Caterpillar equipment has a long history of appearing in feature films, including a little-known “short” that moviegoers in 1931 got to see in which Cat machines of that era traversed rugged, hilly terrain and crashed through buildings.
It was called “The Great Tractor Race” and gives a humorous look at what the new company, formed in 1925, had to offer, including the Cat Ten, Twenty, Thirty and Sixty. In the video at the end of this article, you can watch the old film along with commentary from Caterpillar Archivist Lee Fosburgh.
The promotional film made in partnership with Paramount Pictures shows the now-vintage track-type tractors with no cabs – and definitely no ROPS or FOPS – crawling up and down steep berms at top speed. One operator even falls off his tractor and then hops back on.
The Cats then crash through old buildings. In one instance, a barn collapses behind one tractor that has just bulled though its center.
Despite the rumors over the years, no one was injured or died in the making of the film, which was shot in the Peoria, Illinois, area, where Caterpillar had begun manufacturing its machinery, Fosburgh says.
At the end of the race, the winner is presented with a prize that might have come more in handy before the event – a pillow, presumably to protect his backside.
Fosburgh notes that the short came out about six months before Caterpillar’s first diesel-powered tractors revolutionized the construction industry, transitioning the company from primarily farm equipment to earthmoving machines.
So to see a fun slice of Caterpillar history and some classic vintage machines in action, check out “The Great Tractor Race” below:
