Bruce Willis plays cat burglar Hudson Hawk in a somewhat lame, somewhat bizarre spoof that is redeemed only by the presence of a gorgeous, custom-built 1955 Imperial limousine.
Below are several still pictures from the movie. In order to play, just click any of the pictures below--click on a small picture for a small (7.9 Meg) movie, or a large picture to view a larger, high quality clip suitable for viewing in "full-screen" mode; file size is 61 Meg. Left click to view the movie directly, or save to your hard drive by right-clicking and selecting "Save Target As". If you need help viewing, go to our "How To Play Imperial Movies" page. Enjoy!
| Bruce Willis, a.k.a. Hudson Hawk, has just been kidnapped and shipped to Rome in a coffin, where he wakes up and is picked up by a limousine. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| But not just any limousine--this is a custom-stretched 1955 Imperial. 1955 (as opposed to 1956) styling cues seen in this shot are the round wheel openings and chrome-plated headlight bezels. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| Our first full view of the '55 Imperial limousine as it drives off... | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| ...and reveals its equally lovely rear. 1955 cues back here include the bumper with holes for the dual exhaust pipes, different side trim with a "dip" at the rear door, and of course, the more sedate tailfins, before they were raised for '56. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| Inside we see the one-of-a-kind appointments of this '55 limousine, which was created especially for the movie. The sunroof was definitely never a factory option, either! | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| The villain of the movie, who also owns the car, uses one of its unique "options" to shred a document. The paper goes in where the ashtray and lighter would be... | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| ...and comes out through what is normally the a/c intake duct. What a hoot! | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| Side view shows how much looooonger this car is than a factory 1955 Crown Imperial limousine. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| A good close-up of the roofline, showing the padded top, long doors and large emblem of the villain, "Mayflower". | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| The '55 Imperial limo holds its stylish face high even in the face of this insult! | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| The bad guys have shipped Hudson Hawk's friend, played by Danny Aiello, over to Rome to use as bait, and now they plan to kill him. At least his last views on earth will be pleasant ones of the Imperial's interior. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| After a struggle for the gun between Aiello and the villain "Mayflower", the chauffeur gets shot. He then involuntary stomps on the gas and shifts the Imperial into drive, using the one-year-only lever mounted on the dash. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| And the Imperial squeals off, first giving us a view of its custom wheel covers. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| One of the other bad guys (a CIA agent, but the plot's not worth going into) lands on the limousine's hood. Luckily, it looks like he's a light enough dummy not to do any damage. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| The evil Mayflower jumps out of the car, the chauffeur locks Danny Aiello in, and then Mayflower shoots a missile containing a bomb at the 1955 Imperial, where it sticks on the limousine's decklid. Nice view of the eagle emblem. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
| Seconds later, the Imperial goes off a cliff and explodes in flames. Not to fear, though--they certainly would not have used the real car in this scene. See further commentary below. | |
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| 7.9 Meg | 61 Meg |
From Chip Weichelt:
The 1955 Imperial limo in the movie Hudson Hawk was made by Empire Coach in the New England area, possibly New York or Boston but I can't remember. There was a short article about it in the Limousine and Chauffeur magazine. The car cost the studio $200,000, and I spoke with the lady who coordinated the several 55 and 56 Imperials that were purchased for the conversion. I believe that the car that went over the cliff was just a mock-up of the body that was also constructed. The movie was funded by a producer from Italy. Money was no object when it came to making this film and it was a big success in Europe. It would be interesting to find out what happen to the stretch after the movie, it's probably in Italy. Also, Bruce Willis did not want to do the movie, but owed a favor to the producer and reluctantly agreed to do it.
