MovieChat Forums > Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Discussion > Incident that Inspired this Film

Incident that Inspired this Film

posted 13 years ago by FEF312
1 reply | jump to latest

During the December 2011 podcast of "The Projection Booth" re "Electra Glide in Blue", the screenwriters of the film indicated that the film was based on an incident where an Arizona motorcyle patrolman was shot off his motorcyle and killed by a man shooting from the back window of a camper. This tragic murder became the seed for the film, and the source of the stunning end sequence of "Electra Glide in Blue".

FYI, I found a description of the real incident, which occured on December 28, 1970. The murdered Officer was motorcycle patrolman Albert Bluhm. The confessed killer was James D. Parle. Link to the case summary below:

http://az.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19740424_0040300.AZ.htm/qx

Patrolman Albert Bluhm R.I.P.
http://www.odmp.org/officer/1962-police-officer-albert-r-bluhm

Projection Booth Podcast:

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2011/12/episode-42-electra-glide-in-blue.html

James D Parle Mugshot
http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Arizona/Maricopa-County-AZ/James-D-Parle.4681316/details/

[–] jporter-6 12 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to research and provide the documentation.

The real-life incident happened at Christmas time the year I graduated from college.

One of the things that happened during our days of mourning for the officer here in Phoenix was that some guys showed up and gave a small donation for Officer Bluhm's family. They recognized him from his picture in our morning paper. These four guys had been sitting on the curb at a drive-in restaurant one morning. On his way out the door, Officer Bluhm gave the cashier a little extra money and asked the cashier to give the guys some coffee.

These years later, I appreciate your memorial here.