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CJ-3B Fire Jeep in the Movies

Julie (1956)


 

Julie Here's a rare treat; three good shots of a brand-new CJ-3B airport crash truck in action.

The movie is Julie, a 1956 thriller starring Doris Day as a stewardess whose husband (Louis Jordan) is trying to kill her. Julie was written and directed for MGM Studios by Andrew L. Stone, who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay.
 

Frame from Julie
 
In the climactic scene at San Francisco International, Julie has to land a plane whose pilot has been shot by the husband. She gets radio help from a pilot in "Mobile Unit 4", the CJ-3B (which inexplicably has the microphone cable coming from under the hood).
 

Frame from JulieMobile 4 appears to be painted yellow or white, and carries a large dry chemical cylinder behind the halfcab hardtop. Other details include an axe mounted on the side, a sledgehammer in front of the windshield, and a hose clamp on the front bumper. In addition to the big Sterling 30 siren on the hood, the Jeep carries a rotating warning beacon, a fairly new device in 1956.
 

Frame from JulieThe pilot riding on Mobile 4 continues to coach the hero by radio as emergency crews chase the airplane down the runway. The fleet of vintage vehicles includes a Willys ambulance at left rear.

These brief but dramatic shots were taken from a moving camera truck by cinematographer Fred Jackman Jr.
 

American LaFrance Thanks to Joe Raymond I discovered this American LaFrance factory photo from 1954, showing an identical Jeep. It's quite possibly the one that went to San Francisco International, since I have not run across any other ALF examples. Most Jeep dry chemical units were manufactured by Ansul Chemical.
 

Thanks to Dan Fedorko for spotting this CJ-3B in the movies. -- Derek Redmond

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Last updated 6 January 2023 by Derek Redmond redmond@cj3b.info
https://cj3b.info/Movie/Julie.html
All content not credited and previously copyright, is copyright Derek Redmond