by the time they started being collectible.

 

[batguy]

Here's one more bit of General Lee trivia. During the last season of the show they were building a Charger to do wheelies.

The mechanics had it working, but it didn't look enough like a regular Charger. Big obvious rear tires + blown engine mounted behind the driver. The show got canceled before the producers were happy with it.

One of the mechanics kept the car afterwards. It's in a car museum now.

These days wheelies are easier. They mount a metal arm sticking way out behind the rear bumper, and load it up with ballast weight. Then they erase the arm/weights with CGI.

 

[blewis17]

I'm pretty sure they just have Daisy go talk to them and they forget whey they were there.

As a preteen in the 1970s, I did not really "get" Daisy; not for a few more years anyway. I felt bad for Deputy Enos, I think they had him engaged to Daisy twice. They actually showed affection for each other, but then bailed on the marriage idea when previously divorced Daisy backed out of their wedding last minute (in the Dukes of Hazzard reunion show).

Enos' alter ego (Sonny Shroyer) was so tired of taking cold showers after every chaperoned date with Daisy, rumor has it he left Hazzard County Georgia, and moved across the state line to Alabama to work at the local University. I hear he became pretty good football coach, thanks to an amazing kick returner named Gump.

 

[blewis17]

The Duke boys were not brothers. They were cousins.

I grew up in the South. It's technically possible to be both.

P.S. We had a popular Southern saying: "First cousin... shame, shame. But second cousins are fair game."

 

[blewis17]

It's frustrating on principle. But it didn't make a realistic dent in the numbers. Dodge made 170,000 Chargers in 1968/69. The TV show wrecked 100-300 (depending on whose numbers you believe).


The TV show mechanics made some attempts to build a reinforced jump car. It worked on small jumps but the big high ones were too much.

Also, NOBODY expected the show to last very long. It was a simple repetitive formula. They took it one season at a time and never had assurance there would be another. Even at the peak of the show's popularity, the Bo & Luke actors went on strike and they almost canceled it.


Today, way more than 300 people have restored an old Charger because of the show. 'Dukes' has probably saved more Chargers than it scrapped in the long view.

Night Rider used large scale miniature autos for many of its more daring stunts because:
1) It was cheaper
2) It kept the hero cars (mostly) damage free, and reduced the need for the stunt cars to do crazy things
3) It was safer
3) And did I say, it was cheaper?


P.S. make sure to check out Knight-Rider-Historians on Youtube. An awesome set of videos, stories, and vehicle restorations from the series!

 

[greenmachines]

I grew up in the South. It's technically possible to be both.

P.S. We had a popular Southern saying: "First cousin... shame, shame. But second cousins are fair game."

Welcome to Oregon, the second home of those who grew up in the south but then migrated. I will never forget when my dad said, "That girl you introduced to me and mom, earlier, she's your cousin. From now on, maybe you ask me first...."

 

[greenmachines]

And, although I never had a cousin brother, I have had several cousins that were cousins from both sides of the family simultaneously. And have found myself dancing the night away with my brother's sister..... It is hard living in a small town especially when your parents got together in the late sixties / early seventies.