The Bluesmobile in the film was a 1974 Dodge Monaco Sedan painted black and white to mimic an ex-police vehicle. The damaged police vehicle markings and graphics added to the old automobile impression. During the 1970's, the Monaco dominated the police vehicle market in the United States of America. The myth that the automobiles featured in the film were originally Chicago Police cars is untrue. Elwood explains in the film, "I purchased it last spring at the Mount Prospect City Police auction. It's a vintage Mount Prospect Police vehicle." The majority of the vehicles in the film were most likely civilian California Monacos "dressed" as vintage police units. The film vehicle included a gold interior, which is customary for patrol vehicles in California's hot environment. The inside of Illinois units were typically green or black. If you've watched the film, you may be wondering how any automobile could withstand such antics. There is evidence for thirteen Bluesmobiles from the film that were utilized in the filming of these sequences. Few survivors have been identified. The JoyRides automobile is 1:18 scale and has four opening doors, an opening trunk and hood, a big speaker above the roof, and the iconic Bluesmobile damaged decorations.
"You two are such a letdown. I prayed fervently for both of you. It saddens and grieves me that the two young men I taught to believe in the Ten Commandments have returned to me as two thieves with dirty tongues and negative attitudes. Exit! And do not return... until you have atoned for your sins."
Elwood arrives to Joliet Prison in the 1974 Dodge Monaco to pick up the freshly freed Jake in the opening scene of The Blues Brothers. Elwood informs Jake that he swapped their last Bluesmobile for a microphone when Jake inquires about it. Elwood says that the Dodge Monaco is a retired Mount Prospect police vehicle, and Jake accepts it as their new Bluesmobile after leaping it over the 95th Street Bridge in Chicago. [4] Automobiles used in film production [adjust]
Aretha Franklin stars in one of the film's most memorable moments, which takes place at her South Side soul food diner. Cab Calloway struts through a great old-style performance of Minnie the Moocher as a kind of road manager for the Blues Brothers. The Brothers appear in various outlandish numbers; the most amusing is the band performing in a country and western saloon where wire mesh has been placed to shield the band from beer bottles hurled by patrons. I was referring to the musical moments interspersed among the chases. The truth is that the whole film is a pursuit, with Jake and Elwood flying an old police cruiser that seems to have a life of its own as it hops over suspension bridges from one side to the other. Rarely has a film been as liberated with its locales as this one. The pursuit scenes are spectacular and fantastic, taking place under elevated railway lines, on overpasses, in subway tunnels beneath the Loop, and literally through Daley Center. One incident in particular, a pileup involving maybe a dozen police vehicles, must be seen to be believed: I've never seen stunt synchronization on this level before.
