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 Post subject: Interesting trivia about THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:10 am 
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The pilot of the flying wing was played by actor James Lawry, who played Kris Kringle's doctor in the 1947 film THE MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET.

The footage of the flying wing comes from a Cascade Productions industrial film commissioned by Northrop Aircraft, and Lawry plays the pilot in that film as well as THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. However, the dialog is different in the Cascade film from THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and the dialog matches the lip movements in both. So, I surmise that the scene of the pilot in the pilot's seat was a set, not an actual wing cockpit, and redone with Lawry for THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.

By 1953, when WAR was released. that flying wing, the YB-49, was a goner. It existed no longer.

I surmise also that a teenage Steven Spielberg saw THE WAR OF THE WORLDS on its initial NBC broadcast 1966 or 1967 and was inspired to put a flying wing into RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK because of that. The flying wing in RAIDERS never existed as a German plane although the Germans did build a flying wing jet that flew in 1945 (and crashed, killing its pilot). The jet was smaller then either flying wings in the movies.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:02 am 
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Martian War Lord

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Thanks for the info \:D/


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:53 pm 
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For more trivia about the movie, I read a book about sci fi movies of the 1950s (don't remember the title, sorry) that mentioned WOTW and its special effects. The pulsing sound made by the Heat-Ray was the tape of an electric guitar being played, run backwards, while the flashing light in the projector was due to it containing a light bulb with an electric fan in front of it, the blades temporarily hiding the light. Finally, the sound of the cylinder lid unscrewing was the sound of a pickle jar being unscrewed underwater.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:35 am 
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Martian War Lord

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Groovey!


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:49 am 
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Martian War Lord

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I still have the sound of the Heat-Ray Generator pulsating.


The Tempest is an advanced assault vehicle, which carries two heavy Heat-Rays and a Canister Launcher.
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 Post subject: more trvia
PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 11:05 pm 
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More trivia:

The footage of the flying wing in WAR comes from a corporate film entitled "The Story of the Flying Wing." It was produced in the late 1940s by Cascade Productions of California, Inc., now defunct I believe, on commission from Northrop.

The footage of actor James Lawry as the pilot of the flying wing is different in "The Story of the Flying Wing" than it is in "The War of the Worlds." Slightly, but different.

The flying wing in the films: the YB-49 #1, designated 2367. It first flew on Oct. 21, 1947 from Hawthorne Airport to Muroc Air Base. Max Stanley was the pilot and he took off to the east. This is the flying wing that flew to Andrews Air Force Base on Feb. 9, 1949 with Robert Cardenas as the pilot.

The YB-49 #2, designated 2368, was the one that crashed on June 5, 1948, killing, horribly, its crew. Bits and pieces of that wreck still exist in a debris field north of Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley, California (scene of Discovery touch down last week).

The YB-49 2367 was destroyed in a high speed taxi test piloted by Russ Schleeh.

The only YB-49 in existence at the time of filming of "The War of the Worlds" was the YRB-49, a reconnaisance version of the plane, which sat at Ontario Airport, California, until late 1953 when it was scrapped by the Air Force.

AMC, and some websites, say that the N-1M is the flying wing in "The War of the Worlds." That is incorrect. The N-1M was the first real flying wing made by Northrop, and it was restored in the 1980s and sits in the Smithsonian, but it was small, only about a 38 foot wing span, and had propellers, not jets. It is painted yellow.

The only other Northrop flying wing still in existence is the N-9MB, a 1/3rd version of the big XB-35 (forerunner of the YB-49). And it flies! It was fully restored back in 1994 and is housed in Chino, California at the Planes of Fame Museum. It has a 57 foot wing span, painted yellow on top and blue underneath and it is gorgeous. I saw it up close and personal in June, 2004 at an air show. This plane flew at an air show in Chino May, 2005 and will be on display at Edwards Air Force Base Oct., 2005, along with its grandson, the B-2 Spirit.

Esoteric, no?


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 Post subject: more trvia
PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 11:13 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:37 pm
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More trivia:

The footage of the flying wing in WAR comes from a corporate film entitled "The Story of the Flying Wing." It was produced in the late 1940s by Cascade Productions of California, Inc., now defunct I believe, on commission from Northrop.

The footage of actor James Lawry as the pilot of the flying wing is different in "The Story of the Flying Wing" than it is in "The War of the Worlds." Slightly, but different.

The flying wing in the films: the YB-49 #1, designated 2367. It first flew on Oct. 21, 1947 from Hawthorne Airport to Muroc Air Base. Max Stanley was the pilot and he took off to the east. This is the flying wing that flew to Andrews Air Force Base on Feb. 9, 1949 with Robert Cardenas as the pilot.

The YB-49 #2, designated 2368, was the one that crashed on June 5, 1948, killing, horribly, its crew. Bits and pieces of that wreck still exist in a debris field north of Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley, California (scene of Discovery touch down last week).

The YB-49 2367 was destroyed in a high speed taxi test piloted by Russ Schleeh.

The only YB-49 in existence at the time of filming of "The War of the Worlds" was the YRB-49, a reconnaisance version of the plane, which sat at Ontario Airport, California, until late 1953 when it was scrapped by the Air Force.

AMC, and some websites, say that the N-1M is the flying wing in "The War of the Worlds." That is incorrect. The N-1M was the first real flying wing made by Northrop, and it was restored in the 1980s and sits in the Smithsonian, but it was small, only about a 38 foot wing span, and had propellers, not jets. It is painted yellow.

The only other Northrop flying wing still in existence is the N-9MB, a 1/3rd version of the big XB-35 (forerunner of the YB-49). And it flies! It was fully restored back in 1994 and is housed in Chino, California at the Planes of Fame Museum. It has a 57 foot wing span, painted yellow on top and blue underneath and it is gorgeous. I saw it up close and personal in June, 2004 at an air show. This plane flew at an air show in Chino May, 2005 and will be on display at Edwards Air Force Base Oct., 2005, along with its grandson, the B-2 Spirit.

Esoteric, no?


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 11:20 pm 
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Alland wrote:
For more trivia about the movie, I read a book about sci fi movies of the 1950s (don't remember the title, sorry) that mentioned WOTW and its special effects. The pulsing sound made by the Heat-Ray was the tape of an electric guitar being played, run backwards, while the flashing light in the projector was due to it containing a light bulb with an electric fan in front of it, the blades temporarily hiding the light. Finally, the sound of the cylinder lid unscrewing was the sound of a pickle jar being unscrewed underwater.


Thanks. Those sound effects, I believe, ended up in the Paramount library. Added to it, in similar vein, were sound effects from ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS. I believe that STAR TREK, the original series, used a lot of these sound effects in the shows. Also these effects were used in THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED AMERICA in 1975 and, possibly, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 3:33 pm 
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Martian War Lord

Joined: Sun May 29, 2005 5:02 pm
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Location: Ridderkerk, the Netherlands
I've got the original sound of that Heat-Ray generator pulsating from the '53 movie. It's only 10 seconds, but nevertheless it still gives me goose-bumps, as if such a machine is right behind me. In my fantasy fanfics, I do have the Martians with the '53 and the JW machines includes, but instead of being enemies, they're allies, protecting Humanity from real hostile outsiders. I even see the Klingons, the Romulans and all member races of the Federation as Human allies.


The Tempest is an advanced assault vehicle, which carries two heavy Heat-Rays and a Canister Launcher.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:38 pm 
Tripod King

Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:17 pm
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Location: Wales, United Kingdom
Cool, thanks for all the interesting facts and trivia ! :)


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