Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams didn't make either of the lists I linked to above, but it was definitely playing at the Martin Twin on June 5, 1981. They play a couple of stoners dealing dope out of a really whacked out looking ice cream truck. Stacy Keach and Paul Rubens star with our leading guys Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. I couldn't find a decently made trailer so enjoy them performing "Save The Whales" instead.
There's a double dose of comedy at the Martin with Richard Pryor starring in Bustin' Loose which was also playing. Pryor is a parolee who is assigned to drive a bus load of special needs children across the country. The fantastic Cicely Tyson plays the school teacher and it's her dynamic with Pryor that really drives the movie. It was a huge hit making over 6 million dollars during its opening weekend having been released on May 22.
Save The Whales
Bustin' Loose
If I had just looked at the June 5, 1981 Daily News Journal I would have thought that was all that was playing at the Martin Twin on that night, but I decided to look through Thursday's paper to see if I could find a cool restaurant ad to include this week. I didn't find a restaurant ad. I found something much cooler. Perhaps you saw the ad and knew what was going on or perhaps you just went to see Bustin' Loose and got surprised with a free ticket to see the preview of Raiders Of The Lost Ark on June 5th, 1981. I don't think you need a summary of that movie. It went on to be the highest grossing film of 1981 with almost $400 million made worldwide and in addition to the sequels it spawned all sorts of pop culture items. It's interesting to think of the movie getting a sneak preview a week before its general release. Paramount had a lot of money invested in Lucasfilm and there was some concern when Raiders only made $8 million on its opening weekend, but I think Paramount ended up happy in the end.
Raiders of the Lost Ark trailer
The Marbro Drive In has one of their all night weekend extravaganzas. I have compiled an almost complete history of the movies that played the Marbro and these themed all night events happened every few months. I will be posting the list of all of the movies beginning in July of this year once I figure out exactly how I want to do it. The Marbro always fascinated me when I was a kid since I never got to see a movie there. It would have been awesome to be around for this particular horror movie night. You can click on the movie titles if you want to know more about them. After the weekend ended two of the movies would play the rest of the week.
You could often see Mark Hamill in the Star Wars movies at Cinema One, but on this night you could see him play a policeman who falls for Kristy McNichol in The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia. Dennis Quaid and Kristy McNichol are siblings on their way to Nashville trying to make it in the music business. Both of them sing in the film! Dennis Quaid's character runs afoul of the law and the cop played by Hamill tries to help them out. I have not seen this film and it's out of print so I'm hoping to find a complete version online or maybe pick up a bootleg DVD of it soon. The filming locations are Trenton and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, Chattanooga and Manchester (opening credits), Tennessee which makes me want to see it even more.
The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
Kristy McNichol sings!
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