Whuzzat #18 - Van Heflin, Charles Bovary and Charles Bovari

[Ray B.]

Who is he, and what is his connection with a particular automobile?

Only a complete answer will be worth a point.

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[Ray B.]

I think that this one deserves the pros...

[Ray B.]

This guy he's quite easy to recognize. The car is another story...

[Aaron65]

Is it Jimmy Cagney?  If so, is the car the 1934 Auburn Salon Cabriolet he drove in The Mayor of Hell and was recently restored?

[Ray B.]

An actor, but not Cagney. And the car is not a car that he drove.

[neilshouse]

Van Heflin?

If that's correct then is the associated car the Mercury XM-800?

[Ray B.]

Good eye! That is Van Heflin, although more well groomed that we're used to see him.
But that's not the car (and I'm interested to learn what was his connection with the XM-800).

[Otto Puzzell]

Locked for neilshouse, I presume?

[Ray B.]

Not locked, I didn't say so, because I warned that this guy would be easy to find.

[neilshouse]

(and I'm interested to learn what was his connection with the XM-800).

He featured in the same film as the car, (Woman's World 1954), not sure if he drove it though.

I'm glad it's not locked for me as I have no other ideas yet.

[Ray B.]

Not that kind of connection either.

[woodinsight]

I believe that in the 1954 film "A Woman's World", Clifton Webb starred as the owner of the fictional Gifford Motors and Van Heflin was a candidate for the position of General Manager. Cars were provided by the Ford Motor Co. - Fords, Mercurys, Lincolns, several "dream cars" and styling models - for use in the film.
I haven't been able to associate Van Heflin with any particular car and I haven't watched the film.
Doubt if that's enough for you but perhaps someone can be more specific?

[Ray B.]

You both mean this film? (see below).
That's not it, nor any of these cars)

[woodinsight]

It was just a shot in the dark but worth a try nonetheless......

[Otto Puzzell]

Perhaps you're looking for this Cadillac, or the Studebaker pickup, from 1951's The Prowler?

[Ray B.]

Not a car he drove, nor a car in one of his films.

[Otto Puzzell]

How about a 1947 Plymouth, deployed as an LAPD patrol car, like this one?

In 1947, the Adventures of Philip Marlowe, starring Van Heflin came to Radio in the Summer of 1947 as a Pepsodent Program replacement for their wildly popular show starring Bob Hope. Said Heflin of his immersion into the role:

We rode in the back seat of Radio Car 11-A, operated by two pleasant young policemen, John Breisingher, who drove, and Bill Lesner, who kept a log of our maneuvers.
"Car Eleven-A," the voice of a woman dispatcher droned over the dashboard radio.  That was us!--and sharp-chinned, curly-haired Van (and I) sat forward eagerly.  "In the 200 block on East Seventh Street--merchandise on sidewalk."  That seemed a curious complaint.

At the address, two men were pushing electric stoves and refrigerators into a store.  Officer Lesner verified that they were the owners, not burglars. We drove into the river bed to look for vagrants.  The officers arrested a drunk who turned out to be an ex-convict. We broke up a beer joint quarrel--one man claimed another had robbed him.  We went through a second-floor flophouse (beds, 25 cents) where the air reeked, a drunk lay on the corridor floor. The stooped and nearly toothless proprietor complained that a nearby rescue mission was keeping his 310 tenants awake with their hymns, piano, and drum.  Officer Bresingher exacted a promise form the revivalists to recess activities henceforth at 9 p.m.

Van's earnest comment was:  "I don't see how this could ever get monotonous!"  

[Ray B.]

Nice story, Otto. I didn't know that he had done Marlowe in a radio show. But that's not it.
It's a rather tongue-in-cheek connnection, and not a car he ever sat his butt in.
But a car which can be found somewhere at Autopuzzles.

[Otto Puzzell]

This one?

http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=5367.msg19490#msg19490

[Ray B.]

Not this one, but you're on the right track.

[Otto Puzzell]

Two hunches; two dead ends. Marlowe could appreciate this.

[Ray B.]

But you're closer with that second one than with the police car.

[Wendax]

Van Heflin played Athos in the movie "The three Musketeers" and
http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=2098.0
was converted for the "Three Musketeers' Team". Is that the sought after relation?

[Ray B.]

Not that either.
(and no further comment because I usually am too generous with my clues).

[Tom_I]

Was "Prowler" the right answer, but for the wrong reason?

The name is shared by the 1951 Heflin film and the 1997 Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler.