The story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.The story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.The story of Preston Tucker, the maverick car designer and his ill-fated challenge to the auto industry with his revolutionary car concept.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 8 wins & 9 nominations total
- Noble
- (as Corky Nemec)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The big three auto makers plotted against Tucker, not thrilled with the new competition. A real life courtroom drama ensues with a David vs. Goliath like battle with crooked politicians, bad journalism and a man with a big dream. Coppola put his heart and soul into the making of Tucker, much like the subject did into his car. This film is a fine example of bringing to life a man with a dream who never gave up; very inspirational.
No question, Preston Tucker was brilliant. When Uncle Sam requested designs for combat vehicles, he submitted, and demonstrated, a design which significantly blew away all competitors. He was turned down because his design significantly outperformed what Uncle Sam asked for. Small-minded individuals, mired in the relatively wimpy requirements, wouldn't take the more advanced design. It boggled his mind that they would turn down "steak with all the trimmings" in exchange for a "plain hamburger." I've been in the Military, so it doesn't surprise me.
When he wanted to make a point about safety, emphasizing the need for safety glass and seatbelts (which were NOT standard equipment at the time), he invited the appropriate people to lunch, served medium-rare roast beef, then showed pictures of people who'd died in car accidents. Lots of blood, lots of "raw meat." My driver's education teacher, trying to convince us to be safer drivers, did the same (minus the fancy lunch). Anyway, the similarities between what they saw on the screen, and what they'd just eaten, caused many of them to be "re-acquainted" with their lunch. I sincerely doubt they ever forgot the presentation, and his point was very well made.
I like this guy. He's whip-smart, practical, maybe a little too optimistic.
I identify with him.
And they broke him.
Welcome to reality. Bites, doesn't it?
In the end, he knows he's beaten, but he still gets the last word in. I hope I manage to do so well.
Anyway, this was an interesting supposedly- true-life story of how Preston Tucker got a raw deal form the Big Three car-makers of the day, and by the government after he built a much better automobile in 1948. The film details how the big boys made sure Tucker's company never sold any of those cars.
As mentioned, it's maddening to watch at times, to hear lies and false charges brought against a man who had the right ideas about car safety and engineering and was way ahead of his time.
The 1940s atmosphere in this film is very good and the old music is fun to hear, too. The cinematography is great, too, with some tinted vintage-type color at times. It looks wonderful on DVD.
The car is super to look at and admire. Jeff Bridges does a solid job of portraying Tucker, an upbeat, positive-thinking inventor. It also was refreshing to see a nice, supportive family, too. I enjoyed all the main actors in this film: Bridges, Joan Alen, Martin Landau, Frederic Forest, Elias Koteas and Christian Slater
Did you know
- TriviaOf the 51 Tuckers ever made, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola each own two.
- GoofsThe transport plane that the car is loaded into on the ground is a C-123 Provider, which made its first flight in October, 1949. The particular variant depicted (with jet pods) did not appear until the 1960s. The air-to-air footage shows a different airplane, a DHC-4 Caribou, which first flew in 1958.
- Quotes
Preston Tucker: [making his closing arguments to the jury] ... When I was a boy, I used to, uh... I used to read all about Edison, and the Wright brothers... Mr. Ford, they were, they were my heroes... 'rags to riches' that's not just the name of a book; that's, what this country was all about!... We invented the free enterprise system, where anybody, no matter who he was, where he came from, what class he belonged to... If he came up with a better idea, about ANYTHING, there's no limit to how far he could go... I grew up a generation too late I guess because now the way the system works... The loner; the dreamer; the CRACKPOT, who, comes up with some CRAZY IDEA that everybody LAUGHS at, that LATER, turns out to REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD... HE'S SQUASHED, FROM ABOVE, BEFORE HE EVEN GETS HIS HEAD OUT OF THE WATER, BECAUSE THE BUREAUCRATS, THEY'D RATHER KILL A NEW IDEA THAN LET IT ROCK THE BOAT!... IF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WERE ALIVE TODAY, HE'D BE THROWN IN JAIL FOR SAILING A KITE WITHOUT A LICENSE!
[jury laughs]
Preston Tucker: ... It's true!... We're all puffed up with ourselves now because we invented *the bomb*... Dropped the... Beat the daylights out of the Japanese; the Nazis... But if 'big business' closes the door on THE LITTLE GUY WITH A NEW IDEA, WE'RE NOT ONLY CLOSING THE DOOR ON PROGRESS, BUT WE'RE SABOTAGING EVERYTHING THAT WE FOUGHT FOR!... EVERYTHING THAT THE COUNTRY STANDS FOR! And one day, we're gonna find ourselves at the bottom of the heap, instead of king of the hill, having no idea how we got there; buying our radios and our cars from our former enemies!... I don't believe that's gonna happen; I *can't* believe it, cuz... if I ever, stop believing in plain old common horse-sense of the American people... there's no way I could get out of bed in the morning... Thank you.
- Crazy creditsPhotographs of the real Preston Tucker appear during the closing credits.
- Alternate versions2018 Blu-ray Disc release features a newly-film introduction to the film by director Francis Ford Coppola.
- How long is Tucker: The Man and His Dream?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Tucker: el hombre y su sueño
- Filming locations
- Sonoma, California, USA(Victorian Tucker residence and workshop filmed at Armstrong Estates)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $23,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,656,113
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,709,562
- Aug 14, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $19,656,113
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
