Part Six of Father Geek's Cool Film Experiences...
7. Playing Trumpet in the Band at the 1960 World Premiere of John Wayne's THE ALAMO at the Broadway Theater in San Antonio. What can I possibly say about this? I was 15, I grew up in San Antonio and I loved it's history, this was THE ALAMO, the hype was inescapable; Wayne, Widmark, Wills and all the stars were there, the media was all over the place, and most of all I got to play that impeccable Dimitri Tiomkin music (heavy on Trumpets), it was pure bliss!
I always felt THE ALAMO premiere should have been at the downtown motion picture odium The Texas (now defunct) on Houston St. It was mammoth, it was glorious, it was classically western in decor, and most of all it had the correct name to premiere THE ALAMO. Remember It... I always will.
6. Experiencing LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE at the Alamo Draft House Cinema at our customary 2nd row center seats. They offered up every drink, every delicious bite of wonderful comestibles that was featured in this a food fan's film for and about lovers, AND they served each delicate morsel at the same time it was being eaten on the screen. A fantastic sensual feast for ALL our senses. The smells, ahhhhhh, take them in. The tastes, ummmmm, hold them on your tongue. The sounds, ohhhhh, just shut your eyes for a second. And the visuals, my God, the images, the hues, magnificent!!! A real tour de force!!!
See this movie, read the book, and most importantly learn to cook these dishes. You won't regret it and your love life will blossom forth like a ruby tinted Pomegranate. I guarantee it! Harry and I still don't know how Tim and the Alamo crew were able to pull this one off so flawlessly. MUY, MUY, MUY SABROSO !!!
5. Waiting in the line to see the 1st audience screening anywhere in the world of Ray Harryhausen's phantasy THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD. It was an offshoot of the 1973 San Diego Comic Convention and we (mostly dealers, artists, other VIPs) were lined up late at night (after midnight) that summer in the empty parking lot (we came by chartered bus) of a suburban southern California theater, and there was this full "Harvest" moon hanging above us and to the east.
Harry, his Mom, and I were standing there with Ray Bradbury and Forry Ackerman for what seemed like an eternity talking of Lovecraft, poetry and Poe. The painful howls of the tormented soul of some unfortunate werewolf echoed across the mall's vacant grounds and into the dark houses beyond, an lonely answer returned its moanful cry. Somewhere Larry Talbot shed a tear. We were yet to discover why.
A pimply faced usher for the theater, his acne scarred facade distorted even more by the moonlight's jealousy of the craters on his face, stepped out of the night's darkness and approached our part of the line, a chill cut the night air. Harry would not be let in to see the film, too young, might get scared and start crying were the reasons issued forth. Our natives started getting restless, a buzz flashed through the eager fans.
The stoic Bradbury, his silver grey suit glistening like armor in the moon's pallor was quite taken with Helen's ample country girl, down home charms. He nestled Harry into his arms against his massive protective chest, "Take me to your manager!" He thundered. "This young man has seen more Horror films in his short life than you have!" He boomed for all to hear, Harry all the while grinning over Ray's shoulder like Dr. Sardonicous at me and his Mom. "I will stand responsible for his behavior!" The legendary writer fiction concluded. We all got in and Harry watched the genre classic from Ray's roomy lap, he made not a peep.
4. A very special screening of my 16mm prints of the color remake of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and the drive-in classic THE GIANT GILA MONSTER (among others) in our back yard in April of 1998 for about 50 viewers. Why so special? Well, THE FACULTY was gearing up to begin shooting and Robert (the Director) wanted us to show this film (Body Snatchers) to his cast of young actors. So I fired up our pit and started smoking chicken, brisket, and sausage for the event that night.
Around 4:30 long before dark and the expected crowd of film fans I open the front door to be greeted by a grinning Elijah Wood, Josh Harnett, and Laura Harris among others. "Will you show us your work print of APT PUPIL?" Elijah requests. "Josh and I had both thought about being in it." He continues. "SURE!" Harry and I respond. "But we don't have places for everyone to sit." I add. "No problem!" Elijah interjects as he plops down on the floor in front of the TV. A little over 14 hours later they returned to their hotel rooms.
3. Camping in the line for the opening day of the STAR WARS SPECIAL EDITION at the Arbor theater in Austin. Tickets were to go on sale at 10am opening day. Harry and I decide to drive by the theater a little after noon the day before. My God, people are already in line. I drop Harry off and head back to the house to get sleeping bags, food, and drink. Dannie gets out of school at 4pm, I pick her up and head to the Arbor. Harry's holding our places, there's about 10 or 12 people in front of us, but that could represent maybe double that. One guy informs us he's buying 60 tickets for a computer gaming company in town.
Night settles in, the line both in front of us and behind continues to grow, the temperature continues to drop, the winds pick up, we realize there are Millionaires in line both at the jib and stern of us, COOL! The guy directly in front of Harry breaks out an old Boy Scout sterno stove and cooks up some warm munches for the group around him, including us. Two babes huddle under their blankets on the cold concrete right behind us. A little after midnight the projectionist makes an appearance outside.
He's about to run the film through a test run and wants to know if any of us want to come in and see it for gratis, duh!!! The line of 150+ souls adjourns (leaving our gear to mark our places) to the screening room, WOW, free popcorn to boot. TOOOOO COOOOL!!! About 4am we doze off. I awake to the smell of Bacon & Eggs a couple of hours later. "You want some breakfast tacos?" the Scout asks. He begins taking orders. He's really prepared! Eggs, Potatos, Bacon, Beans, and Salsa on flour tortillas, ULTRA COOLNESS!!! There are now 100's of people in line. A couple of hours later we score tickets to both the 1st and 3rd screenings. All is right in the world!
Part Five of An Exploration of the Greatest Film Experiences Known In Father Geek’s Life Span!!!
Part Seven of An Exploration of the Greatest Film Experiences Known In Father Geek’s Life Span!!!
Home | News | Coaxial News | Reviews | Forums | Collectibles | Harry's World | Links | Pot Luck | Search | Contact
This site is © 1999 by Harry Jay Knowles