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The Ridgeway, Minn., couple took part last week in the filming of “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp in Columbus, Wis. They were chosen after the movie’s car wrangler put out a call for cars.
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The movie, based on a book of the same name by Bryan Burroughs, chronicles the rise and fall of the FBI during the early 1930s as they targeted gangster John Dillinger. The Maynards’ 1933 Graham was exactly what the movie’s crew was looking for.
“When you see it, there’s no doubt in your mind. It’s a gangster car,” Scott Maynard said.
Scott’s grandfather bought the car in 1935. Scott’s aunts and uncles took to calling it the “gangster wagon,” but it had been out of the family for 50 years. Scott spent six years obsessively trying to find it. He finally found the Graham 20 miles away from his grandfather’s former home in Brillion, Wis.
“The car is very unique,” Scott said, noting it is one of only four of that particular make and model.
Scott, an engineer at TRW, spent many long nights working on the car. He had to finish its brakes, install a gas tank and put wheels on it. He had only five weeks to get the car ready for the film.
They took the Graham by trailer to Columbus and were on the set by 5 a.m. They were told not to ask for autographs or bother the stars. Starring with Depp in the film is Christian Bale who plays FBI agent Melvin Purvis.
The people in charge of the cars during shooting ran them through a dirt bath, spraying the wheels with dust to make them look old and dirty.
The scene the Maynards and the Graham star in is one in which Depp as Dillinger is robbing the Green Castle Indiana Bank.
“Our role was to go up the street and take a right turn,” Scott said. “We must have done that between 15 and 20 times.”
The last movie Scott’s wife, Kristie, remembers seeing at the theater was “Charlotte’s Web.” The filming gave the stay-at-home mom a temporary break from the couple’s three children, ages 1, 5 and 8.
“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” Kristie said. “We couldn’t pass it up.”
It rained in the morning during filming, but the sun came out in the afternoon.
“Fire trucks had to hose down the street to match the scene from the morning,” Kristie said. “It was amazing to see all those little details you don’t think about.”
The couple’s favorite part was visiting with other old car enthusiasts, most of whom were retired. All had stories about how they came to have their classic automobile.
“There were very few where it was just a car to them,” Kristie said.
It took more than four hours to film the scene which likely will only last a few minutes on the big screen. The Maynards may also take part in April for more filming in Oshkosh and Madison.
Depp’s pay is in the millions. The Maynards got enough for gas.
“There was nobody there doing it for the money,” Scott said. “I’m sure there are old car guys who would pay to have this experience.”
Contact Käri Knutson at kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
