Chevelles (and other A-bodies) on Screen

A  Production

Created by The Emissary

Welcome to the Chevelles (and A-cars) on Screen website, in which the pages will list the following movies and TV shows that featured GM A-bodies.  Most of the movies and TV shows that I have listed focused primarily on the Chevrolet Chevelle, as well as their BOP counterparts.  Most of the cars that are described are of  1964-72 vintage, but now includes the 1973-77 bracket.  (Sorry, the 1978-88 bracket is not covered, since these are commonly referred to as G-bodies.  There is a separate G-body movie page, and click on the underlined link.)  There is too much to list, in which several of the movies and TV shows have been forgotten or overlooked.  Keep in mind that what is seen in the movies and on TV are immortalized for life.

Originally, I wanted to concentrate on Chevelles, and decided to include their BOP relatives.  The BOP A-bodies might have been forgotten, and watching flix, whether or not it's a cult favorite or something fresh at the theater, is a resource of immortalizing oldies.  Some might think of The Emissary as a Quentin Tarantino-esque auter of classic flix, especially genres like blaxploitation and comedy.

Originally, this page was a competitor to the Chevrolet Nova Internet Source's "Nova Trivia," but this page has grown for the 2 years since its inception in 1997.  I have included other GMs in the movie synopses, where such a classic is critical to a scene or plot.

There are four sections of the Chevelles on Screen webpage, in which the TV shows and movies are broken down by genre and time period.  Enjoy and have a look around!  (Now with movie posters, courtesy of amazon.com)  One would make a trip to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, or Best Buy (if one wanted a DVD 4-ever).

(8/28/99 update):  This page has passed the 10,000 mark, and will continue to grow.  Here's a section that might be worth looking at:

Here are some movies and TV shows that are well known to the average viewer, in which GM A-cars have appeared on screen:

In the second Dirty Harry movie, Magnum Force, there is a classic car chase scene (which is reminiscent of a past movie, Bullitt) where Harry makes a sharp left turn (in a blue 1972 Ford Galaxie 500 which has been totaled, after he sideswipes a city bus, bangs a red sedan, possibly a Ford Fairlane, had its window shot with a .357 Magnum (before the motorcycle cop fires his piece, Harry passes by a 1972 Chevelle hardtop), rams a VW Split Window bus, sideswipes a brickload of railroad ties, and rams a Kawasaki motorcycle head on while Clint plays chicken!), and a blue, 1964 Chevelle ragtop is seen, coming to a stop at a signal light, next to a VW Beetle, and when you look at the white car when the camera turns (with the rogue cop's motorcycle following), you will see a 1965 Chevelle station wagon parked in front of a building.  An earlier scene had Harry in the SFPD parking lot, and a 1968 LeMans hardtop is seen, driven by Harry's friend.

The third film, The Enforcer, featured a 1973 Chevelle, seen parked across the street from the barber shop.  The barber shop is where Harry and his partner, Inspt. Moore, visit the barber shop, and the patrons are African American militants, a la Black Panthers.  The Chevelle is seen where the SFPD seals off the street (the police vehicles seen are 1974 Chevrolet Impala sedans), and where SFPD squad cars show up.  One of the squads is a 1973 Ford Torino, and the car where the detectives pull up in is a 1975 Ford LTD.  After Harry leaves San Francisco City Hall, he and his partner (Tyne Daly of Cagney and Lacey fame) walk down the sidewalk, and a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass hardtop is seen.  There is a scene in which Harry is sitting alone, and Mustapha (the late Albert Popwell) shows up.  A 1970-72 Chevelle hardtop is seen in the background.

The original action hero, in which there are several that featured some USA iron, primarily Chevrolets and Fords. (Not all of the GMs are A-bodies.)  In 007's first on-screen debut in Dr. No, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air ragtop is seen, used by the valet that escorts 007 from Norman Manley International Airport (the valet is later revealed to be a SPECTRE agent working for Dr. No himself).  (Check out the 1961 Impala that Felix Leiter (the late Jack Lord, of Hawaii Five-O fame) hops into, in which a spoof occurs.  The car at the airport is a pillared sedan, and the car that is seen on the highway is a pillarless sedan!

In the movies From Russia With Love and Thunderball, a couple of Chevrolet pickups were used.  In FRWL, the pickup used (a 1960/61 Chevrolet) was a 1-ton flatbed dually, and in Thunderball, another flatbed (possibly a GMC) was used to haul off SPECTRE frogmen (which turn out to be Emilio Largo's agents) in which the men are to locate two thermonuclear devices.

Another movie, Live and Let Die (Roger Moore's debut as 007, as well as a blaxploitation flick) has numerous Chevrolets used, in which two 1973 Chevelles are used.   One of the Chevelles is a Colonnade coupe, which ends up with its windshield bashed up, and crashed into an airplane.  The other Chevelle seen is a 4-door sedan, used by the Louisiana State Police in the boat chase sequence.  Another thing to keep in mind is that a couple of Novas are used as police cars, when 007 and Ms Solitaire (Jane Seymour) commandeer a double deck bus.  Another Nova is used in which 007 commandeers a Cessna trainer, in which the car crashed onto the wing of a DC3.  Also, there are a lot of full size Chevrolets seen, which vary throughout the movie, ranging from a 1963 Impala ragtop to a 1973 Bel Air (used as police vehicles and picture cars).  During 007's arrival in New Orleans, a 1968-72 Oldsmobile Cutlass 2-door hardtop is seen through the windows of the taxicab (a 1973 Chevrolet Bel Air, with a trick divider glass and rear door locks).

In Octopussy, a 1974 Malibu Classic sedan is used as a base vehicle, in which 007 rams the gate at Feldstadt AFB (actually RAF Upper Heyward, England).

There is a scene in A View To A Kill, when a San Francisco cop is directing traffic, and a couple of 1973-77 GM A-bodies are seen.  The first car that is seen is a 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and in this scene, the cop that was about to arrest 007 is driving a Dodge Diplomat squad car (he drove a 1978 Dodge Monaco, which was sideswiped by a 1979 Malibu sedan, a taxicab, and crushed by a drawbridge counterweight).  When the cop looks up in the sky (this is near the Transamerica pyramid skyscraper), a 1977 Cutlass S sedan rearends the cop car.

Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 P-n-B Productions (a Cheap Times franchise, C/O The Emissary).  All Rights Reserved.  This page is not affiliated with any commercial business, and is the sole property of Po' - N - Broke Productions (an LSC Publications Company).