Probably one of the most unforgettable cars ever portrayed in a movie would have to be the 1958 Plymouth Fury used in John Carpenter's movie Christine.
A character herself in the movie, Christine is a supernatural malevolent automobile that is literally death on wheels. She has the ability to possess and destroy. The other character in the movie, Arnie Cunningham, the typical high school nerd, life begins to change when he discovers Christine in serious need of repair.
As Arnie begins to restore Christine to her original beauty, and spend more and more of his time repairing her, those in his life begin to notice that he is changing as well. Formerly shy, Arnie begins to develop a cocky arrogance. It is Dennis, Arnie's one friend, as well as Arnie's new girlfriend Leigh Cabot that discover that the car has a deadly past.
The previous owner, Roland LeBay, became so consumed with Christine that he ended up paying for it with his life. As Leigh and Dennis try to save Arnie from a similar fate, they soon realize that the only way to save Arnie is by destroying Christine. Christine, however, isn't ready to give up Arnie without a fight since she has the miraculous ability to regenerate herself to as good as new.
Of the many red and white 1958 Plymouth Furies used in the making of the film, three of the survivors reside in private hands, one in California, one in Florida and one in England. To simulate the car regenerating itself, hydraulic pumps were installed on the inside of some of the film's numerous Plymouth Fury "stunt doubles". These pumps were attached to the cars' bodywork, and when they compressed, they would "suck" the paneling inwards. Footage of the inward crumpling body was then reversed, and hence gave the appearance of the car spontaneously retaking form.
It has been speculated that Christine was driven at a distance by using some type of remote controlling system, but the truth is completely different. According to director John Carpenter, instead of a remote control, when Christine was in her "evil mood" its windows were painted solid black, except for the whole left half of the windshield, which was covered only with dark window tint so that the stunt driver could see outside without being focused by anyone out of the car. The stunt driver had only half of his frontal view, no rear or side views, and night driving was even more difficult.
Ironically enough, there was one other Plymouth Fury in the movie Christine, Arnie's nemesis, Detective Rudolph Junkins, also drove a Plymouth Fury. Junkins' blue car, which can be seen when he meets Arnie in the high school parking lot, is a 1977/1978 Plymouth Fury - a popular police car of the late 1970s.
Since the movie's release, Several people have turned their 1958 Plymouths into Christine clones. Some Furys have been painted red, while some stock Belvederes have had Fury engines put into them. It is hard to tell a Christine clone from a real red and white stock Belvedere unless you know the Fury well.
Submitted by: Brenda Williams
About Today's Contributor
Brenda wrote this article on behalf of trianglerentacar.com