The Illinois Nazis made several appearances in “The Blues Brothers,” including when the Bluesmobile forces them off a bridge and into a lagoon during a demonstration. That scene was filmed in Jackson Park behind the Museum of Science and Industry.
But another memorable chase took place at the end of the movie with the Nazis in hot pursuit of Jake and Elwood.
But although the chase was actually just three minutes of screen time, filming took place in three states — and involved a whole lot of prep.
Here’s how it unfolded:
1. West Loop
The chase begins on the 900 block of West Jackson as a red Ford Pinto and a green station wagon carrying the Nazis pursue the Bluesmobile.
2. Milwaukee
The chase then jumps to a then-unfinished bridge on a Milwaukee freeway. The Bluesmobile flips backward (filmmakers used a five-foot model of the car for that), but the Nazis aren’t so lucky.
3. Lake Shore Drive and Chicago River
The Pinto plunges to earth. The car was dropped from a helicopter at more than 1,000 feet in the air near Lake Shore Drive and the Chicago River in an area formerly used to store salt. Before the FAA would give permission to drop the car just 500 feet from the Drive, filmmakers were required to do a test in a field at 123rd and Doty to ensure the car would indeed drop straight down and would not veer off.
4. Hollywood
The Nazis land on a streetscape that was part of a set formerly used for the TV show “Marcus Welby, M.D.” at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
