SOUTHERN PACIFIC
IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES


On November 20, 2005, a Sunday evening spent channel-surfing, the inspiration for this page struck when my wife and I watched a silent movie.  It was Girl Shy, starring Harold Llyod, and the scene that caught my attention was a view of a Southern Pacific passenger train.  Later in the same film, Lloyd comandeers a Pacific Electric trolley for a wild ride inside of it and on top of it.  Later that evening, I wanted to know if the movie was listed in the article "Espee and the Movies" compiled by Tony Johnson and John Signor (Spring 2003 edition of SP Trainline).  Not seeing the movie listed in the article, I knew I need to create a page documenting the appearance in film and television by Espee and its subsidiaries.  If you would like to add a film or television production to this list, please contact me.

For more information about these films, I recommend you visit www.imdb.com

This page is part of David Coscia's SP site
August 31, 2008

A  B  C  D   E   F  G   H  I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z
            

A

Adventures of Superman

(1952-1958) George Reeves

Opening credits to TV series show 1937 Daylight

A Face in the Crowd

Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal

SSW passenger train

After the Thin Man

(1936) William Powell and Myrna Loy

Opens with view of Sunset drumhead,

Third and Townsend depot in San Francisco, SP 4-6-2 #2483

Alibi Ike

Joe E. Brown and Olivia de Haviland

Los Angeles Central Station and equipment there

The Americans

Glenn Ford

two 4-10-2 steam locomotives pull a train of PFE reefers



B

The Babe Ruth Story

William Bendix

GS class steam locomotive shown on trip to Boston

Bad Day at Black Rock

Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan

F-units in black widow pulling passenger train

Beggars of Life

Wallace Berry and Louise Brooks

SD&AE in Carriso Gorge

Beverly Hills Cop II

Eddie Murphy

The beginning of the movie is set in Detroit, MI,
but soon, an SP SW1500 moves through revealing the true filming location.

Billion Dollar Hobo

(1977) Tim Conway and Will Greer

Scene with GP20 #4101, and GP9s #3840 and #3688

Scene of SD39's on a freight train in the Santa Susanna Pass area

Birth Marks

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

possibly SP Covina branch

Biloxi Blues

Matthew Broderick

SSW 4-8-4 #819

Blazing Sun

Gene Autry

SPNG #9

Boots and Saddles

Gene Autry

Lone Pine depot

Buck Benny Rides Again

Jack Benny and Ellen Drew

E2A pulls City of San Francisco



C

The Candidate

Robert Redford

SP GP 38-2

Carmen Jones

Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte

4-6-0 steam locomotive

Chasing Choo Choos

Monty Banks

wild ride on a freight train through Carrizo Gorge

College

Buster Keaton

Glendale, CA depot and passing trains

Commando Cody: Radar Men From the Moon

Judd Holdren

SP train destroyed by radar gun

Come See the Paradise

Dennis Quaid

SP 4449 4-8-4 steam locomotive pulls
passenger train at Portland, OR depot

County Fair

John Arledge and Mary Lou Lender

SP 1473 4-4-0 steam locomoitve

Criss Cross

Burt Lancaster

PE locomotive pulls boxcar,

Steve Thompson steps off a PE Hollywood Car



D

Darby’s Rangers

(1958) James Garner

Harriman chair cars

Days of Thrills and Laughter

Compilation of silent films

Chatsworth and Carriso Gorge

The Defiant Ones

(1958) Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis

?

Double Indemnity

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck

Glendale depot; SP passenger cars, esp. lounge car

Dragnet

Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks

SP SW1500 2621 at Taylor Yard

Duel

Dennis Weaver

automobile pushed into side of freight train



E

The Earth is Mine

Rock Hudson and Jean Simons

2-6-0 #1744 filmed on the Napa Valley Branch

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

Hugh Marlow and Joan Taylor

SP 4-8-8-2 #4236 on freight #834, possibly Simi Valley

East of Eden

James Dean and Julie Harris

steam locomotives at Spreckles Jct.;
ride on top of freight train from Salinas to Gilroy

Easy Rider

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nickolson

Many scenes filmed along Lafayette Division in late 1960's. 

Very quick glimpse of loaded bagasse gondolas at Schriever, LA.

End of the Line

Wilford Brimley

SSW 4-8-4 #819

Eraser

Arnold Schwarzenegger

GP35E's crush a limosuine at the end of film



F

Five Against the House

Kim Novak and Guy Madison

Alco PA's on #27

Flame of the Barbary Coast

John Wayne

SPNG 4-6-0 #18

For Me and My Gal

Judy Garland and Gene Kelly

4100 class 4-8-8-2

Fugitive Sheriff

Ken Maynard and Beth Marion

scenes near Chatsworth

Full of Life

Judy Holiday and Richard Conte

F-units



G

The Getaway

Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw

steamlined Sunset Limited

The General Died at Dawn

Gary Cooper

view of a steam locomotive

Giant

Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor

TNO F7 on passenger train near Marfa, TX

Giant Gila Monster

Don Sullivan and Lisa Simone

F-units

Girl Shy

Harold Lloyd

views of SP passenger and freight trains;
comandeers a PE trolley for a wild ride

Grips, Grunts, and Groans

Three Stooges

view of steam locomotive

The Goat

Buster Keaton

2-8-2 #3244 and 0-6-0 #1229

The Great K & A Train Robbery

Tom Mix

view of a train

The Great Train Robbery

Bob Steele and Milburn Stone

4-6-2 #3100 and #3123,  4-8-8-2 #4107



H

Hail the Conquering Hero

James Whitmore

heavyweight observation with "Southern Pacific Cascade" drumhead

Haunted Spook

Harold Lloyd

character attempted suicide by PE trolley

Hiro Hito

?

displays at Laws Museum

Hollywood or Bust

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

2-6-0 nearly hits automobile

Homeward Bound

(1992) Voices of  Michael J. Fox,
Sally Fields, and Don Ameche

SD9

The Human Comedy

Mickey Rooney

view of short freight train

The Hurricane Express

John Wayne

view of steam locomotive



I

In Old Monterey

Gene Autry

4-6-2 #2417

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Kevin McCarthey and Dana Winter

Chatsworth depot

The Iron Horse

George O'Brien

building the transcontinental line

It Happened One Night

Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert

2-6-0 #1662 on a short freight train



J

Jim Thorpe – All American

(1951) Burt Lancaster

Jim Thorpe plays football with some children next to a PE yard



K

Killer of Sheep

(1973) M.F.A thesis at UCLA

Freight trains in Watts, CA



L

Lady Eve

Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda

#2445 on passenger train

Leather Burners

William Boyd and Andy Clyde

SPNG train

Let Freedom Ring

Nelson Eddy and Virginia Bruce

EPSW 4-4-2 #1 at Wymola, AZ

Little Fauss and Big Halsey

(1970) Robert Redford

SP diesel freight, appears to be Rosamond in Antelope Valley

Lonely are the Brave

(1962) Kirk Douglas, Carrol O’Conner

GP9 on Santa Paula Branch

The Lost Special

Frank Albertson and Cecilia Parker

4-6-2 #2445 in Arizona

The Lucky Texan

John Wayne and Barbara Sheldon

filmed at Lang, shows 65,000 gallong water tank and freight shed



M

Magic Town

James Stewart

4-4-2 #3057 at Chico depot

Man Without a Star

Kirk Douglas and Jack Elam

SPNG stock cars

Manslaughter

(1922) Leatrice Joy and Thomas Meighan

San Bruno?

Million Dollar Legs

W. C. Fields and Jack Oakey

4-6-2 #2452

The Miracle of the Bells

Fred MacMurray and Frank Sinatra

4-6-2- #2433

The Misfits

Clark Gable and Marietta Tree

filmed in Reno on July 20, 1960, using the westbound "Overland."  The crowd
at the station was not made up of extras but the regular patrons and passengers.

Mojave Firebird

Bill Elliot and George "Gabby" Hayes

Chatsworth area

Movie Maniacs

Three Stooges

view of a 2-10-2

Murder in the Private Car

Charlie Ruggles and Una Merkel

views of Dunsmuir yard and Cantara Loop



N

Narrow Margin

Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor

view of passenger train

Nevada Smith

Steve McQueen

Laws Museum

Night Freight

Forrest Tucker and Barbara Britton

listed in original article; filmed on Modesto and Empire Traction (not an Espee line)

Night Time in Nevada

Roy Rogers and Andy Devine

4-6-2 #2445

North by Northwest

Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint

F7's pulling Daylight

Now or Never

(1921) Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis

inside and on top of SP passenger train, probably Chatsworth tunnel #28



O

Of Mice and Men

(1939) Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr.

billboard, "Next Time Take the Train"

Oil for the Lamps of China

Pat O'Brien

SPNG

Oklahoma!

Gordan McRae and Shirley Jones

Patagonia branch

O. S. S

Alan Ladd

view of passenger train

Other Men's Women

(1931) Grant Withers, Mary Astor, and James Cagney

views of SP and SDAE equipment, and downtown Los Angeles

The Outsider

(1961) Tony Curtis

SP station scenes, probably in Arizona

Overland Stage Riders

John Wayne

2-6-0 #1828



P

Padre Contra Hijo

foreign film from Mexico

view of SDAE #103

Pal Joey

Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra

views of Oakland Ferries and Oakland Mole, 4-8-4 #4433

Pardners

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

2-6-0 #1629

Paris, Texas

Harry Dean Stanton

view of container train

Pearl Harbor

(2001) Ben Affleck and Josh Harnett

filmed on former route of SD&AE at Campo, CA;
Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

Perils of Pauline

Betty Hutton

view of steam locomotive

The Phantom Express

(1932) William Collier, Jr. and Sally Blane

views of the SP boardroom at the old Central Station at 5th and Alameda,
the SP Alhambra Roundhouse, Burbank Tower, and more

The Pigskin Palooka

Little Rascals

4-6-2 #2451

Portrait in Black

Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn

their car stops at a grade crossing for a train to pass



Q

none

 

 



R

The Rain Makers

?

views of Carriso Gorge

Renegade Trail

William Boyd and George "Gabby" Hayes

SPNG?

The Return of Draw Egan

William S. Hart and Louise Glaum

title misspelled in article; 4-4-2 #3031

Ride'em Cowboy

(1942) Bud Abbot and Lou Costello

4-6-2 #2442

The Roaring Twenties

(1939) James Cagney

4-6-2



S

Saga of Death Valley

Roy Rogers

SPNG 4-6-0 #9

Shadow of a Doubt

(1943) Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton

NWP #140 and #142 at Santa Rosa

Shadow of a Doubt

(1991 TV Hallmark) Mark Harmon

E9A #6051 at Petaluma

Shanghai Express

Marlene Dietrich

4-8-2 pulls a passenger train

Sherlock, Jr.

Buster Keaton

views of steam locomotives

The Silk Express

Neil Hamilton and Sheila Terry

SP 0-6-0 #1079

Sinister Journey

William Boyd and Andy Clyde

SPNG

Slim Carter

Jock Mahoney and Julie Adams

steamlined Sunset Limited

Smokey and the Bandit

Burt Reynolds, Sally Fields, and
Jackie Gleason

The beginning of the movie shows the truck driving through the countryside when it comes across a train at a grade crossing and slams on its brakes.  The scene was obviously shot in California, as the cars that go by are SP beet gondolas

South of Caliente

Roy Rogers

SPNG?

Speed Zone

John Candy and Donna Dixon

GP35 #3308?

The Steel Highway

 

See “Other Men’s Women”

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin

views of 4-8-8-2's

Sudden Fear

Joan Crawford and Jack Palance

views of GS class steam locomotive

Suddenly

Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden

views of 4-8-8-2's and F-units at Saugus

The Sullivans

Ann Baxter and Thomas Mitchell

views of steam locomotives

Sullivan's Travels

Joel McCrae and Veronica Lake

LAUPT, Santa Paula branch, Chatsworth, and 2-8-0 #2851

Sun Valley Serenade

Sonje Henie

view of heavyweight passenger train



T

3:10 to Yuma

Glenn Ford and Van Heflin

on the Patagonia branch at Elgin, AZ

Take the High Ground

Richard Widmark and Karl Malden

steam locomotive #3271

They Live

Roddy Piper

view of diesel freight train

The Thin Man

(1934) William Powell and Myrna Loy

filmed on sound stage, trains are not SP

This Gun For Hire

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake

views of Cornfield Yard

Three Godfathers

John Wayne and Harry Carey, Jr.

SPNG 4-6-0 #9

Tough Guys

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas

4-8-4 #4449 pulls a Daylight passenger train

Trail of the Lonesome Pine

Fred MacMurray

4-6-2 #2423

Two Tars

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

1600 class 2-6-0



U

Under Siege II: Dark Territory

Steven Seagal

SP diesels pull a passenger train over the DRGW Moffat Route

Union Depot

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Blondell

Los Angeles Central Station

Union Station

William Holden and Nancy Olsen

LAUPT, 4-8-2 #4337 pulls a passenger train



V

Vertigo

James Stewart and Kim Novak

sign on top of 65 Market Street in San Francisco, "The Friendly"

Violent Saturday

Victor Mature, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine

diesel in Daylight scheme pulls a passenger train



W

Walk Softly, Stranger

Joseph Cotton

4-8-8-2 pulling a freight train

Wee Willie Winkie

Shirley Temple

4-8-4 pulling a passenger train

We've Never Been Licked

William Frawley and Noah Berry, Jr.

view of TNO Hustler passenger train

What Love Sees

(TV drama) Richard Thomas and Annabeth Gish

4-6-0 #2353 at Campo

While the City Sleeps

(1956) Dana Andrews

PE Subway and Hollywood cars substitute for New York City subway

Whispering Smith Speaks

(1935) George O’Brien

Santa Paula branch, Saugus, AC-5, P-1, and more

White Christmas

Bing Crosby 

F-units on passenger train on Redlands branch

White Heat

James Cagney and Virginia Mayo

4-6-2 #2440 at Hasson

Wide Open Town

William Boyd and Andy Clyde

views of SPNG

Wild Boys of the Road

(1933) Frankie Darro and Dorothy Coonan

2-10-2 #3745

Winners of the West

(1940) Dick Foran

views of trains

Wolves of the Rails

William S. Hart

?

World of Comedy

(1962) Harold Lloyd

compilation of his funniest moments



X

none

 

 



Y

You're Never Too Young

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

view of GS class 4-8-4



Z

none