L.A. Confidential

Starring… Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell, David Strathairn L.A. Confidential
About The Movie -

1950's Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir-ish tale of police corruption. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style. Ed Exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out. Bud White, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control. Jack Vincennes, always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.

 

The Fifth Avenue Connection -

After the success of the Devil In a Blue Dress project, Randy got another referral, this time to the transportation director at Warner Brothers Studio. The transportation director was scheduled to begin filming a movie entitled LA Confidential based on the novel by James Elroy. The studio had just spent about ten weeks transforming an eight-block area of old downtown Los Angeles into 1950.

 

The director had some major concerns about the six 1950 Ford police cars that were complete with working overhead lights and siren. In addition, there was a plain detective car and the 1950 Chevrolet car that Danny DeVito would drive in the movie. Randy put together a proposal of recommended upgrades that were to be completed to each of the primary cars to be used in the movie.

 

The Fifth Avenue 6-volt alternators along with the rest of Randy's, recommended upgrades were accepted and worked perfectly. If you listen to the cars starting during the movie it is a good testimonial to Randy and his 6- volt alternators. The best advertisement for Randy was in the final scene when all of the police cars came charging over the hill side by side… all of the headlights on bright, all of the flashing red lights on, and the sirens screaming full blast!

 

That is an impressive sight. It becomes even more impressive when you realize all of those cars are still 6-volt cars.

 

Randy tried to arrange for a cameo appearance in this movie. (Hey it never hurts to ask…?) Randy wanted to be sitting on a park bench, reading the newspaper, when the city bus drove by, or be a passenger on the bus looking out the window, much like Alfred Hitchcock would have done.

 

It turns out that was more difficult request than he first thought. Like the transportation portion of the film industry, you have to first be a member of the proper union, and in the case of Randy's proposed cameo, also must be a member of the Screen Actors, Guild. Finally, you need an agent to represent you…and one final but important detail… the part has to be written into the script.

 

Randy says that working on movie studio, projects are a great, learning experience. It takes about three times as long to prepare a group of movie studio cars as it does the average antique car entered in the Great Race.

 

That is due in part to having so many more people involved, and the logistics are much greater for everything. The movie projects have been a great way for Fifth Avenue to establish some credibility within a new market, and allowed Randy to have a little fun.

 

When the movie premiered at the local theatre in Manhattan Kansas, Randy placed a real antique car in the lobby and set up a display explaining his connection to the movie. That was a movie theatre first… to have a full sized antique car in the lobby of the theatre. The car fit through the lobby doors only after removing the doors themselves and all the hardware associated with the doors along with an additional assortment of parts and pieces. There was a running bet among the locals that the car was not going to fit. It did with half of an inch to spare on either side.

Fifth Avenue Facts

Randy designed and built the first 6-volt alternator in 1987. Up to that point there was no such thing as a 6-volt alternator, only modern 12-volt alternators were available.