1949 Cadillac Series 75 Custom Limousine

Between 1947 and 1949, MGM Studios ordered six Series 75 Cadillac sedans from Hillcrest Cadillac, in Beverly Hills. The cars were then dispatched to Maurice Schwartz, for custom coachwork. This 1949 model was the sixth. Like other MGM cars, it was used to transport actors and support staff to-and-from location shoots.

Sometime in the late 1950s, while on a trip to Big Bear Lake, near San Bernardino, the driver missed a turn, the car left the road, rolled over, and sustained body damage. It was abandoned and sat in the brush for a decade, the wooden portions of the body deteriorating.

Believing it was the last of the six, a Los Angeles collector bought the car and managed to reconstruct the ash-framed doors, the B-pillars and repair the damaged body. It was finished in dark red, as opposed to the original black. In the late 1980s, it was sold to John Waite in Sacramento, where it was upgraded and refinished in the current color. The current owners acquired the car in 2011.

It is not unusual for movie stars and professional athletes to have a production car taken and modified to fit the owner's desires and purposes. It is also not too surprising that well-known people will create a custom series of cars that will have certain hallmark touches. This is all very well known. Forgotten is the fact that during the golden age of filmmaking, many of the movies were done on sets either at the studio itself or within a reasonable distance of the studio. In order for the film studio to keep up its own appearance, actors, producers, directors, and other important staff would be chauffeured around in the studio's own specially constructed series machines. The 1949 Cadillac Series 75 Custom Limousine that crossed the block at the RM Auction was one of those custom-built cars made for MGM.

MGM placed an order for six series 75 Cadillac chassis between 1947 and 1949. The order was placed with the local Beverly Hills dealer, Hillcrest Cadillac. The cars were then sent to famous craftsman Maurice Schwartz.

Schwartz, of the famous Bohman & Schwartz company, made a living at taking and building custom cars for famous movie stars and wealthy individuals throughout that time period. He had designed custom-built Duesenbergs for Clark Cable and Ethel Mars. He had even made special designs for Barbara Hutton and Rusty Heinz. Schwartz was also employed by the film studios to make special cars for films and other events. The Austrian-born craftsman was especially adept at wood carpentry and fashioning beautiful wood-framed bodies and trimmed automobiles. It is for this special skill Schwartz was employed by MGM and Hillcrest.

The car offered at the 2011 RM Auction in Arizona is the last of the six MGM Cadillacs custom-built by Maurice Schwartz and it is believed to be the only one still in existence. From a distance, the car appears to be similar to that of the Fleetwood-bodied production cars, but, Schwartz's craftsmanship was to a whole different level. Following the lines of the original bodywork of the Cadillacs, Schwartz styled heavily customized and contoured wood paneling that blended beautifully with the rest of the car's design.

While it is different than other works by Schwartz, it does have hallmarks of his work. The fenders of the car are similar to another of Schwartz's works, specifically Gene Autry's six-door wood-body fastback limo. In addition, another of Schwartz's hallmarks is the roof rack, which this car also has.

This car has undergone a good deal of restoration throughout its life to get it into the condition it is today, for it did not sit idle during its life, at least not idle in a climate-controlled building. The car suffered an accident and rested abandoned in the brush for more than a decade until it was rescued. The beautiful wood had deteriorated badly.

In the 1980s five Sacramento men bought it with the intention of restoring it. Al Robbins headed up the group and was skilled in wood craftsmanship. He began fashioning new body panels out of ash and mahogany. Originally, the car was refinished in a red paint scheme. Robbins repaired the roof of the car and installed a roof rack reconstructed from parts from another car. The car had rolled a couple of times during the accident decades back and the roof was badly damaged.

The project was taking a good deal of time and was also costing a good deal of money. This led to each of the Sacramento men, with the exception of Robbins, to drop out of the project. This led to the car being purchased by John White for his Ramshead Collection. While part of the Ramshead Collection the car went through meticulous restoration work until it was completed into its present form.

The interior was almost entirely redone, using Hogshead carpeting and Bedford cord with alligator trim. One of the many little details the Ramshead staff performed on the car was having MGM logos placed on the interior of the rear doors.

The car also went through a thorough rebuild of all of its mechanical components. The car's 160 bhp, 331 cubic inch V-8 engine went through an entire overhaul. Its four-speed Hydra-Matic transmission also went through a thorough overhaul. The red finish remained, however.

In the mid-1990s the car was purchased from Ramshead and was re-finished in a beautiful dark green color. Though not in its original black finish, overall, the car is a very attractive Series 75. A lot of hard work and love has been poured into this rare custom car. Much of its intriguing history and custom features makes it an eye-catcher. It is a wonderful canvas in which to reflect, remember and enjoy the genius and craftsmanship of Maurice Schwartz and the golden era of film-making.

Sources:
'Buy: Featured Lots (Lot 253: 1949 Cadillac Series 75 Custom Limousine)', (http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=AZ11&CarID=r215). RM Auctions Arizona. http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=AZ11&CarID=r215. Retrieved 4 January.

By Jeremy McMullen