2 thoughts on “Movie Mopar of the Week: 1965 Dodge Coronet Convertible in the Beverly Hillbillies”
It’s still around.That Coronet is owned by a couple in Freeport, IL.
I always wondered why they kept using the ’65 Coronet through the 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons instead of getting a ’66 and then a ’67. Then I read that the owners of the mansion they used for the exteriors decided to stop allowing them to film there, and it made sense: They’d shot all this new, color B-roll of the ’65 driving in and out of the gate and up and down the driveway (with various combinations of cast members in it), and if they changed the car they wouldn’t be able to use those clips anymore. By keeping the ’65 for three years, they got three seasons’ use out of that footage.
I figure that by the time filming started for the 1967-68 season, Chrysler must have snatched back the ’65 and given them a ’68, since Miss Hathaway’s convertible was, by far, the most-visible of all the cars Chrysler furnished the production company, and it didn’t make sense to keep showcasing a three-year-old car.
They used Coronets until the 1969-70 season, when they were given a Challenger instead. The red-on-red ’70 Challenger gave way to a red-on-black ’71 for what would be the final season.
It’s still around.That Coronet is owned by a couple in Freeport, IL.
I always wondered why they kept using the ’65 Coronet through the 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons instead of getting a ’66 and then a ’67. Then I read that the owners of the mansion they used for the exteriors decided to stop allowing them to film there, and it made sense: They’d shot all this new, color B-roll of the ’65 driving in and out of the gate and up and down the driveway (with various combinations of cast members in it), and if they changed the car they wouldn’t be able to use those clips anymore. By keeping the ’65 for three years, they got three seasons’ use out of that footage.
I figure that by the time filming started for the 1967-68 season, Chrysler must have snatched back the ’65 and given them a ’68, since Miss Hathaway’s convertible was, by far, the most-visible of all the cars Chrysler furnished the production company, and it didn’t make sense to keep showcasing a three-year-old car.
They used Coronets until the 1969-70 season, when they were given a Challenger instead. The red-on-red ’70 Challenger gave way to a red-on-black ’71 for what would be the final season.