Plenty of people have fond memories of watching Christine in the theater or reading the book late at night. Both came out when horror writer Stephen King was super hot property, not that he doesn’t still enjoy a large loyal following, with anticipation high among fans. They were not disappointed by the story of a possessed, evil 1958 Plymouth Fury.
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So, how well do you know Christine? Read the following facts and gauge your knowledge.
A 1958 Plymouth Fury used in the filming of Christine sold at auction for $198,000 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale event back in 2015. At the time it was a steep price obviously driven by fame, not the Fury collector market.
“Stunt double” Plymouth Fury cars were mocked up out of plastic, which looked more like metal on camera than the actual sheet metal body panels. Hydraulic pumps installed on the inside of the plastic panels would suck the material inward, simulating the car crumpling. For the scenes where Christine healed itself, those shots were played in reverse.
As is the case in many movies, the sounds you hear supposedly coming from Christine aren’t from a 1958 Plymouth Fury at all. Instead, recordings of a 1970 Ford Mustang 428 Super Cobra Jet were used, probably because those sounded more sinister and exciting.
Whenever Christine turned evil in the movie, the windows were painted black except for a small section of the windshield which had dark window tint. This meant the stunt drivers had limited vision, making their job that much more difficult. Sometimes, the car was pulled by cables or pushed by a bulldozer.
Stephen King said he chose a 1958 Plymouth Fury for Christine based off one simple criteria: it was a forgotten car. The author didn’t want to use a more popular model, but instead wanted something a little off-beat.
Producers blew 15% of the budget on buying enough Plymouth Furies. After placing ads all over the country, they purchased 23 cars (some sources say 28), using 16 for filming and parting the rest out. Belvederes and Savoys were also used, which might explain the discrepancy in total figures since some only counted the real Furies, with modifications to make them look like a Fury on camera.
Out of all the cars used in filming, a mere four were not destroyed. Three of them were taken on a road tour to promote the movie. All four survivors ended up being sold to collectors. That makes each one exceptionally rare.
Images via IMDB
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