Movies where a tanker truck explodes, and what was the first film to do it?

Cafe Society
1

It’s got to be one of the biggest action movie cliches out there. Some kind of frenzied car chase or gunfight is occurring, a giant gasoline tanker truck somehow gets caught in the fray, jackknifes/rolls over, plows into other cars, or is hit by gunfire, and-

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

I could have sworn I’ve seen this happen in a million action movies, such as nearly everything with Willischwarztallone in it. I’d be surprised if it hasn’t been spoofed in some parody or other at this point.

So, what are all the movies that you can think of where this cliched scene occurs? And does anyone know what the first movie to do it was?

2

Occurs…
Terminator, Twister, come to mind.

3

The first time it was done with some drama, suspense, and cinematographic style was in that lethal weapon with the iron man, flame thrower dude.

4

Dennis Weaver forced a tanker truck over a cliff in 1971’s Duel, but I can’t recall if it exploded. Plus, that one may not fit your criteria, as it logically arose out of the plot of the film, and was not a gratuitous tanker wreck/explosion/whathaveyou.

Sir Rhosis

5

James Cagney is on top of a huge gas tank when it explodes in **White Heat ** (1949). I wonder if that could have served as an inspiration.

6

I don’t think it did, the final scene simply has the truck mangled at the bottom of the ravine all the moving bits slowly coming to a rest and Weaver’s character chilling at the cliff top.

One of the Bond films had an example of such an event, one of the Dalton films, License to Kill IIRC.

7

IIRC, in the movie Three Kings, starring George Clooney, there was a scene where an Iraqi soldier fired an anti-tank rocket at a tanker truck, which proceeded to be blown in half and pour out a flood of milk into the streets.

And Terminator 2 had a tanker truck full of liquid nitrogen which IIRC jackknifed THEN flipped over and THEN broke up.

8

What about the one in Marathon Man in 1976?

9

In the movie North by Northwest, wasn’t it a tanker truck that was struck by the crop duster?

10

Was there a tanker at the gas station in The Birds? (1963)

11

Gas tankers blowing up are a staple of WW2 films. Of course, they’re mini-tankers, but tankers nonetheless.

12

Now that was hilarious. The audience is expecting a big noisy explosion, and instead you get creamy milk and the townspeople running out to scoop it up. A truly bizarre “war” film.

I’m going to go with this as being the likely origin of the exploding tanker truck meme, and also that of the terminally insane pilot who tries to mow down the hero despite the enormous risk to his own life. It’s certainly possible someone had a scene with an exploding tanker before, but I think the appearance in North By Northwest is what modern film makers know/pay homage to/rip off.

Stranger

13

They shot at the tanker in Thelma and Loiuse… and it went boom…

Stallone shot at the tanker in Tango and Cash, and

was filled with drugs, not petrol

Neither of them, clearly, would be the first to do it.

EDIT: Also, I believe that the ‘reveal’ of the Terminator’s endoskeleton in the original Terminator was the result of an exploding tanker.

And Robocop destroyed a petrol station by shooting at a tanker (or maybe a car) parked there.

14

Yup, a memorable Ahnald “Get out”, followed by one of those ridiculous “oh for god’s sake its BEHIND you,” moments.

That’s the first film, isn’t it? The villain Robocop was after destroyed the petrol/gas station by dropping a ciggie in the petrol spewing from the pump nozzle.