"Written on the Wind" & J2X 3144

Click here or any of the photos to view the "Written on the Wind" car gallery.

Several folks may remember the classic 1956 Hollywood movie “Written on the Wind” – starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, and Robert Stack. The basic plot centers on an alcoholic playboy Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack) who marries the woman secretly loved by his poor but hard-working best friend, who in turn is pursued by Kyle’s nymphomaniac sister.

All that aside, a bit player is the bright yellow Allard J2X that serves as Robert Stack’s mount in the movie. There has been broad speculation over the years about whatever happened to that car, and some recent developments might shed some light on this. Colin Comer recently purchased J2X 3144 at auction from the VanKriegeten Collection. VanKriegeten was reportedly a friend of Howard Hughes, and was known to buy cars from the Hollywood movie guys when they sold them off.”

While in the process of refurbishing it, the found that – even though the body had been stripped during a prior restoration – they found remnants of bright yellow paint on some trim, on the wheels, and on one wheel trim ring.

According to Bob Lytle (who knows all, and has no qualms about making things up if he does not), studios frequently changed the colors on cars they rented for a particular movie. Their practice was to spray the whole car with a water soluble clear coat and then apply the color coat on top of that. After the shooting was over, the new color coat would be washed off with little or no damage to the original paint.