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Metropolis motor keeps on rousing readers


There is no doubt that one of the most daring of silent film projects is Fritz Lang's epic 'Metropolis'. One reader writes: "As I have viewed the film over the years, the question of the make and model of the white limousine, used by Freder in the movie, has never been answered." Indeed, the big chauffeur driven landaulette - clearly modified for the movie - remains a Metropolis mystery of the first kind.

The still shown above comes from our friends of the Internet Movie Cars Database and they have dug up another one, too. Their readers suggest anything from Mercedes to Hispano-Suiza, De-Dion Bouton to Bugatti and from Panhard and Adler to Farman. Martin Koerber of the Deutsche Kinemathek - considered the world's leading expert on the film Metropolis - states that even he has no clue about the automobile used for the film. Urban legend has that Fritz Lang used the car to arrive at the opening of Metropolis in Berlin at the Palast am Zoo movie theater on January 10, 1927, but no photographs to prove this appear to be known. What do you think?

(Picture courtesy www.imdb.org)

Gepubliceerd:
woensdag september 3rd, 2014
Onbekend
07 Maart 2015, 00:17
Astro Daimler also springs to mind but steering wheel is different to the Styer. I lean more to Styer.

Link on my art page I posted the screen grab and my photo joined for comparison.

http://davidbeattie1984.deviantart.com/art/Steering-wheel-Styer-on-right-518460655
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Onbekend
06 Maart 2015, 23:41
http://www.austinharris.co.uk/photo/1924-french-grand-prix-touring-car-race/1632

Rear view more pointy but I do think its similar to the one in style bar the details pointy rear
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Onbekend
06 Maart 2015, 23:35
I think it is a Steyr. There a clip where you see the steering wheel alloy 4 spoke with wide centre. I saw a 1926 Steyr at Hampton court last year a 1926 VI sportwagen. Looking at various Steyr models radiators range from pointy to more flat. I have compared steering wheels from the other makes but Steyr is the only one that comes close. Spring and headlamps mounted on the wings sometimes with bar or without. The body from the radiator back looks bespoke more rounded.

Link to a similar Steyr below Model not flat radiator. The Metropolis has a slight Vee to it. Lat 1924 photo. Car is enclosed but similar with skiff style wings.

http://www.austinharris.co.uk/photo/1924-french-grand-prix-touring-car-race/1627
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Onbekend
11 September 2014, 14:50
I believe to remember that the "Tropfenwagen" in Florida came to the "Deutsches Technik Museum" in Berlin. So only two surviving Rumpler Tropfenwagen are known...
Till
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Onbekend
05 September 2014, 08:53
There is another one in the Technical Museum in Berlin which once was brought over by the grand-son of Rumpler from New York to celebrate the death of his grand-father.
Lots of them where burnt in the Metropolis film as nobody wanted to buy them as they were much to advanced for theit time...
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Onbekend
05 September 2014, 07:50
@ Harit:
This was not an early product placement. Ufa bought the cars from the already bankrupt Rumpler-Factory. The cars were built up to 1924, while the movie was made in 1926. But the cars had the perfect futuristic look for the movie.
Sounds a little bit like an early DeLorean > Back to the Future version...

Two "Tropfenwagen" are known to exist: One, as L.Lewis already mentioned, in the "Deutsches Museum" in Munic and one in the "Deutsches Technik Museum" in Berlin.

Best, Hubertus
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Onbekend
05 September 2014, 05:00
I thought that this was a pioneering effort in placing branded products in a movie, here the Rumplers. LOL. Never seen so many in one spot.
Harit
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Onbekend
04 September 2014, 16:13
There is a Rumpler in the Deutsches museum in Munich and there's supposed to be one in Florida.
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Onbekend
04 September 2014, 13:00
the other cars are Rumplers. Only one or two are remained in Germany. Several Rumplers were destroyed in this movie.

Some other cars in the movie: Tatra T-77, Martin Airmobile (now in the Lane Motor Museum...
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Onbekend
04 September 2014, 12:25
What make are the other funky looking cars?
Fred
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