By Granny Creech
The other day I had the girls over for afternoon tea and cookies, and to catch up on the latest news around Squirrel Hollow. They all were here…Hester Grimple, Vespera Howler, Winifred Hawthorne, Esmeree Grimshaw and Elspeth Darkmoor.
We had a great time telling who was up to what, who had been where, who had been seen with whom, and general “girl talk.” As usual, the conversation got around to movies and who had seen what. I told them I had a neat little game to play with them and they seemed interested.
“I am going to name a famous movie and I want you to tell me the scene that stands out the most to you in that movie,” I said. “It should be fun and interesting!”
They squirmed and shifted in their chairs and big smiles came across their faces.
“Ready?” I asked. “Here we go.”
“Star Wars!”
“The Death Star attack!” or something similar echoed from their mouths almost simultaneously.
“Psycho!”
“The shower scene!” Everyone laughed because the answer came out in unison.
“The original “Hercules!”
“Steve Reeves!” shouted Elspeth, and we all laughed.
“Yes, we can all agree any scene Steve Reeves was in was the best,” I said, trying to regain control of the group. “But which scene stands out?”
“That iconic scene of him chained between the pillars at the end where he pulls the palace down,” chimed Hester. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“The Bridge on the River Kwai!”
“The bridge blowing up and the train crashing down.”
“Yes,” I said, “and all done full scale…no miniatures. One chance to get it right.”
“Casablanca!”
There was a pause. Vespera eventually said, ”As Time Goes By.” She said it with a lilt to her voice which sounded almost melancholic.
“The goodbye ending,” said Esmeree. “We’ll always have Paris.”
I was surprised at the quiet that overcame the group.
“I guess we all have been there…a case of lost love. Anyone who has experienced it can identify with that movie,” I said. “Well, let’s move on. “King Kong!”
“The Empire State Building!” The group sprang back to life. “I just go ape over that movie!” said Winifred. We all laughed and groaned.
“Forbidden Planet!”
“The attack of the ID monster!” They all agreed on that one.
“The Ten Commandments!”
“The parting of the Red Sea!” everyone shouted in unison, which brought everyone to uncontrollable laughter.
With that our movie trivia adventure ended, and we sat around talking about various movies and the fun we had going to the theaters. The afternoon ended and the girls all left for their respective abodes, with comments that the day’s activities had brought back many fond memories.
After they had gone, I reflected on the many movies I had brought up and the impact they have had on our collective psyches. Did the directors at the time realize that they were making masterpieces that would be remembered and talked about for decades to come?
I thought about that, and how these movies had developed loyal fans across the years, had won many different awards and had brought fame and fortune to the cast and crew. I remembered the thrill I had seeing these movies for the first time in theaters, either as first-run presentations or as reissues. Those were the good old days when blockbuster movies such as these were marketed as blockbusters. Publicity departments went all-out with newspaper and (later) TV advertising. Theater fronts became highly decorated with posters and giant standees, and the cast members’ names were highlighted in big letters. Premieres often featured huge carbon arc searchlights, which sent beams soaring into the night sky. It was quite a show, outside and inside.
When radio became an important medium and a part of American life and culture, businesses began using it as an effective method for reaching people with messages of all sorts, as well as news and entertainment. Enter the radio spot, which theater managers could use to saturate the airwaves with announcements of upcoming titles at the local theaters. The spots were as varied as the movies, but all tried their best to generate interest in the feature. Usually, the bigger the movie, the more powerful and varied the spots.
That’s why I was surprised when, about ten years ago, I won a 12” radio spot record for the 1956 original release of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, one of my all time favorite movies. I was expecting an extravaganza of audio hype but I was very disappointed as it was a very low-key presentation in terms of the visual spectacle which viewers were to see. As best I remember, it concentrated on the saga of Moses and his involvement with one of the greatest religions of the world.
I eventually wound up sending it to auction. This was well before my association with Zombos and his pals, so I have lately regretted its loss until…
I responded to and won an auction for a 10” record of spots which I figured out belonged to the 1966 re-release of the movie. I had hoped above hope that this set of spots would do justice to the movie. Luckily, and happily, I was right.
The 1966 re-release came almost ten years after its initial run and had years of built-up critical review, inspirational devotion and appreciation for the grand spectacle of the movie itself, from the outstanding cast, the high production values and, most importantly, the Academy Award-winning visual effects. The radio spots on this record took full advantage of all this and played it up to the max, including the new tagline, “The single most spectacular scene ever filmed: The Parting of the Red Sea.” Even today, after countless Easter showings on TV, the story and effects are still awesome.
I am thrilled to have won this record: It does the movie justice and highlights all the elements a viewer would want to see. Plus, it features Elmer Bernstein’s majestic opening theme music which, alone, is enough to give you goosebumps.
So, here are the spots as the listeners of 1966 radio would have heard them. You can imagine the excitement and anticipation they would have generated. TV wouldn’t start its annual showing of this feature until 1973, so it was a treat and experience back then to see it again on the big screen, especially with the single most spectacular scene ever filmed. Give them a listen…they are how radio spots should be done. They, too, are “spectacular”!
