MTFCA Forum

On 12-18-22, first episode of 1923 will air. There are lots of old cars, including many Model T's. I was hired by Paramount as an "old car consultant". I even have a couple of bit parts, so I might be seen, if I don't wind up on the cutting room floor.

Hey Tom, I'll have to keep a lookout for it here in Australia. I was the veteran vehicle wrangler for an ABC world War one series on the role of Nurses in war. Got to drive a TT ambulance and a late teens Albion truck with real war time experience under its belt. I was Too old to be seen on screen, but my son got to be the driver of the Albion in one scene.

Allan from down under.

Where does this play? I don't have cable or satellite.

I don't have access to it either, so I will likely watch it at my sister's house. I will buy the DVD's when they come out. I believe that it will be on Paramount+.

Wow Tom, you have been busy.
Model T mechanic and builder, business owner, Montana 500 racer, and now an actor?
Had a look at the trailer and wonder where the street scenes were shot?
Harry Lillo

It seems that the 1923 movie and series is an earlier series of the Dutton family that evolved into the Yellowstone series. If it’s a popular as 1883 and Yellowstone it will eventually have reruns on the regular Paramount network after it’s debut on Paramount +. The reruns usually start a few months later after the extra pay “plus” . It has some pretty good actors so it will be good. Maybe get to see Tom C too!

The street scenes were shot in Butte, MT. They had it dressed up as Bozeman. That is, all of the signs said "Bozeman", whenever a town was mentioned. For instance, the court house said "Bozeman Court House".

Sooo...where do they get their cars? Are they privately owned or is there some company that provides them?

Here's some info about the series started airing 18 December https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/1923/
Here is how you can watc h it https://www.cbsnews.com/essentials/how- ... 022-12-13/
Trailer video https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/vid ... ApIHLuWx2/

The cars come from various places. I supplied a number of them. There are movie car rental places that supplied some. They were mostly crap. The locals supplied some.

They purchased a 1923 Buick touring from a club member.. They wanted her car because it was an unrestored but still looked decent but not the restored new look.

frontyboy

Thanks For Posting This Tom
I am glad you were involved in the
making of this tv movie series.
Perhaps you have a new career
beginning to grow ….

FJ

Soon you will be known all around the world as "The Model T man."

Frontyboys post about the Buick can be eye opening for some! They wanted a authentic looking car for the movie. Not a over restored ‘trailer queen’ as some would say. I’m sure there will be some that look really great but to be realistic a good looking and running driver are the best looking ones in movies. But they didn’t ask me!

...but Pierce liked a restored T....

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:21 am

Frontyboys post about the Buick can be eye opening for some! They wanted a authentic looking car for the movie. Not a over restored ‘trailer queen’ as some would say. I’m sure there will be some that look really great but to be realistic a good looking and running driver are the best looking ones in movies.

I'm really glad they did this... Some of the stretches the TV show is making the last season are, to me, disappointing... glaringly ugh. Here's a wealthy RANCHING family in Montana, and the daughter (who was driving a high dollar Mercedes anyway) is now driving a (God-Forsaken) BENTLEY?? I want to know where she gets it serviced? How does it keep from looking like a ranch vehicle? (Among other things, this is the one that, to me, was most glaring). Maybe she traded with Bobby Axelrod, he's driving the Benz so she could drive his Bentley??

I figure like MOST large companies they would have either used a LOT of Fords (Cheap, reliable, unbreakable) or something similar had the Duttons not liked Ford or his poliics or whatnot... Everyone was using Fords as the all around utility vehicle, so yeah, they would have been front and center. IMO.

Wow, I loved 1883 and enjoying the current season of Yellowstone. Another instalment of this theme including Model T's will be a must watch for me.
Great jb on securing the era correct cars for the show. Now I will be "Tom Spotting" even thought I have no idea what you look like. Maybe now I can kill 2 birds with one stone! Come over and do a Montana 500 and visit the Yellowstone Ranch set???

I'd think that Ford and/or Dodge would have been the dominant light vehicles in that setting.

Pat, we had mostly T's and Dodges. We also had Hupmobiles, Buicks, Hudsons, Chevrolets and even a Pierce Arrow. I saw the first episode today. I am not in it. However, my sister, my brother and my wife all are. It is amazing to me how good this looks. Also amazing to me is the change in my perspective of the acting from watching it happening to seeing it on the screen. For instance, in the "temperance lady" scene, I thought the temperance lady was overacting when it was being filmed. It sort of reminded me of a high-school play. When I saw it on the screen, it was perfect!

Making good movies is a true art form. Lame movies illustrate this, sometimes comically.
At least a few of those Temperance ladies were way over the top. The Supreme Court should have stopped Prohibition in its tracks.

Thank you Tom for coordinating our involvement in the 1923 production. After hearing horror stories about renting vintage cars to movie studios I was hesitant to do it, but I have to say that they took great care of my vehicles, including the transportation from my house to Butte and back in an enclosed semi trailer. I was also shocked to find upon arrival on the set that instead of changing logo on the side of my 1914 delivery with a vinyl overlay to say Bozeman Meats they kept the Lynden Motor Company logo and changed the back drop building from a meat market to a Auto Repair Garage, which included putting up old time garage doors. These are the 2 that I sent .

For those do not have Paramount + there is a 17 minute video of the making of 1923 with some good car pictures.

https://youtu.be/wCpITCVYeLc

After just watching the first episode I was amazed to see that the scene which took 5 hours to film was reduced to about 2 minutes of screen time, and I got in the scene riding in blue touring car.

For those that watch “ Yellowstone “
on the Paramount Network there is a special preview
of “ 1923 “ following the latest episode tonight.

It may follow the latest episode of Yellowstone
throughout this week on the Paramount Network.

FJ

A friend of mine owns the Thomas Flyer and Lozier as well as some other vehicles in the film.

Well, I had my movie debut today in episode seven of the Paramount+ show "1923". I was the guy in the fur coat pushing the T out of the snow. My sister was the driver of the T. I also had a scene just driving a T up the road. On was on screen for about 1/2 of a second.

Congratulations Tom. I wish I had known it was you. It looked like a small amount of snow to have to be pushed but it looked good.

You're not that guy that fell down in the snow once the T started moving, are you ?

We have DISH satellite TV so I googled Paramount Channel on DISH TV. Its channel 241. So I looked at the Guide and saw that ‘1923’ comes on tonight (Monday) at 10:30 pm and again at 11:45 pm. Sorry Tom; I go to sleep at 8 pm. Gonna have to wait until Chickasha to get your autograph

"It looked like a small amount of snow to have to be pushed but it looked good."

Yes, we weren't really stuck. We were just acting.

"You're not that guy that fell down in the snow once the T started moving, are you ?"

No, that was a stunt man. We must have done that scene 10 times with different camera angles and stuff. The stunt guy fell down every time. There were several extras, but they were not allowed to touch the car - union rules, I believe.

Thanks for the clarification Tom ! I also thank you for the "close-up" - sure does look like you !

When watching one episode, we did spot a parked speedster when the Duttons were walking down the street when leaving the hotel prior to the scene where they get ambushed by the sheep herders.

Well done Tom. Still waiting on release of new episodes here in Australia. There is a scene in one episode where Ma Dutton is on her way home in her buggy and she comes across the "Bad Guys" who are in a spectacular large early Brass era Horseless Carriage. Do you know what make of car that was? I thought for "1923" the big Brass era car would have been at least 10 years old by 1923? Maybe a man of that stature and wealth would have had a newer model? Just curious. It was a beautiful car.

My wife & I were wondering the same - not a good enough close-up on the radiator emblem, but boy she's a beauty !

The car is a Thomas Flyer. They were made like that into the late teens. I had issues with that car for the reasons you all had with it. I thought that it was too old. The car coordinator, who is an artist, unlike me, thought it looked dramatic. Most people other that aficionados seem to like it, so I suppose he was right.

We watched that episode last night. I told my wife, Susan, that is Tom pushing the brass touring.

I had such a blast as a driver in season 1 - itʻs really a shame that season 2 production has moved to the Austin, Texas area. Nothing down there looks like Montana.

Being selected and chosen to be in a Hollywood movie has a lot of merit in its own. Back in the '90s, I and a few of our Buick club members were selected to show for the movie " IQ" filming in Princeton , Cranbury and other NJ locations. Out of all the takes that were done, and then selected by the editor for the final film, my car was in but a blink of a take that made it to the final cut.

This was my claim to fame on national TV. Use to be called Lonely Planet, and now is Globe Trekker.
I ran out of gas and the producer saw my car on the side of the road. They asked if I would be willing
to do a skit in about a month. So they came to a suburb in Milwaukee, and of course it was garbage day
so everyone's garbage cart was on the curb. We got the skit done, and I earned $50. My car is a 1920
and the dvd states it is a 1915 because it has brass plating on the lamps and shroud. At least I got 10
minutes of glory with one other person.

Let us know when your movie comes out and at what minutes you are in view.

ps I took 2 vertical pictures, so I do not know why one is horizontal.

Whoa Jeff !!.. It’s not a ‘shame’ but a financial blessing that ‘1923’ is moving to the central Texas (+ Galveston) area. This way I’ll have 3-4 Model Ts in front of the camera. The picture car coordinator even invited me to possibly be a driver.