Just for fun

[bertfam]

There have been several movies and television shows throughout the years that feature in some way or another, the Mercedes Benz 190SL. From a quick glimps of the car in a small insignificant scene, to an all out starring role, the car has played host to several HUGE named stars over the years. I've complied a few for your enjoyment, along with the dates, stars and a link to the Internet Database WEB site (http//:www.imdb.com) for a synopsis and reviews. I hope you enjoy it. Also, feel free to add your own movies, TV shows, etc... to the list! You never know what jewel may turn up!

Ed


1. High Society (1956) Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly

2. The Shaggy Dog (1959) Fred MacMurray, Anette Funicello, Tommy Kirk

3. Happy Aniversary (1959) David Niven, Mitzy Gaynor, Carl Reiner

4. The Thrill Of It All (1963) Dorris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews

5. The Quiller Memorandum (1966) George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max Von Sydow

6. The Ice Storm (1997) Kevin Kline, Joan Allen

7. The Andy Griffith Show (Episode 31) The Guitar Player Returns (1961) Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Howard McNear, James Best

8. Sunday in New York (1963) Rod Taylor, Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Robert Culp and Jim Bacus


Of course, the above don't include all the movies or television shows with the 190SL in them. As a matter of fact, I have a 2 minute or so piece of video that contains footage of the 190SL Production Line in the early 60's! (If I could transfer it to MPG format, I'd share it with you... anybody???)


Also...

Although the following are not 190SL related, they ARE "Big Brother" 300SL movies worth watching...

1. High Time (1960) Bing Crosby, Fabian, Tuesday Weld

2. Cinderfella (1960) Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, Henry Silva

If you have more, let me know...

Ed

[JimVillers]

Ed ... When you get the video converted, I am sure that Bill and I can post it (I mean Bill can post it because he has a very fast connection).

[bertfam]

Jim,

First I have to find a way to convert from video to MPG (or similar). So far, everyone I've spoken to about this say it can't be done without spending a lot of money on custom software. If anyone knows of an easy (and cheap) way, let me know.

Ed

[Pat Ballogg]

The recent movie "French Kiss" w/ Kevin Klein & Meg Ryan - the brother drove a 190sl. Also an episode of "The Beverly Hillbilly's" a playboy dating Ellie May drove 'our' car.

[wpuryear]

I would love to see the video Ed mentions. I did a little research and found that video caputure cards cost from $60 to $6,000. Guess you get what you pay for. Hopefully, someone in the group has a recording setup.

[Joe Amaro]

Ed - FYI, ran across this site that references Mercedes in the movies. http://www.hampstead.com.au/mb/

[Race Guy]

Ed....

Did you get that VHS MPEG'd yet??

If not, I did a Google search on "VHS To MPEG" & came up with this guy who looks real cheap:

http://www.worldwideadnetwork.com/vhs2mpg.htm

And this guy, who's NOT so cheap:

http://www.megalodon.com/video_digitizing.html

[bertfam]

George,

Funny you should bring this up! I found a co-worker that can do this for us for free! I'm going to bring the tape into work tomorrow and we'll see if we can get it converted. If we have problems, Kosta has volunteered to help out. He ahs a friend with the equipment. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow...

Ed

[prutigliano]

2 choices I can think of.

1) I have a digital video camera. I can only take about 15-30 seconds at a time but that should be enough. Won't look as good as a direct transfer but might be good enough.

2) I have a friend who I think might do this for me if I don't take advantage of it...I'll ask...

BTW, I met this guy in NJ who supplies cars for movies and commercials. My car is in his list of available cars. So, you might be seeing my car in one of these spots one day....

[bertfam]

Okay guys...

I was able to get the video converted at work today and Jim now has it in his hot little hands! He will be posting it shortly so stay tuned. It's about 15 seconds long but I could only get it compressed to about 2.5MB. Anything more really messed up the resolution. I was also only able to convert it to "AVI" format. For some reason the "MPG" format wouldn't come out right. Not to worry though, "Windows Media Player" and a host of other players (like "Realplayer", etc...) will play it just fine.

Enjoy boys!!!

Ed

[JimVillers]

A cool little video. Beware, it is 2.5MB to download. 190SL Video

Thanks Ed.

[Joe Amaro]

Ed/Jim - This is indeed a Very cool little production clip. Thanks for sharing. Would love to see the entire 2 minutes. What is the source?

[bertfam]

There was a television show on several years ago on the 300SL. I don't even remember the name of it. About 5 minutes into the show, I decided to go ahead and tape it as they were showing original footage of the cars in Races, showroom floors, assembly lines, etc...

About half way through the show, they showed the 190SL assembly line! Although I originally remembered it as being longer, it's actually only a few seconds in length so this is the whole thing. I guess my mind is starting to go!!

Yesterday, as we were trying to get everything cued up and converted to AVI format, my VCR decided to eat the tape!! Luckly, it was in a section that wasn't the part we need but it still crunched a large chunk of it. I was able to slavage the 190SL part and we were sucessfull in converting.

You can see in the clip that it's actually the last step in the assembly process. The final "cleanup" of the car.

Ed

[wpuryear]

Thanks for putting the clip together for us. Judging from the hard tops, it was '59 or later and the clip is further confirmation that outside rear view mirrors were not installed at the factory. It also appeared that one had a front liscense plate holder and the next did not. All black wall tires.

Walt

[bertfam]

Walt,

Look at the three cars in the background when the clip first starts. The first one (the white car, in front of the one with the open hood) DOES have a mirror!! Is this a 300SL? It's kind of hard to tell... The hood looks like it though. The second one, in front of that one is not even completed! It looks like it's missing the windshield (not even the posts are installed), possibly more!

Some more observations:

1. Wheel Covers and Trim Rings ARE installed.

2. The first car in the clip (the dark one) does NOT have the front Bumper Guards but the White one in front of that one DOES.

3. The Parking Lamp Lenses on the same two cars are the clear "Twist Off" version, indicating these cars are destined for the US.

4. At least three of the six cars are Hardtops. (It's hard to tell about the others...)

What else can you find?!

Ed