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Author Topic: Love on the Run 1937  (Read 47258 times)

Russ Matthews

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #30 on: February 23, 2016, 01:11:44 AM »

I've been researching a more detailed follow up on the same subject. Like Leon White in reply #29  I started with the premise that the airport used in Casablanca was likely the same one seen in Love on the Run. Initially I thought Casablanca was shot at Burbank (now Bob Hope) and Leon stated that the now defunct airport in Glendale (also known as Grand Central Air Terminal) was used to stand in for French North Africa. However, further digging revealed we were both wrong and portions of the Bogart/Bergman classic were actually shot at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport in Van Nuys (which explains my edited post in which I stated that the airport used to film the Earhart Electra scenes was "probably Burbank Van Nuys.")

It's easy to understand how the misunderstanding spread. People knew that some scenes in Casablanca used a local airport and it is only natural to assume that it was either Burbank or Glendale which are both located within 4 miles of the Warner Brothers lot. In fact, it seems the story took on such mythic proportions that an LA Times staff writer saw fit to investigate .. eventually finding definitive proof of the Van Nuys filming location in original daily shooting reports for July 23 and 24, 1942. If similar records still exist for MGM productions, it may be possible for us to learn more about the timing and logistics of the Love on the Run airport shoot. In the meantime, anybody interested in learning more about the Casablanca-Van Nuys connection can find an archived copy of the LA Times article I mentioned here ...

http://articles.latimes.com/1986-01-19/local/me-1361_1_burbank-airport

Now can any of this Casablanca trivia really help us determine where Earhart's Electra filmed its big screen debut? Yes. As Bill Davenport points out, the control tower is key.

First let's look at a still of Major Strasser's arrival from Casablanca. Note the distinctive tower in the right of frame. (As a bonus, it is in direct line with a couple of rounded hangars like the ones glimpsed in the Love on the Run clip)



Compare that to this Getty image of "an administration building with a control in the tower at the Metropolitan Airport" dated December 2, 1929.
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/airport-and-airway-lighting-equipment-black-and-white-news-photo/176973994



And for the final link in the chain .. here is a screen cap of Paul Mantz's hair-raising takeoff in the Earhart Electra from Love on the Run. At frame left you'll see a familiar three-tiered Art Deco style control tower with a single row of vertical windows down each side.



QED the location was VNY!

You may be wondering, "Why did the producers go to Van Nuys when there were other airports closer to the studio?" I think the answer is that they wanted to use a non-commercial facility (like Van Nuys) where it would be easier and less expensive to lock up the entire location. Imagine trying to coordinate the plane stunts and crowds of extras between regularly scheduled passenger flights. Van Nuys offered a better situation only 8 miles further down the road .. a brief drive for the studio production vehicles and an even quicker hop for the Electra from their respective Burbank homes.

As additional proof, consider the screen cap below from Love on the Run. On first viewing I remember noticing that the filmmakers chose to help establish the location of the scene with a background hangar helpfully labeled, "THE LONDON METROPOLITAN AIRPORT." However, it puzzled me why they chose to make it a fictional locale and it just plain irked me that the sign included that awkward and seemingly unnecessary "THE." Of course, knowing what we know now, the reasoning is clear. The hangar must have normally read "LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AIRPORT" and the studio Art Dept redressed the first half with nine new letters in place of the original ten. The "THE" is only there so it doesn't look unbalanced  :D



Finally, bringing things full circle .. I ran across this image of Amelia at Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal during her nationwide autogiro tour in 1931. The tower is visible frame left and it is easy to see similarities between this beautiful Art Deco structure and the one seen in Casablanca and Love on the Run .. but, likewise there are evident differences (such as the divided windows, the attached Spanish Colonial style terminal building, and lack of a "third tier.")



As Leon noted, the airport is long gone, but this building still remains in what is now a light industrial area. It could easily have been lost like so many other touchstones from Aviation's "Golden Age." However, in this case it seems there will be a happy ending .. written, appropriately enough, by the Disney Corporation. Working in conjunction with the City of Glendale, Disney (which has owned the property since 1990) is rehabilitating this historic structure as the heart of its new Grand Central Creative Complex. When complete, this should be a sterling example of adaptive reuse and a new lease on life for a true national treasure. For more information, check out the article here ...

http://gizmodo.com/disneys-epic-plan-to-save-a-terminal-from-las-oldest-511934530

Russ Matthews
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Friend Weller

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #31 on: February 23, 2016, 08:59:12 AM »

Thanks, Russ.  The photos do tell the story.  I noticed that the words "The London" also seem to be a slightly different shade than the remaining words "Metropolitan Airport".  I always thought it was cool that Sherman Way, a major east-west corridor in the San Fernando Valley, went through a tunnel under the runway.  Of course, I was young then and didn't know that this was rather common as airports expanded and lengthened their runways but it seemed rather novel for a kid growing up in Canoga Park a few miles to the west of VNY.
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Jerry Germann

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #32 on: February 24, 2016, 04:48:44 PM »

Los Angeles, Aug. 22 (Universal Service)- Love on the Run "went into production" on Wednesday, August 19, 1936. (The San Antonio Light, Saturday, August 22, 1936)

Bingo!

The photo (with the notation of Earhart studying her Squawk sheet on reverse side) , has several dates stamped on it, one which is Aug 19th,1936,in one position, faded a bit and under additional stamping. I wonder if Earhart has just delivered or is about to deliver the plane to the airport for use in the movie?
« Last Edit: February 24, 2016, 04:58:25 PM by Jerry Germann »
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #33 on: February 24, 2016, 07:34:20 PM »

The caption is datelined August 18 so the photo was taken that day or earlier.  Purdue president Elliott arrived to see the new airplane on August 19.
I think the filming probably took place later that week after Elliott was gone.
I doubt that Earhart delivered the plane anywhere. She was probably not yet qualified to fly it. All of her previous airplanes were single engine with fixed landing gear and adjustable, not constant speed, props. The Electra was a huge step up for her. Heavier, faster, more complex. That kind of transition takes time.  (Been there, done that). In the Bendix race I'd wager that Helen Richey made the takeoffs and landings.
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Jerry Germann

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #34 on: February 25, 2016, 07:56:08 AM »

http://tighar.org/smf/index.php/topic,1837.msg39965.html#msg39965

From Dan's research, it seems Elliott inspected the plane on the 20th, so if the date on the back of the photo describing Earhart as looking at a squawk sheet is the 18th or 19th, she may be getting things in tip top shape for his inspection tour.
As noted it seems amelia is MIA for the days following the inspection, until it was time to depart for New York. The movie shoot and her absence doesn't seem to allow for her any time to train further. I note in Dan's and other's research that Mantz accompanied Earhart part of the way to New York, maybe this was to provide a bit more inflight training and maybe Mantz did the takeoff from California, but he departed midway , and left Earhart on her own to land and takeoff several times before reaching New York.
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Jerry Germann

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #35 on: February 29, 2016, 09:44:27 AM »

Several old movie magazine sites offer excellent research;

http://mediahistoryproject.org/fanmagazines/
http://archive.org/stream/picturegoerjulde00odha#page/n551/mode/2up
Somewhere some old magazine article may reveal the Electra color scheme
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Daniel R. Brown

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #36 on: March 09, 2016, 06:01:08 PM »

The paint job in Purdue colors (old gold and black) is confirmed in a July 20, 1936 letter from GP to G. Stanley Meikle, director of research relations at Purdue:

http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/AEPb1f9i21

Dan Brown, #2408
Purdue '78
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #37 on: March 10, 2016, 09:16:57 AM »

The paint job in Purdue colors (old gold and black) is confirmed in a July 20, 1936 letter from GP to G. Stanley Meikle, director of research relations at Purdue:

This will enable Pat to do an accurate color illustration of the plane at that point in its career.
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Bruce Thomas

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #38 on: March 10, 2016, 10:06:22 AM »

It strikes me as politically astute to have adorned the "Flying Laboratory" with Purdue's colors.

But that paint scheme seems to have been removed shortly thereafter. I hope a Timeline entry will be found that documents that change back to the unadorned state. But in particular, why was the Purdue livery removed?

I'm equally intrigued about when and why the hinge for the exit ("escape") hatch above the pilot's seat got switched from being over the window to being at the centerline of the fuselage. Was it as a result of the incident during the Bendix race in September 1936 when there were in-flight hatch problems?
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #39 on: March 10, 2016, 12:19:41 PM »

But that paint scheme seems to have been removed shortly thereafter. I hope a Timeline entry will be found that documents that change back to the unadorned state.

The painted cowlings were present during the Bendix race (September 4) and gone by the time she visited Vince Bendix in South Bend in late November, but we're woefully short of photos of the airplane that can be reliably placed between those dates.

But in particular, why was the Purdue livery removed?
unadorned state.

Much tougher question.

I'm equally intrigued about when and why the hinge for the exit ("escape") hatch above the pilot's seat got switched from being over the window to being at the centerline of the fuselage. Was it as a result of the incident during the Bendix race in September 1936 when there were in-flight hatch problems?

Why the heck Lockheed designed it to open outward is a mystery.  I've used the center-hinged hatch to enter the cockpit of the Pensacola Electra and that's awkward enough. I can't imagine dealing with an outward-opening hatch.  I never did figure out how to safely get out again.  I used the cabin door.
On the standard version of the Model 10 the hatch was a true emergency exit but because Earhart's cabin was cluttered with fuel tanks she used it as the usual way to enter and exit the aircraft.  She may have changed the hatch just because it made sense to change it.
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Jerry Germann

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #40 on: March 10, 2016, 12:30:46 PM »


The painted cowlings were present during the Bendix race (September 4) and gone by the time she visited Vince Bendix in South Bend in late November, but we're woefully short of photos of the airplane that can be reliably placed between those dates. [ quote]

But in particular, why was the Purdue livery removed?
unadorned state.

Much tougher question.


My guess is Mantz was involved, and he had the plane readied with what he thought would be a safety feature ( orange paint) in the event of a possible search and rescue operation.
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #41 on: March 10, 2016, 12:35:29 PM »

My guess is Mantz was involved, and he had the plane readied with what he thought would be a safety feature ( orange paint) in the event of a possible search and rescue operation.

Mantz did recommend the orange paint but the painted cowlings went away at least three months before the orange paint went on.
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Matt Revington

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #42 on: March 10, 2016, 01:26:20 PM »


The painted cowlings were present during the Bendix race (September 4) and gone by the time she visited Vince Bendix in South Bend in late November, but we're woefully short of photos of the airplane that can be reliably placed between those dates.

The pictures of Earhart and the coeds at Purdue are dated Sept 20 1936 and the paint is gone by then.

http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/epurdue/id/394/rec/1
« Last Edit: March 10, 2016, 01:41:16 PM by Matt Revington »
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #43 on: March 10, 2016, 02:04:04 PM »

The pictures of Earhart and the coeds at Purdue are dated Sept 20 1936 and the paint is gone by then.

Of course (duh!).  That narrows it down a lot.  The painted cowlings went away between Sept. 5 and Sept. 20 - and probably before she left Burbank for Purdue on about Sept. 17th.
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Bill Mangus

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Re: Love on the Run 1937
« Reply #44 on: March 10, 2016, 02:22:24 PM »

It seems strange, though, that she'd want to not show-off the aircraft in Purdue colors while visiting the university. ???

[/(sent from Colorado Springs)size]
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