Not all movie stars are flesh and blood -- some are made of metal! In this Shop Talk Blog post, we take a lighthearted look at the use of construction equipment in films, from the silent movies all the way up to Alien: Covenant.
Early Films Featuring Construction Equipment
An article in the Peoria Journal Star discussed how Caterpillar has been appearing in films for almost 90 years. The first appearance of construction equipment in a film dates back to a 1927 silent film entitled Man Power. This movie featured a Holt-Caterpillar tractor. This tractor has quite a responsibility as it helps its co-star get around in the film, deliver a cargo of dynamite, and rescue the leading lady.
The movie Earthworm Tractors was based on a series of books by a former employee of Holt Manufacturing. It was made in 1936 and prominently featured Caterpillar tractors with their usual logo replaced by the fictional Earthworm logo, and the tractors were a key part of the plot in this romantic film.
Hellfighters
Many heavy equipment enthusiasts are very familiar with the iconic image of megastar John Wayne in his role as Chance Buckman sitting in the cab of a Caterpillar D7 bulldozer. The film was the 1968 hit Hellfighters, which was based on the true story of the oilfield fire-fighting jobs of “Red” Adair. It turns out that Adair was the one who insisted on the use of Caterpillar-brand tractors for authenticity.
James Bond Franchise
James Bond is no stranger to construction equipment, according to a very informative article by the Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. It seems that in the 2006 film Casino Royale James Bond used a New Holland W190 wheel loader as his vehicle of choice to pursue one of his many enemies. Then, 2012, he was driving a Caterpillar 320 DL excavator while on top of a train in the film Skyfall. Caterpillar machines also served as background actors in the 1999 film The World is Not Enough.
Transformers Franchise
According to the Screen Rant character guide for this film franchise, here’s the heavy equipment that had roles in the Transformer films (these are all Decepticons, by the way)…
- Hightower is a Kobelco CK2500 crawler truss crane
- Long Haul is a green Caterpillar 773B dump truck
- Overload is a red Komatsu HD465-7 articulated dump truck
- Rampage is a red Caterpillar D9 bulldozer
- Scavenger is a Terex O&K RH 400 mining excavator
- Scrapmetal is a yellow Volvo EC700C crawler excavator with a Stanley UP 45SV universal processor attachment
- Scrapper is a yellow Caterpillar 992G scoop loader
These machines combine to form one massive transformer named Devastator. Let’s just say that construction equipment features heavily in this film franchise.
However, fear not! Trench, the CAT 320 excavator, fights or the Autobots. Not all is lost!
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
In this 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a JCB demolition team of about twenty machines was positioned destroy to lead character Arthur Dent’s home. Included in this fearsome convoy, according to Stackyard, was …
- JCB 8060 midi excavators
- JCB JS200 wheeled excavator
- JCB JS130 wheeled excavator
- JCB 722 dump truck
- JCB 456ZX wheeled loading shovel
- JCB 4CX backhoe loader
- JCB 3CX backhoe loader,
- JCB 411 wheeled loading shovel
- Loadall 532-120 telescopic handler
Alien Franchise
Although not featured as prominently, there aresome recognizable machines to be spotted in some of the films from the Alien franchise. In Aliens, a fictitious Caterpillar P-5000 Power Loader exoskeleton was used by Ripley in a fantastic battle with the Xenomorph queen. According to Construction Equipment Guide, Alien: Covenant included Loadall telehandlers, JCB skid steers, and some JS excavators -- all painted gold to give them a more futuristic appearance as they served as supporting characters in the terraforming bay.
Killdozer
There’s one film that featured a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer that CAT doesn’t like to talk about. It was a reportedly dreadful 1974 made-for-TV movie named Killdozer. In this film, as the title suggests, a CAT D9 bulldozer is possessed by an murderous spirit and goes on a deadly rampage. It seems that CAT doesn't think killing machines are good PR for the company, and we tend to agree.
Conclusion
Have we missed any films? Did your favorite big iron film appearance make the list? Let us known in the comments, and maybe we can do a part 2 to this topic.
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