Topic: An obvious but quite distant connection - Solved by a few Americans (North & South) and a Briton.

[Ray B.]

Here are three characters. There is an obvious but quite distant connection between them. In this connection there are two cars and two other vehicles.
Please tell us who they are, define who is at the center at the connection (the other two being at each end) and find the connection, with all the necessary details. You know how detailed answers are appreciated around here.
Two points for that.
Four more points may be won by identifying the two cars (year, make and model please) and the two other vehicles of this connection.

Connection #1  

Connection #2  

Connection #3  

Already identified: Spencer Tracy (as...?)

[Ray B.]

Is that all? I didn't think it would be so difficult.
Here is how it goes:
Character A--> Link 1 (vehicle) --> Link 2 (car)--> Link 3 --> Character B--> Link 4--> Link 5 (car)--> Link 6 (vehicle)--> Character C
No big deal.
Now one of these faces should be easily recognized...

[Ray B.]

 

[Otto Puzzell]

OK - is the second face Spencer Bonaventure Tracy?

[Ray B.]

That's right of course, although not in his everyday clothing.

[guido66]

Is a Chevrolet Bonaventure one of the cars you're after?

[Ray B.]

No. And Spencer Tracy's second name doesn't play any part in this puzzle.

[guido66]

How about this DeSoto with Spencer Tracy in the advert?

[Ray B.]

... although not in his everyday clothing...

No De Soto.

[Otto Puzzell]

#3 is en engineer?

[Ray B.]

Nope, but he is the only one of the three related to the automotive business.

[Ray B.]

Do you puzzlers need a little help?

I said that twice, somewhere in this distant connection, some of the links were cars. This is a car puzzle site after all !
Her are two pictures that will surely help you find which cars I have in mind:

[streamliner]

Is #3 Joseph Frazer?

[Ray B.]

Nope.
I said he was related to the automotive business. I meant loosely, not as someone who would have his name on an automobile.
I you read my reply#1, you'll see that in this chain none of the three is directly connected to a car.

[Ray B.]

I just attached an uncropped version of the Spencer Tracy picture so it would appear as a thumbnail in the puzzles list.
He is seated in one of the vehicles you need to identify.

[Joćo]

I just attached an uncropped version of the Spencer Tracy picture so it would appear as a thumbnail in the puzzles list.
He is seated in one of the vehicles you need to identify.

Well that looks like a boat! So it must be the film "Plymouth Adventure" ! The logo of Plymouth featured a rear view of the Mayflower ship which landed at Plymouth Rock. However, the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth Binder Twine, chosen by Joe Frazer for its popularity among farmers...

[Ray B.]

Thanks Joao! This puzzle needed someone to get started.
As you guessed, Tracy is here as Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower, in The Plymouth Adventure, and the stylized ship was used as a hood ornament on the Plymouth automobiles.

I tell you right now: the one below is not the right year.

Now where do we go from here?

[streamliner]

Well, I stalled on this one also, but could this be at least in part what you're looking for:

Character A:

Link 1 (vehicle):

Link 2 (car):        1937 Plymouth 4-Door Sedan

Link 3:           Hood ornament is the Mayflower

Character B:        Christopher Jones, Captain of the Mayflower

Link 4:           Spencer Tracy

Link 5 (car):       Triumph Mayflower

Link 6 (vehicle):

Character C:

[Ray B.]

Thanks. You're wrong for some of this, or mostly repeat informations found by Joao, but you make one big step by giving us the correct year for the Plymouth. Wrong model though. The Triumph Mayflower doesn't belong to this puzzle.

Now we have:

Character A (or C, it doesn't matter): Christopher Jones (Joao), Captain of the Mayflower, played by Spencer Tracy (Otto Puzzell)
Link 1 (vehicle): The Mayflower (Joao)
Link 2:  Plymouth "Mayflower" hood ornament (Joao)
Link 3 (car):  1937 Plymouth DeLuxe Coupe (streamliner)
Link 4: High Sierra (streamliner)
Character B:         
Link 5:
Link 6 (see picture below):  
Link 7: Honkytonk Man (Joao)
Link 8 (car) 1937 Lincoln Model K convertible sedan (Joao)
Link 9: Lincoln "greyhound" hood ornament (Tom_I)
Link 10 (vehicle): A Greyhound bus (Tom_I)
Character C: Carl Wickman, founder of Greyhound Lines Inc. (Tom_I)

I maybe hadn't given the number of links that can be explained in this puzzle. And without one of them (N°6) it would be hard to solve. Sorry about that. It is shown in the attached picture.

[Joćo]

Jones was born in about 1570 in Harwich, Essex, England...You“re looking for an Essex?


Plymouth“s hood ornaments :

[Ray B.]

No. The connection with Jones has already been found by yourself: The Mayflower (Link 1), Then the "Mayflower" hood ornament of the Plymouth automobile (Link3).
Why search for another? Now try to understand how the next link (4) leads to character B.

[streamliner]

Let's try a 1937 Plymouth P4 De Luxe, although the interior of your Plymouth was also incorrectly id'd:



Anyway, could link 4 be a movie, perhaps?

[Ray B.]

Let's try a 1937 Plymouth P4 De Luxe, although the interior of your Plymouth was also incorrectly id'd:

Was it? Sorry, I trusted my source. I'll check anyway. 1937 is the correct year, the model is still wrong. I believe that you'll find the correct one, together with  the next link if you google what you already have. You're on your way.

[streamliner]

I think your photo is of the P4, as it has the vent window on the front door (the P3 didn't have the vent window).

But...  Since the interior looks almost identical to the 1937 Plymouth Coupe that Humphrey Bogart drove in "High Sierra" as well as in "The Big Sleep", I'll go with that, along with the next link to the next character...

[Ray B.]

1937 Plymouth P4 is right (I'll post other pictures of a 1937 dashboard: you'll see that mine was correctly identified.)
Now you're right about the next link being a film. You just need a little more googling to find the right one. (locked for you again).