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Buses in "Honeymooners" movie/1950's TV show
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:12 am    Post subject: Buses in "Honeymooners" movie/1950's TV show Reply with quote

All:

Was watching (again!) on dvd "THE HONEYMOONERS" (2005), starring Cedric The Entertainer (he played Ralph HIS way, and made it work dang good!), and, of course, was enjoying the bus sequences (aahh, yes..... it was STILL the era of the RTS!); a few quick questions came to mind:

Though Ralph was seen driving two types of buses (one was an ORION), the RTS was the bus that was featured most prominently; I caught the number (#3966), and noticed the bus was signed for the "M1".

What depot was this bus then based out of? (2005)

How did the MTA accommodate the film crews?

Did Cedric receive any MTA training (if only brief) in driving the bus?

I also liked the scenes where "M" trains were seen rumbling by the Kramden's apartment house windows (on the old BMT el), with some cool third rail arcing putting on a nice little "light show" at night!

Like the RTS, those veteran subway cars are now themselves part of history.

Appreciate any info......

"NYO"

*As a lifelong dog lover, that goofy (and handsome!) greyhound ("Iggy") found by Norton in a dumpster was a real heart-breaker! Very Happy

**Also.......(not surprisingly!) I LOVED that both Ralph and Norton were die-hard Mets fans.......Wink


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:11 am; edited 5 times in total
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Ralph" and his trusty RTS.........

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_133098-GMC-RTS-1985.html

(courtesy: imcdb.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While Ralph had "MTA" on his jacket, the insignia on his cap was totally different (I could make out "MANHATTAN DIVISION" on the insignia).........

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 1995 ORION also used in "The Honeymooners" movie; according to a note here, this bus was based out of KINGSBRIDGE.......

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_408644-Orion-V-1995.html

(courtesy: imcdb.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One heckuva hoot (and GOOF!) is during the opening credits, with Ralph is tooling along Madison Avenue, while listening to his radio.

For some reason, here, while (via the interior shots) we see Ralph behind the wheel of an RTS, the EXTERIOR shots show an ORION!! Shocked Shocked

To most movie-goers, I am sure, not one noticed this blooper, but, rest assured, any and all bus enthusiasts in the audience sure as heck noticed, especially those from the "Noo Yawk" area!! Wink

"NYO"
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is a topic of hot debate, between my wife and myself...

Whenever we watch a movie, or TV show, that shows various transportation, I delight in pointing out such anomalies to her, such as different equipment, or sometimes "fake" studio sets, that only enthusiast's would notice.

She scolds me, for not just relaxing, and enjoying the video for what it is, and not picking out technical errors.... Smile
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver wrote:
That is a topic of hot debate, between my wife and myself...

Whenever we watch a movie, or TV show, that shows various transportation, I delight in pointing out such anomalies to her, such as different equipment, or sometimes "fake" studio sets, that only enthusiast's would notice.

She scolds me, for not just relaxing, and enjoying the video for what it is, and not picking out technical errors.... Smile


traildriver:

You and I are a cut of the SAME cloth; I'm EXACTLY the SAME way! Wink

A CLASSIC example of this is one of my favorite "I LOVE LUCY" episodes, "LUCY & THE LOVING CUP" (1957)

Lucy and Ethel are supposed to be on a downtown Lexington Avenue IRT train, headed down to Bleeker St.; the interior set (though quite authentic in replicating a "typical" New York subway car of that era, CLEARLY was patterned after BMT/IND equipment)

Too, the illuminated sign boxes are black on white, instead of white on black, and are CLEARLY not roller curtains!!

Stock footage depicts several types of trains, including prewar IND cars, prewar IRT cars, and a train of R-12's/14's on the #7 (with the #7 train, the film negatives were reversed!)

Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed seeing the old, classic trains I grew up with (the R 12's/14's I knew well during the first several years I worked downtown)

The exterior scenes of a prewar "AA" train between stations was also used in a number of other old films, including "PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET"; also, a "Superman" episode, "A SHOT IN THE DARK" (a RUNAWAY subway train with NO signal trippers in the system....DUH!)

In the 1956 episode, ""THE PASSPORTS", Lucy and Fred fall asleep (due to some potent anti-seasick pills!) on the Staten Island Ferry, and end up making several round trips between Whitehall St. and St. George.

We then see their boat departing the Whitehall St. terminal, aboard the "GOLD STAR MOTHER" (one of the "MISS NEW YORK" class boats, but, later, we see the boat they are supposed to be slumbering on, shuttling back and forth across the harbor.....NOW, however, it's one of the "MERRELL" class ferries!! Shocked

In the background, we do get to see a "DONGAN HILLS" class boat, as well as one of the Governor's Island steamers.

It looks to me, though, as if the Desilu prop department was supplied (via the Department of Marine & Aviation) with enough material to replicate a section of the upper deck promenade of one of the older boats then in use (the wooden cabinwork, railings, and the "NO SMOKING ALLOWED ON THIS DECK" signs indeed gave an authentic "Staten Island" feel to the episode); Mom always joked that we probably rode the Ferry more than a lot of Staten Islanders did, when I was growing up!)

I'm thinking that this might have been items in storage at the Marine & Aviation's Pier 7, Tompkinsville, and rented to Desilu Studios.

Getting back to "The Honeymooners" movie, at other times in the film, we see Ralph driving an RTS, and the EXTERIOR shots also show an RTS! (the opening scenes, as I mentioned, were indeed noteworthy, showing the INTERIOR of an RTS and the EXTERIOR of an ORION!) Shocked

Ahhh, the magic of Hollywood! Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding "Ralph" and the "Gotham Bus Company"......

It's a pretty sure bet that Ralph would have retired in the late 1960's or the early 1970's.

By this late date, Ralph would have been driving a Fishbowl (with batwings, perhaps?)

His seniority, I'm sure, would have been quite impressive, by this time!

The new Fishbowls would have been quite futuristic to Ralph, especially considering what he was driving when he first started out with the GBC!

In his retirement, I would have loved to have seen the expression on Ralph's broad face when he sauntered over to the old depot and saw his first RTS!Shocked

By the time of the 2005 film, even the Fishbowls themselves would have been gone.........what might Ralph had thought when he saw his first articulated, or his first CNG bus? Rolling Eyes

"NYO"
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Tiny Tim



Age: 62
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629"]
For some reason, here, while (via the interior shots) we see Ralph behind the wheel of an RTS, the EXTERIOR shots show an ORION!! Shocked /quote] On Seinfeld there was a similar goof but it was a RTS exterior shot but the interior shot in the rear was a I think a new flyer as it had a rear window.
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Tiny Tim



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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629"]
For some reason, here, while (via the interior shots) we see Ralph behind the wheel of an RTS, the EXTERIOR shots show an ORION!! Shocked /quote] On Seinfeld there was a similar goof but it was a RTS exterior shot but the interior shot in the rear was a I think a new flyer as it had a rear window.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tiny Tim:

It is interesting, to say the least, to contemplate the many "goofs" over the years (in both movies and television shows), regarding transit vehicles.

In one "I Love Lucy" episode, Lucy's scatterbrained mother (who was planning to join them on their trip to Hollywood) tells Lucy that, after she got off the train (from Jamestown, NY), "the bus left me off right at the door".

Lucy replies: "Wait a minute....the bus doesn't come down this street."

Fast-forward now to 1957's "LUCY AND SUPERMAN" episode; watch for when Lucy is out on the ledge of her apartment building, we see an Old Look stopping right in front of 623 E. 68th St.! Shocked

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the 1955 "HONEYMOONERS" episode, "BROTHER RALPH", Ralph states that he's been driving a bus for 15 years; this means he would have started driving in 1940.

In 1940, Ralph might have been driving a YELLOW Old Look, or a Model 740.

By 1946, he might have been behind the wheel of a new GM TD-4507.

By the 1960's, he might have started out driving an Old Look, but, later in the decade, might have well have been behind the wheel of a Fishbowl.

Also, I always wondered why "Ralph" drove a bus on Madison Avenue in the borough of Manhattan; being such a strongly-influenced "Brooklyn-ese" show, it would have really been a hoot if Ralph was instead driving a bus IN Brooklyn (on a "Tee-Yay" route), but under a fictitious company name (perhaps the "Brooklyn Bus Company, Inc."? "Brooklyn Motor Coach Co.? Brooklyn Surface Lines"?)

Still, how sweet it was.........Wink

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
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B53RICH




Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here in the following clip, is the original Honeymooners opening 1954. Bus # 2739 is in the scene. According to the GM production list, this appears to be a 1949 TDH4509 NYC Omnibus Corp. vehicle.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1P8x2OhSLs
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 7:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

B53RICH:

Any die-hard "Honeymooners" fan (including Your's Truly!) only associates an Old Look with Ralph Kramden, though, I will admit, I would have loved to have seen him behind the wheel of a MaBSTOA Fishbowl! Wink

Not only a popular cultural icon, "Ralph Kramden" has also come to symbolize the "Noo Yawk" bus drivers that so many of us older fellows can still clearly remember, from our younger days........ Very Happy

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2020 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a few stills from the original "HONEYMOONERS" opening, along with some notes.......

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_959482-GM-TDH-1949.html

(courtesy: imcdb.org)
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