The Real Machine-Gun Walker CaseThe entire screenplay is meticulously built around the actual, bloody Los Angeles police investigation of Erwin “Machine-Gun” Walker. Walker was a brilliant former police dispatcher and World War II veteran who suffered a massive psychological breakdown. His deep inside knowledge of police radio frequencies and tactical procedures allowed him to completely … Read more
The Stolen Studio Buick To save time and money, director Edgar G. Ulmer “borrowed” his wife’s private luxury car—a 1941 Buick—for the shoot without telling the producers. This is the main car you see in the movie. Since Ulmer had zero budget for insurance or permission to use private property on a commercial set, the … Read more
Cheap Sound Effects and Studio Cuts Operating on a very tight budget, the audio department had to resort to desperate, cost-cutting measures. The sound recordist, John Kean, didn’t have the cash to capture original sound effects for the climactic, fog-drenched airport shootout. Instead, the crew simply recycled generic, old gunshot echoes and distant plane engine … Read more
The Hollywood Strike Chaos of 1945 The production of Behind Green Lights was caught right in the middle of one of the most violent labor wars in Hollywood history—the 1945 Hollywood Black Friday strike. 20th Century-Fox was operating under extreme pressure as thousands of set decorators and crew members picketed outside the studio gates. To … Read more