This Hollywood movie car made only a single appearance, as far as we know. But with its over-the-top styling, it certainly made an entrance.
Emil Deidt of Culver City, California is best known today as a master metal shaper, fabricator, and race car builder. Among his many accomplishments, he built the two Blue Crown Spark Plug Indy cars for car owner Lou Moore. Front-drive specials powered by 270 cubic-inch Offenhausers, they ran away with the Indianapolis 500 in 1947 and 1948 with drivers Mauri Rose and Bill Holland, finishing first and second both years.
Deidt also performed the metal shaping and fabrication work for the Norman Timbs Special, the famed mid-engine Buick custom. But meanwhile, Deidt also found the time to construct a far-out custom car for a 1936 Hollywood movie, Mr. Cinderella, produced by Hal Roach Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
A classic Depression-era screwball comedy, Mr. Cinderella starred Jack Haley, known to the world as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, and future consumer advocate Betty Furness. He plays a barber posing as a millionaire, while she is the daughter of an auto tycoon—which is where the fabulously styled car comes in. As far as know, this was the Deidt custom’s only appearance, save for a small item in Modern Mechanix magazine.
It seems the Randolph Motor Company is trying to introduce a new lightweight diesel powerplant, and the Deidt custom is the prototype vehicle. The engine blows up in its first demonstration, but the barber (and the butler, played by Arthur Treacher) step in and save the day. Beyond that, we won’t even try to summarize the story, a zany tangle of slapstick, missed signals, and mistaken identities. We’ll just say that if you ever get the chance to see it, Mr. Cinderella (currently available on DVD) is well worth the time, especially for car enthusiasts with a sense of humor.
That is a very cool and advanced looking car! I wonder if it still exists?
To my knowledge, it hasn’t been seen since. It’s hard to say, but when you look closely in the movie, the car appears to be a somewhat basic glider. That makes it easier to guess it was probably scrapped.
I’m looking at the door seams, which seem different on the driver’s and passenger’s side, and wondering if the doors would even open, given the fenders and the windshield configuration.