Fun Facts About The Blues Brothers Movie

 Although The Blues Brothers movie was released over 38 years ago, it has remained a cult classic throughout the world.  In an online poll conducted by The State Journal-Register, Illinois Bicentennial Committee, and Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum as part of the Illinois Bicentennial celebration, voters chose The Blues Brothers as the top movie in Illinois history.  Despite opening to mixed reviews, the film has grossed over $115 million worldwide.  Here are some fun facts about this cult classic.

·         The original draft of the screenplay written by Dan Aykroyd was 324 pages, which was three times longer than the standard screenplay.  To soften the impact, Aykroyd made a joke of the thick script and had it bound with the cover of the Los Angles Yellow Pages directory when he turned it into producer Robert K. Weiss.  Director John Landis was given the task of editing the script into a usable screenplay, which took him about two weeks.

·         Several (13) Bluesmobiles were created for the film.  The vehicles were outfitted to do specific driving chores; some were customized for speed and others for jumps, depending upon the scene.  The crew kept a 24-hour body shop to repair cars.  For the scene when the Blues Brothers finally arrive at the Cook County Offices, a mechanic took several months to rig the car to fall apart.  There is only one original Bluesmobile remaining which is owned by Dan Aykroyd’s brother in-law.

·         One of the crew members got lost and drove over 100 miles west to Spring Valley, IL. He was arrested because the vehicle’s license plate was a fake.  When contacted by the police, the filmmakers in Chicago were more concerned with recovering the vehicle than bailing out the driver.

·         The shopping mall that the Blues Brothers drove through is the old Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL. The 800,000 SF shopping center had been abandoned in 1979 and was renovated specifically for the car chase sequence.  The mall remained unused after the filming was completed and was demolished in 2012.

·         The movie set a long-standing Guinness World Record for the largest number of automobiles destroyed in a movie.  Sixty refurbished and reinforced police cars were wrecked (most beyond repair) in the various chase scenes.  This record was held until the sequel, “Blues Brothers 2000” (1998) deliberately set the new record by wrecking one additional automobile for a total of 61.

·         Elwood never takes off his sunglasses at any point in the movie.  Likewise, Jake never off his hat.  He only takes them off in the scene with Carrie Fisher.

·         More than 40 stunt drivers were flown in on weekends to perform the stunt driving. One of the stunt drivers was Ethan Wayne, John Wayne’s son.

·         In the final car chase scene, the production actually dropped a Ford Pinto, representing the one driven by the “Illinois Nazis”, from a helicopter at an altitude of about 1,200 feet.  Before filming this special effect, the filmmakers had to obtain a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration to do it.  The FAA was concerned the car could prove to be too aerodynamic in a high altitude drop and pose a threat to nearby buildings.  The shot leading up to the car drop, where the “Illinois Nazis” drive off a freeway ramp, was shot in Milwaukee, WI, near the Hoan Bridge on Interstate 794.  Several Milwaukee skyscrapers are visible in the background as the Bluesmobile flips over, most noticeably the U.S. Bank Center.

·         Right after the first police car pileup in the mall, a police officer says “he broke my watch”.  If you listen carefully, right after every police car pileup, you can hear a police officer yell “he broke my watch”.

·         When filming the opening scene, guards at the prison opened fire at the helicopter filming overhead shots, thinking it was an attempt to spy on the structure.

·        When Aretha Franklin is singing “Think” in the café, one of the backup singers is her sister Carolyn.

·         The movie was only booked in 594 theaters as opposed to the 1400 theaters that would be typical for a movie with The Blues Brothers budget.  This was because owners felt the two-and-a-half hour running time  of the version they screened was too long and some owners told the studio they didn’t want to show a “black movie” in their theaters.

·         When the Blues Brothers sing “Jailhouse Rock” there are several shots of a long-haired prisoner who eventually leaps on to a table to dance.  The performer is Joe Walsh, guitar player for the Eagles.

·         Over 500 extras were used for the next-to-last scene, the blockade of the building at Daley Center, including 200 National Guardsman, 100 state and city police officers, with 15 horses for the mounted police.  Also included were three Sherman tanks, helicopters, and fire engines.

·         When The Blues Brothers was released on June 20, 1980, with a release in 594 theaters, it took in $4,858,152, ranking second for that week after The Empire Strikes Back.  In another Stars Wars connection, both Carrie Fisher (Mystery Woman) and Frank Oz (Corrections Officer) played non-musical supporting roles.

On the 30th anniversary of the film's release, L'Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of the Vatican City State, wrote that the film was filled with positive symbolism and moral references that can be related to Catholicism.  They went further, stating, The Blues Brothers "is a memorable film, and by judging by the facts, a Catholic one".  Thus the Vatican confirms Jake and Elwood were truly on a mission from God.