THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140019
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
IN FALL 1989, more than 200 starry-eyed people piled into Suffolk Raceway to watch a fixed race and about 100 happy teenagers dashed out of Suffolk High - a school that had been closed for several years.
Dressed in clothes of the Eisenhower era, they were eager extras in ``Deuce Coupe,'' a '50s coming-of-age movie opening locally Friday. It spent nearly seven years in movie limbo as its producers sought a distributor.
For the most part ``Deuce Coupe'' was filmed in Franklin and Suffolk, but important scenes were also filmed at Doumar's in Norfolk and at College Park Skating Center in Virginia Beach.
A bonus came with the latter location.
``The rink had some paintings about the 1950s in the back, in storage,'' said movie producer Robert Sloat. ``We used `em, and they're still up.''
The filming at Doumar's took place on a Sunday.
``We closed Saturday at 12:30, they filmed Sunday till 9 at night,'' said Thad Doumar. ``We were ready to open at 9 a.m. Monday. It was really a neat operation.''
His only regret was not getting in front of the camera.
``Everybody in the movie was about 20. I was too old - 32,'' Doumar said.
Altogether, Sloat said, about 500 local people helped make the movie, which offers the familiar theme of the coming of age of two brothers, telling of their loves, rivalries, music and their hot rod.
``Deuce Coupe'' played in Franklin a few months after completion in 1992; it was that city's only world premiere. ``The good people of Franklin'' are recognized in credits at movie's end.
Much of the filming was done on Franklin's '50s-perfect Main Street. The Franklin Fire Department also helped cut costs by providing rain for one scene.
Not only did the extras work for free, they provided their own vintage clothes. Another freebie: More than 100 vintage cars were loaned to the production.
The star car was a 1932 Ford deuce coupe hot rod, put together in 1989 by Flatlanders Hot Rods in Norfolk.
``We manufactured it from the ground up,'' said Alan Thornton, owner of Flatlanders Hot Rods. ``It's a '32 Ford body and chassis with a 350 Chevy engine.
``The deuce coupe was built in 27 days - absolutely a record. Building cars usually takes from 6 to 12 months.''
While many antique cars were on display during this week's local premiere, the deuce coupe was conspicuous by its absence.
``One of the investors, who put up a good chunk of money, ended up with it,'' Thornton said. ``The car is in California.''
A couple vehicles from the movie are still around. Jim Bell of Suffolk supplied the truck used by Slick's Garage. The 1946 pickup, which he lovingly calls Short Top, is still in use. He drives it to work.
The black 1949 De Soto used as the sheriff's car sits placidly in Gates County at the home of its owner, Ed Noble.
``It will eventually belong to my granddaughter. I'm willing it to her,'' he said. She won't be driving it soon: granddaughter Devon Lake is 3.
Noble drives it in a few scenes, filling in for actor Paul Le Mat who portrays the sheriff.
``He was kind of a turkey,'' Thornton said. ``He had a hard time moving it around. He's not used to '50s equipment - and he acted like he didn't much care.''
The other performers proved more popular - Kieran Mulroney, Brian Bloom, Ashley Laurence, Larry Hankin and Candy Clark.
The bad guy in the movie is a local performer with a name fit for the marquee. R. Pickett Bugg of Hampton has worked in films with Rick Schroeder and Sissy Spacek.
He did some work in L.A., but returned home to operate a video company making demonstration tapes for actors and musicians and filming for Langley Speedway.
``Deuce Coupe,'' Bugg said ``is a nice coming-of-age picture - good family entertainment.''
Why ``Deuce Coupe'' wound up PG-13 rather than PG is another ratings mystery.
Herbert Cobb of Franklin is not sure. The 78-year-old Franklin actor - once a good friend of Randolph Scott and Donna Reed - was a ``Deuce Coupe'' extra.
``The producer came to me because I'm in real estate. He wanted me to find locations to fit the '50s era,'' he said. ``I stayed around many of the locations. I never heard the first cuss word from anyone in the crew.''
Before the world premiere in Franklin, former Mayor Rice Day and some merchants watched the movie to make sure it contained no - gulp - nudity or excessive violence.
``It's tamer than some network programs,'' was the assessment of Larry E. Parrish, manager of Main Street Clothiers. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Airtight Filmworks
"Deuce Coupe," a coming -of-age film about two brothers who build a
'32 Ford Coupe hot rod, was shot in Franklin and Suffolk.
Paul Le Mat portrays the sheriff. The 1949 De Soto belongs to Ed
Noble of Gates County, N.C.
Ashley Laurence and Kiernan Mulroney co-star as Marie and Eddie.
by CNB