How The 'Jason Takes Manhattan' Production Became Potato Importers

The logistics of Jason having the ability to sail the houseboat of Suzy Donaldson and Jim Miller (seen in the opening of the film) from Crystal Lake to the port where the S.S. Lazarus is docked is still debated to this day and brings up a lot of interesting and funny discussions on how little ol' Crystal Lake has an outlet to a salt water ocean. Well, those details were left to the wayside by the Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan crew as a movie had to be made and thus the majority of the film takes place on the S.S. Lazarus.

In actuality, there were three ships utilized for Jason Takes Manhattan; a practical ship (S.S. Lazarus) that was in the water, a second ship that was sitting in a dry dock, and a third ship used for certain interior scenes. There was even part of a boat built on a stage for some interior filming. The journey of using the S.S. Lazarus for filming in Canada is a rather unique and funny one.

According to producer Randolph Cheveldale, the ship had recently been won in a poker game in Washington, and the new owner didn’t know what the to do with it. The production crew acquired the ship from him for filming, but getting it into Canada was a huge headache due to all of the existing Canadian boats that were already available in the country. To legally use the ship in Canada, Cheveldale and crew decided to import a load of potatoes with the ship! As he put it, "Here we are supposed to be shooting a movie, and now we’re a potato delivery service!".

It is indeed a funny story and one of many found within the film and the Friday The 13th franchise that showcases what the creatives involved had to endure to bring Jason Voorhees and his adventures to the big screen.