Film Flashback November 6, 1983

This week's film flashback to what was playing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on November 6, 1983 is a minimal affair. Natalie Wood died before finishing the movie Brainstorm. The movie had been originally planned to be released in 1982, but had been put on the shelf amid a legal battle to finish it. A stand in for Natalie shot the few scenes remaining. Director Douglas Trumbull chose to never direct a Hollywood movie again. Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher are also in the film which is about people developing a way to enter other's minds. I have not seen this one. It did not make enough money to cover its costs. It was playing at Cinema_One.

A director not known for comedy, William Friedkin, was at the helm for Deal of the Century which starred Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, and Gregory Hines. The movie was a comedy/crime film about arms sales in South America. It barely made its money back. It was one of the movies playing at the Martin Twin on this date. The other movie, Risky Business, was a big hit and happened to be written and directed by one of the writers of Deal of the Century. It's also the film that made Tom Cruise a household name. I didn't see it until I rented it on VHS from a tiny market outside of Munford, Tennessee while I was visiting an aunt and cousins. The story of a high school entrepreneur running a brothel from his home while his parents are away for a few days had an estimated budget of $6 million and grossed over $63 million. There is a dreamlike quality to the film and great performances from Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, and Curtis Armstrong in a supporting role. It's the Citizen Kane of teen movies for me. The Marbro Drive-In has a twin bill of Troma releases Feelin' Up (originally released in 1976 as Getting Together) and the softball sex farce from 1979  Squeeze Play.