[ AREA CARS STAR IN 'O BROTHER ' ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 22, 2001 by Michael Hooper Capital-Journal

AREA CARS STAR IN 'O BROTHER '

Hear three area car collectors discuss their hobby and how their cars ended up on the movie screen.

www.cjonline.com

By Michael Hooper

The Capital-Journal

Several Kansas car collectors maintain a special affection for the movie, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," starring George Clooney.

They like the story line --- about three prisoners who escape from a Mississippi prison camp in the 1930s to find their fortune and end up in a funny, perilous adventure based on Homer's "Odyssey."

They like the music --- a folk hillbilly style featuring the fictitious Soggy Bottom Boys. The soundtrack has become a big hit this year.

But the main reason Maynard Smith, of Scranton, and Topekans Ed Crocker, Todd Williams and Doug Wittmer love this show is because it features their cars.

Crocker's 1933 Ford is driven by Babyface Nelson (Michael Badalucco) on a dirt road while money from a bank heist flies out the car's windows.

The bank robber picks up the main characters in the film --- Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney), Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) and Pete (John Turturro). They use the vehicle to rob another bank.

For those who want proof, Crocker found several spent shells from when Babyface Nelson was shooting at the cops and fake $10 bills from his robberies in the car.

Crocker often parks his car at Crocker's Conoco, 3021 S.W. 10th. He said the show did some damage to the vehicle, but he was paid enough money to fix it.

T.J. Worthington, of Kansas City, Mo., owner of Cars In America, said he coordinated the use of 30 vehicles for "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

"It's like any show. It takes an awful lot of vehicles," Worthington said.

Several films have used vehicles from Kansas car collectors, including "Cross of Fire," a miniseries about the Ku Klux Klan that was shot in northeast Kansas in 1989, and "Kansas City," a gangster movie by Robert Altman shot in Kansas City in 1995.

"We have some really good transportation people in the area," said Heather Ackerly, assistant director of the Kansas Film Commission.

She said other movies that have utilized Kansas car collectors' vehicles, parts or equipment are "The Legend of Bagger Vance," "Remember the Titans," "Devil in a Blue Dress," "L.A. Confidential" and a U2 video called "Last Night on Earth."

When a filmmaker wants to create a setting such as the Depression- era hard times in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," cars from the period are crucial, Ackerly said.

"O Brother," produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, was filmed two years ago in Jackson, Miss. It was released on videotape this year.

Smith said his 1928 Dodge was used by the politicians who drove up to a recording studio in the movie.

He said he also had a vehicle in "Kansas City," which he described as "one sorry movie."

" 'O Brother' was hilarious," Smith said. "It had a good plot, they kept it moving, the music was good and it had a lot of good old cars."

Smith said his '28 Dodge also was used in the film "Road to Perdition," starring Tom Hanks. That film will be released in the spring.

Smith said movie people like his Dodge because it has gangster appeal.

For "O Brother," Williams, a Topeka firefighter, provided a 1931 Model A Victoria, a 1930 Model A pickup and a 1930 Model A gasoline tank truck. Williams has been restoring old cars since he was a teenager. Today, he has 14 antique cars and 65 antique pedal cars, including an early-edition Lincoln pedal car that is worth more than some regular cars.

He also is into auto racing and maintains a Corvette race car. Plus, he has a 1948 Indian Chief motorcycle and old Schwinn bicycles.

In "O Brother," Clooney is always fixing his hair. He needs some more hair gel and goes into a store to buy some. When he comes outside, he and his buddies steal Williams' Model A Victoria.

They drive down the road a ways and see three women bathing in a river. The women seduce them, steal their money and turn in one of the men for a reward.

Wittmer, a Topeka real estate broker, said his 1935 Chevrolet was in the movie. He inherited it from his father, O.J. "Bud" Wittmer, a car collector who died three years ago.

Wittmer said he was paid $2,500 to lease the car to the show.

Smith said having his Dodge in the movie business may increase its value temporarily, but unless the car is in a blockbuster movie, it won't matter too much 15 years from now.

"It does give it an interesting story," Smith said.

Michael Hooper can be reached at

(785) 295-1293 or mhooper@cjonline.com.

CHRIS OCHSNER/The Capital-Journal

Topekans Ed Crocker, left, and Todd Williams, center, and Maynard Smith, of Scranton, had their antique autos immortalized on film when they were used in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

The Associated Press

Actors Tim Blake Nelson, left, George Clooney, center, and John Turtoro portray three prisoners who record a song that becomes a hit while they are on the run from the law in the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"