My Mother the Car (1965)
Retrofit Drive In Complete with a Talking Car, a Singing Hen, and Mother Popcorn
Something a little different for the celebratory Mother’s Day Weekend. A ride that tells you to clean up your room, always wear fresh underwear in case of an accident, and warns you that you will shoot your eye out with that AK-47.
Unlike classics such as The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), The Addams Family (1991), and Bewitched (2005), My Mother the Car did not stick with the culture long enough to warrant a big budget cinematic remake. The reasons for its classic forgetability really boil down to one overdriving factor. It wasn’t very good.
It was a one-joke wonder that achieved what it set out to do in the first five minutes. Goofy Dave Crabtree picks up a really old clunker only to find out that his vehicle is his mother, reinCARnated. The lead was played well and funny by Dick’s little brother Jerry Van Dyke (1931-2018).
Jerry’s career was in the fast lane at the time, so much so that he turned down Gilligan’s Island for this chance to be in the driver’s seat. His mother’s voice, came through the car radio even though 1928 automobiles had yet to offer that amenity. The voice was that of Ann Sothern (1909-2001).
The possessed car was supposed to be a fictional name and model so as to avoid weekly free shoutouts for the likes of Ford and Chevy. After much research, the creators invented the never never car, a 1928 Porter. Side note: it was discovered long after the fact that there was indeed a Portermobile manufactured in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They produced 36 cars from 1919-1922.
For the TV show, two vehicles were devised by George Barris, using 1927 Ford Model T Touring cars, a Maxwell, a Hudson and 327 Chevy V8 engines. The next year Barris would create the TV Batmobile for Adam West, starting with a 1956 Lincoln Futura. The two My Mother cars now reside in Maine and Tennessee. One of them sold at auction in 2017 for $50,000.
Show creators Alan Burns and Chris Hayward would have bigger hits, including Barney Miller for Hayward and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, and Lou Grant for Burns. Together they were responsible for Rocky and Bullwinkle, Get Smart, and The Munsters.
Critics hated the ride. My Mother the Car chugged along for one season (30 episodes!) debuting Sept 14, 1965 and getting the checkered flag April 5, 1966. Since it never got the big screen treatment, Retrofit Drive In presents the first three half-hour episodes.
Also on tap, Queen Tika brings Gene Autry back to life in Chapter 8 of The Phantom Empire, a sweet Mama hen gets a day off thanks to her Depression Era Dixie chicks, and The Godfather of Soul blows up the concession stand!
Happy motoring Mother’s Day!
Feature: MY MOTHER THE CAR S1 E1 (1965) “Come Honk Your Horn”
Feature: MY MOTHER THE CAR S1 E2 (1965) “The De Fenders”
Feature: MY MOTHER THE CAR S1 E3 (1965) “What Makes Aunty Freeze”
Serial: THE PHANTOM EMPIRE Chapter 8 “Jaws Of Jeopardy”
Cartoon: MOTHER HEN’S HOLIDAY (1937)
Extra: “Mother Popcorn” by James Brown
