Dallas the movie and Mercedes Benz - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Rashakor · #1 05-25-2006, 08:12 PM

Dear Mercedes Fellow fans,

As you may or may not be aware the movie based on the famous Dallas will be starting filming in a short while.
What does has to do with Mercedes Benz. Well the characters in the show at the beginning of the 80 were pretty much all driving Mercedes. Just hope to see if you remember which models they were driving. I certainly hope to see them back in the movie.

H-townbenzoboy · #2 05-25-2006, 11:03 PM

That show aired from 1978 to 1991. They had W116s and R107s when they started, and in fact, in the last episode, there's a R129. I would think this new Dallas movie would be set in the current day, so I think we'd see W221s and R230s as the main Mercedes-Benzes seen.

86560SEL · #3 05-26-2006, 12:48 AM

Funny you mentioned this. Not too long ago, I was thinking about older Mercedes in movies and Dallas was one show I was thinking of. I had actually started a thread about if you recall. Here is some things I had posted in that quote....

"If I recall, "JR" drove only Mercedes from the 1978-1986 seasons. I used to watch the reruns just to see the old cars (now) being new (then). From 1978-1980 he drove a light green (do not know the proper name) 280SEL 4dr sedan. Then in 1981, he got the new 380SEL and drove that until 1984, when the 500SEL came out, then he had one of those (with the airbag option) and again, all were the light green colors- which I think suits these cars extremely well. Then for a couple of the early 1986 episodes, he drove a 1986 560SEL. Then for 1987- he got a Cadillac Allante'. The 81' 380SEL was supposedly crashed in the 1983 season, when Sue Ellen flipped it, but when it showed it actually flipping over, it was a older late 70s 280SEL sedan. Guess they did not want to crash a brand new MB, but crashing the "nearly new" 280SEL was bad enough!!

"Bobby" drove a 380SL convertible all the way through, but you could tell it was getting newer, because the 78-80 seasons, it had the color-keyed wheelcovers, then 81-85 it had the alloy wheels and the newer "concave" steering wheel hub. "Pam" had an accident in it (hit a tanker and exploded). Then he ended up with a Maserati in 87', then another "SL" convertible for the 90-91 seasons. For a while in the late 80s he had a Jagual convertible if I recall. "Sue Ellen" had a Country Squire wagon in the early seasons (a 78 model, then the restyled and downsized full-size 79-80 model), then around 80' she got a 300TD wagon and had it until about 1982, when she upgraded to a 380SEC coupe, then a 500SEC in 1984, then a 560SEC coupe in the 86-88 seasons. I think she left the show in 1988-89, but always had a MB S-Class coupe for the most part. What beautiful cars those are!

Many of the others had BMW's, Jaguar's, Porsche's, Lincoln's, Cadillac's, Saab's, Corvette's, Peugeot's and Rolls Royce's.

I wonder if any of these cars (especially the Mercedes) that were used in the show still exist and where are they now? Like finding a needle in a haystack!

I think all of the "outside" scenes were filmed in Dallas, TX".

I had forgot to add, as mentioned above, in the last two seasons, "Bobby" drove a SL convertible. My father jokes and sometimes calls me "JR", because my 85' 380SE looks like "JR's" 84-85 500SEL he drove in the 84-85 season, with the only difference being a shorter wheelbase and different color.

In the movie "JR returns" that came out in the late 1990s, "JR" once again had a Mercedes, but it was a older one, like the one had had in the early to mid 80s. It was a 81-85 W126. There was a scene in the movie where the car was hit by a truck or something and exploded. He was thought to be in it or something, but he was not. Something about the car was stolen or something? Funny, if you watch closely, the car starts to explode before the truck even strikes it.

I wonder if any of the actual Mercedes (or any of the older cars) that appeared on Dallas still exist? I know that "Jocks" 78' Lincoln is somewhere on display. I think it may even be still on Southfork Ranch. ??

Yeah, lets hope that they have Mercedes in the new show too.

TX76513 · #4 05-26-2006, 08:25 AM

John Travolta as JR

Guess we can't have everything

Rashakor · #5 05-26-2006, 02:13 PM

holy Molly,

You did your research on that!!!
What about Hart & Hart now?

TX76513 · #6 05-26-2006, 03:03 PM

From the past

86560SEL · #7 05-27-2006, 12:22 AM

Yeah, that photo was from around the 1984-85 season.

Emmerich · #8 05-27-2006, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

I think all of the "outside" scenes were filmed in Dallas, TX".

They were in the early years, then they were always in CA for filming the show. They reused early outside footage in the later shows.

H-townbenzoboy · #9 05-28-2006, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

"If I recall, "JR" drove only Mercedes from the 1978-1986 seasons. I used to watch the reruns just to see the old cars (now) being new (then). From 1978-1980 he drove a light green (do not know the proper name) 280SEL 4dr sedan. Then in 1981, he got the new 380SEL and drove that until 1984, when the 500SEL came out, then he had one of those (with the airbag option) and again, all were the light green colors- which I think suits these cars extremely well.

Was it thistle green metallic like this?
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/vbpicgallery.php?do=big&p=423

Quote:

Originally Posted by 86560SEL

"Bobby" drove a 380SL convertible all the way through, but you could tell it was getting newer, because the 78-80 seasons, it had the color-keyed wheelcovers, then 81-85 it had the alloy wheels and the newer "concave" steering wheel hub. "Pam" had an accident in it (hit a tanker and exploded). Then he ended up with a Maserati in 87', then another "SL" convertible for the 90-91 seasons.

Actually, from 78-80, it would've been a 450SL. 81-85 was the 380SL, 86 on was a 560SL, I remember it having the flatface 15 hole rims when it got hit by the tanker. In the 90-91 seasons, Bobby had some sort of R129, not sure the exact model.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rashakor

What about Hart & Hart now?

On Hart to Hart, the Harts drove a yellow 1979 450SL, yellow 1981 380SL, and a brown pre 1980 300TD. It was pre 1980 because it had clear fogs and was non-turbo.

Check this page out with all of the Harts cars.
http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~lmcvd/harts/hart_cars.htm

Jim B. · #10 05-28-2006, 01:18 AM

Holy cow, you guys are just like me. (I watched Roadhouse about 50 times and never understood why Swayze revved his 560SEC to 5000 rpm when he turned on the engine)

Sort of like the girl who complained that I looked down the front of her dress and remarked at the design of the tiles on the floor!!

86560SEL · #11 05-28-2006, 05:13 PM

Yeah, starting around 1987-88, the show seemed to get "cheaper".

You are right too about those scenes. I never realized until you mentioned, but now that I recall, I do not remember any "daytime" scenes outside of the ranch in the latest seasons - if they were, it was very few.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emmerich

They were in the early years, then they were always in CA for filming the show. They reused early outside footage in the later shows.