Old Iron in Hollywood

By Jerry Schleicher
Published on June 30, 2009
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This John Deere Model D tractor played a brief but pivotal role in "Seabiscuit." The scene called for the engine to backfire when starting, startling a nearby racehorse with disastrous results.

Remember the 2003 Academy Award-nominated movie Seabiscuit?

If you’re an aficionado of vintage tractors and trucks, there’s a good chance you’ll recall seeing more than a dozen antique vehicles in the film, including a 1926 Autocar truck, a 1930 John Deere Model D, a 1932 Case Model CO, a 1924 Samson M, a 1950 Minneapolis-Moline U, a 1926 Ford Model T dump truck and a 1931 Diamond T truck.

Perhaps you saw the vintage Caterpillar Sixty dozers that appeared in the 1996 movie Mulholland Falls starring Nick Nolte. Or the 1924 Samson Model M tractor, 1924 Samson truck and 1939 Adams grader in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor starring Ben Affleck. Or the 1912 Case steam tractor engine in the film Tremors 4.

When production companies film a period movie intended to depict a certain time and place, vintage automobiles and other historically accurate props are essential to help establish a specific era. But in some period films, antique tractors, trucks and farm equipment may be just as important to the set as an old Model T or a classic Packard.

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