Film Flashback October 8, 1976

October 8, 1976 was a Friday night and here's what you could see in Murfreesboro on that night, or perhaps you did see one of these films. I've thrown in what was playing on channel 5 too in case you didn't want to go out. 

The Martin Twin 2 is showing Cry Of The Black Wolves which was a German made film from 1972 originally titled Der Schrei der schwarzen Wölfe. It's based on a Jack London novel and concerns a miner stealing a dog sled at gunpoint, a murder, and a possible treasure. I could not find a trailer, but the whole movie is available at this writing on YouTube. We'll get to what was showing at Martin Twin 1 after a quick detour to the Marbro Drive-In.

There is Cover Girl Models in which three fashion models get involved in international espionage. The second movie in the usual double feature at the Marbro is Street Girls which was co-written by Barry Levinson who would later direct Rain Man. A father searches for his dropout daughter, Angel, who has become a topless dancer and is being hooked on heroin by her boyfriend. It's a morality play with plenty of sleaze. The only interesting thing to me is that the great jazz organist Jimmy Smith is an actor in the film. I could not find a trailer for it.

Scenes from Cover Girl Models

The Martin Twin 1 was having a Stanley Kubrick Film Festival and A Clockwork Orange was on tap. It's a brilliant movie based on the amazing Anthony Burgess novel. Malcom McDowell is terrifying as the ultra-violence loving droog Alex yet also somehow pulls off being sympathetic as he undergoes the horrifying Ludovico technique of aversion therapy. 

A Clockwork Orange is a must see

Perhaps you didn't want to go to the movies and just wanted to stay home and watch some television. Channel 5's ad in the Daily News Journal says "The Hot One! Tonight" so maybe that's what you would watch. Perhaps you were a kid in the Seventies like me and your parents decided to go out and left you with your Granny. If this was my Granny then her television would definitely be tuned into channel 5. I don't recall her ever viewing another station. If I was staying with her I'd get to see Captain Kangaroo in the morning and the afternoon would be filled with "her shows" as this is what she called the soap operas. 

This night on channel 5 you could see Spencer's Pilots which I don't remember, but it looks cool and the Morton Stevens composed theme music is good. John Wayne stars in Brannigan which might have been making its network television debut. I'd usually be off to sleep by the time the late news ended, but perhaps I would have stayed up for Gunsmoke since I really enjoyed that show which also featured Morton Stevens music. The only thing I liked about Ironside was the awesome Quincy Jones music.

Morton Stevens theme music

London will never be the same

Morton Stevens music again

Quincy Jones theme music for the win

If I had gone to the movies on this night I would have picked Logan's Run which was playing at Cinema_One. I was into science fiction at a young age, but I'd have to wait to see the television show first and then catch the movie on cable later. It's not a bad utopia/dystopia story. The special effects were pretty good for the time. It seems quite dated now. That's all for this week's film flashback. I really like the year 1976 so I might just stick around here for next week's flashback. 

I am well past the age of 30.