August 17, 1984 (Revisiting the Past) Film Flashback Edition

 This edition of (Revisiting the Past) is a Film Flashback.

August 17, 1984. It was a Friday in Murfreesboro and that meant movies for lots of people. Here is what was playing at all of the local movie theaters on this date.

The Martin Four was showing Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Sheena, and the Clint Eastwood movie Tightrope. 

Ghostbusters has become an iconic classic, but it was a film I didn't see until getting a VHS player in the late 80's. I rarely went to the movies during the time I lived on Jimmy C. Newman's farm some 14 miles out of Murfreesboro. That mileage seemed so long back then. Even though I didn't see the movie until years later it seemed like I had seen it due it being a pop culture phenomenon. 

Play Doh Ghostbusters

Ghostbuster ghost trap

I didn't see The Karate Kid until it aired on network television many years later. It was okay. I thought Pat Morita was a standout in the film. I think this YouTube clip where it is shown that Daniel is the real bully is genius. I'm pretty sure I've shared it before too. 

Daniel is the real bully

Sheena is one I've never seen. The late Tanya Roberts starred in this jungle drama/adventure/romance film.

 

 Sheena trailer

Tightrope was making its debut on the screen nationwide so I'll bet this was a hot ticket in Murfreesboro. Eastwood movies always did good box office. This is another movie I've yet to see. Eastwood plays a detective (not Dirty Harry this time) on the trail of a strangler loose in New Orleans. The trailer implies that this strangler could be Eastwood's character. 

Tightrope trailer

The Marbro Drive-In has the Walter Hill directed Streets of Fire and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the John Milius directed Conan the Barbarian. I still haven't seen Streets of Fire even though it does have the lovely Diane Lane in it. I caught Conan years later on television and found it to be a bit ponderous.

"The only law is a loaded gun" Streets of Fire trailer

Conan the Barbarian trailer

Cinema One and Two were showing Gene Wilder's The Woman in Red which introduced moviegoers to Kelly LeBrock and Red Dawn which also happened to be directed by John Milius. "Wolverines!!" Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Red Dawn was the first movie to be released with the new PG-13 rating standard. Another bit of trivia: Patrick Swayze got frostbite during the filming. I've never seen The Woman in Red, but after watching the trailer I will have to check it out. I saw Red Dawn many decades later for the first time and thought it was okay. 

"Come and get it cowboy" The Woman in Red trailer

Wolverines!!!

Film Flashback December 23, 1955

This is the last film flashback for now. I may do a few again at some point, but I've been posting these for a little over a year and all good things must come to an end. I've decided to go back to 1955 for this post. There was lots of choices of what to see in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on December 23 and for days afterward. 

The 4-Lane Drive-In Theatre which was on land that later became the site of the Marbro Drive-In has a double feature running through Saturday. I am going to guess that Call North Side is the Jimmy Stewart film noir Call Northside 777 since I can't find a film just named Call North Side. It's a film noir from 1948 about a news reporter, played by Stewart, who reopens an eleven year old murder case. The movie was based on a factual case.

Call Northside 777 trailer

The Swordsman is also from 1948 and appears to be a swashbuckling story about young lovers from opposite fighting clans. The Kiss of Fire was coming on Christmas with Sun Valley Serenade which would play December 27 -29, 1955. Kiss of Fire was a 1955 release starring Jack Palance as ruthless outlaw El Tigre who is the guide for Princess Lucia, played by Barbara Rush, who is traveling from New Mexico to California. The great skater Sonja Henie is the star of Sun Valley Serenade from 1941 along with John Payne and the great jazzman Glenn Miller. It's a musical comedy/drama romance set at a famous ski resort. 

Sun Valley Serenade trailer

A trip out Shelbyville Highway will bring us to the Starlite Drive-In Theatre where they also have a double feature playing on December 23, 1955. New York Confidential is a film noir starring Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, and Anne Bancroft about a New York crime boss. The Diamond Wizard is about a group of thieves creating artificial diamonds from sugar. Big stars Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain would be on the screen come Christmas in Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. It was not a sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It was just a play on the title of the much better film from 1953.

New York Confidential trailer

The Diamond Wizard trailer

Gentlemen Marry Brunettes trailer

So that's what was playing the drive-in theatres. Let's go see what was playing at the Princess. There's a Christmas classic plus the coming attractions including an all time classic Disney film arriving on Christmas Day. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney are the main stars in Irving Berlin's White Christmas which is playing on December 23. It's a song and dance put on a show holiday musical for the ages. Christmas Eve features Shane and Devil Goddess. The George Stevens directed Western Shane starring Alan Ladd was a hit with both audiences and critics right out the gate when it was released in 1953. I would imagine it's on a second or third run for this Saturday double feature. The Johnny Weissmuller film Devil Goddess is all about finding a missing colleague who is now playing God to the natives. The movie was a continuation of the Jungle Jim films Weissmuller had been playing in before, except Columbia Pictures had lost the right to use the name hence Johnny playing a character named Johnny Weissmuller. The biggest film of the week for me has to be Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp. This romance story between a pedigreed cocker spaniel and a streetwise mutt enchanted me when I was a boy seeing it in the 1970's just as it delighted audiences back in 1955. 

White Christmas trailer

Shane trailer

Lady and the Tramp trailer

Film Flashback December 18, 1981

There are only 7 days 'til Christmas, but you've got time for a film flashback to December 18, 1981 to see what was playing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We'll check out the Marbro Drive In first. 

There's the college exploitation sub-classic H.O.T.S. about the H.O.T.S. college sorority fending off crooks while taking part in nude skydiving, wet t-shirt contests, strip football, and a pie fight from a hot air balloon to mention some of the highlights. Plus you get Danny Bonaduce too. 

When I was younger I used to get Jacqueline Bisset and Adrienne Barbeau mixed up. They were both beautiful ladies and the Marbro features Jacqueline in Together? which has the tagline: "shocking, sensual...without shame!" Maximilian Schell costars and Terence Stamp has two brief scenes. It's sold as an exploitative film, but I'm pretty sure it's a fairly boring drama from what I've read about it. H.O.T.S. and its low brow comedy was probably the better movie in the double feature. 

most intellectually stimulating movie of the year

The Cinema_One has horror thriller Wolfen and a late night showing of Quadrophenia which is billed as The Who in Quadra Phenia. Somebody go back in time and get the Cinema_One folks the correct spelling.   

There was a spate of werewolf movies in the late 70's and early 80's and Wolfen is a good variant on the theme. A New York cop investigates murders which look more like wild animal attacks. The movie involves Native American wolf spirit legends and is bound to get your heart racing in fear. Albert Finney and Edward James Olmos are great along with Gregory Hines and Diane Venora. 

they can sense the rhythm of your blood

Quadrophenia is based on The Who's Quadrophenia album which is about a mod named Jimmy suffering from multiple personality disorder. The movie is absolutely brilliant and would have been awesome to see in the big Cinema_One. Phil Daniels gives a great performance as Jimmy who takes glee in rumbling against rockers in Brighton, but can't stand his parents or his job. Sting, in his first film role,  plays the Ace Face. Leslie Ash is Jimmy's love interest. My favorite bit player is Toyah Willcox as Monkey. This movie is a speed fueled masterpiece about youth.

You've got to be somebody

a motion picture for every generation

Phil Daniels = legend

The Martin Twin has some star power with Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine and John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in Neighbors. Burt also directed the action crime drama set in Atlanta. It was a decent hit, but I think by now most people were expecting comic performances from Burt so it wasn't as big a hit as it deserved to be. It's a violent Neo-noir classic. Neighbors is just not that good of a film. An obnoxious couple moves next door and comedic conflict ensues. Belushi plays against type as the buttoned up normal guy while Aykroyd is the weird new neighbor. I do have the blu-ray, but more for nostalgic purposes than any other reason.

I am the police

welcome to the end of the road, I guess

Film Flashback December 10, 1985

Before we set off on our magical mystery tour film flashback this week let's go get some food from Mazzio's Pizza which happened to be where I was working in 1985. They not only had awesome pizza, but delicious nachos, a salad bar, and hot sandwiches at this time. We'd get pasta sometime in 1986 and I would get burned on spaghetti water which earned me the short term nickname of nub hand while my left hand was bandaged for several weeks. It was a great restaurant and I had some good times working there and some not so good times. I basically quit so I wouldn't miss seeing Mojo Nixon in concert in 1987.

What was playing on December 10, 1985 in Murfreesboro? The Martin Four has a pretty good slate of comedy films. I guess The Jewel of the Nile is an action/romance, but there's lots of funny moments too in the sequel to Romancing the Stone. Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) and Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) along with Ralph (Danny DeVito) are out to find the jewel of the title. The tagline was "They're romancing a brand new stone." Back to the Future had been playing at the Martin Four since July. There may have been movies that played more straight weeks after this film, but at the time it had to have been the longest running theatrical release to have played in Murfreesboro. I had seen it by myself at a matinee early in its run before it blew up into the pop culture colossus it remains to this day. Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd's days as major movie stars was coming to a close, but Spies Like Us is mildly amusing and a pretty substantial hit. The Savage Steve Holland directed cult classic Better Off Dead... rounds off the selections at the Martin Four. This movie was not a hit when released, but became a must view on VHS. John Cusack is great as lovable loser Lane who fails at suicide, but conquers the K12. Curtis Armstrong steals the show for me as Lane's friend Charles De Mar. The movie features a maniacal paper boy and an animated hamburger sequence using Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some" which I am pretty sure everyone under the age of 55 knows by heart. 

Jewel of the Nile trailer

Back to the Future teaser trailer

Spies Like Us trailer

Better Off Dead... trailer

Animated burger from Better Off Dead...

Rocky IV and Witness are playing at the Cinema_Twin. Sylvester Stallone is pretty awesome as Rocky Balboa especially with the training scenes in the snow. Talia Shire's Adrian is her usual non-confident self. Dolph Lundgren is sort of terrifying as the Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Spoiler alert: he kills Apollo Creed in the ring which sets up Rocky avenging his former competitor/best friend. I didn't see this until many years later, but it is entertaining. Witness is a romantic/crime/thriller about an Amish kid who witnesses a murder. Harrison Ford plays policeman John Book who hides out in Amish country to protect the kid and romance blossoms with Kelly McGillis's character Rachel. The Peter Weir directed film was a big hit.

Rocky IV trailer

Witness trailer

Film Flashback December 4, 1941

Today's film flashback is short and simple. Most of the world was at war and the US was a few days away from joining in the fight. Moviegoers in Murfreesboro, Tennessee could enjoy the light hearted antics of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hold That Ghost on December 4, 1941 at the Princess. Bud and Lou inherit money from a gangster and get stranded in a haunted house. Lou's dance routine with Joan Davis is worth the price of admission, but the whole movie is filled with fun and mild frights. 

Hold That Ghost trailer

Film Flashback November 27, 1984

This week's film flashback to what was playing at the movies in Murfreesboro, Tennessee takes us to November 27, 1984. The Martin Four has Chuck Norris, George Burns, Peter O'Toole, Faye Dunaway, and Helen Slater top billed for three of the films, but my absolute favorite of the bunch stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, and Robert Beltran. I have to admit I didn't see any of these films at the theatre, but I did catch Night of the Comet very early in the morning on HBO a few years later and it such a blast. It had the Tempest video game, an old movie theatre, outer space stuff - the comet of course, zombies, a radio station, a shopping mall, Los Angeles, and a cute cheerleader; all of those are people, places, and things I loved as a teenager. The Belmont sisters survive the comet zombie apocalypse with a little help from Hector and a scientist played by Mary Woronov who actually has a heart unlike the other ones. It is a quintessential 80's teen film.

Supergirl introduces the big screen to Superman's cousin, Kara For-El, who has come to Earth to retrieve a powerful orb. The evil witch Selena played by Faye Dunaway stands in her way. Peter O'Toole as Zaltar helps Supergirl in this movie that bombed at the box office. I've heard that the uncut version available on DVD and Blu-ray. You can also see Oh, God! You Devil and Missing In Action at the Martin Four.

She has all the power of the universe, but she still has to learn about love.

Believe me...I'm possible

Do we run or fight? We don't have a choice now.

Daddy would have gotten us Uzi's

Across town at the Cinema_One you can see Bill Murray in a dramatic role in The Razor's Edge or check out Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming a big star in The Terminator. I've never seen The Razor's Edge, but the adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novel about a World War I veteran trying to discover meaning in life flopped. The public just wasn't ready to accept Bill Murray in a dramatic role. The Terminator has become a pop culture phenomenon. Arnold was great as the murderous robot, but Linda Hamilton shines as Sarah Connor. Michael Biehn is excellent also. The movie has a palpable sense of menace which is unnerving and thrilling at the same time. I did not see this one at the theatre, but memorably saw it on cable tv at my friend Glenn's house after our high school graduation. I had drove around Murfreesboro with various friend's looking for a party that was never found and somehow ended up at Glenn's. The Terminator was better than a party.

The pathway to salvation is as narrow and as difficult to walk as a razor's edge.

I'll be back

Film Flashback November 21, 1988

November 21, 1988 it was bargain night at the Cinema_Twin. There are 3 movies to choose from. The little children would probably love to see The Land Before Time. The Don Bluth film about orphaned dinosaurs trying to make it back home to the Great Valley was a pretty decent sized hit in 1988. 

The Land Before Time trailer

The science fiction movie Alien Nation starring James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp had been playing since November 11th. It would play through the 24th. It was a minor hit. 

Alien Nation trailer

So, we've got the children's movie and we've the action adventure science fiction angle covered. How about a sports romance drama called Everybody's All American. Jessica Lange and Dennis Quaid star. It didn't make enough money to cover its budget according to IMDB. 

Everybody's All American trailer

Let's journey across town to Jackson Heights Plaza and see what's playing at the Carmike Cinema 6. 

Halloween III: Season of the Witch was not a big success because it didn't focus on Michael Myers. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers did not make that mistake. Ten years after the original attempt to kill Laurie Strode the monster awakens and heads back to Haddonfield to find and kill his seven year old niece. Donald Pleasance is back as Dr. Loomis, but can he stop Michael.

Halloween 4 trailer

If that movie isn't a big enough fright fest for you, stick around and see Child's Play which is also playing on this date at the Carmike Cinema 6. Possessed dolls are always scary. 

Child's Play trailer 

I don't think there is anything scary about the rock band U2, but there well may be some people with a Bono or Edge phobia. U2: Rattle and Hum is playing and since there is no Tuesday night bargain showing for this flick you might as well go see it. 

this trailer is sort of dull

this one is much better

I've never seen Cocktail. The only things I know about it is it stars Tom Cruise, he's a bartender, and the tune "Kokomo" was used in it. And I guess I know that it was a big hit. 

Cocktail trailer

There was one bonafide classic playing the Carmike Cinema 6 and I don't think the next film was the one. Jim Varney was a mainstay around Nashville and it's pretty amazing how the ad related character of Ernest P. Worrell became such a huge hit. Ernest Saves Christmas was about Ernest helping Santa find a replacement. If you enjoy the antics of Ernest like I do you will enjoy this goofy film. 

deck the halls and hit the deck

Here we go with the classic movie: John Carpenter's They Live is a great science fiction dystopian nightmare starring the late great Roddy Piper and the awesome Keith David. They've found out that the media and leaders of the world are evil space aliens. OBEY! I came here to chew bubblegum and create another Film Flashback and I'm all out of bubblegum and the flashback is done too. Well. 

they're running the whole show

 

Film Flashback November 13, 1982

Howdy dear readers of this fine blog. It's time for another film flashback to see what was playing on November 13, 1982 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Martin Twin has a couple of movies that have been held over. Joni is in its 2nd week. It's the dramatized biography of Joni Eareckson who stars in the film. Joni Eareckson had an accident at the age of 17 which left her paralyzed. The movie tells her story of how she overcome this by becoming a Christian and an artist. Fast Times At Ridgemont High is in its 3rd week. It was a huge hit which I didn't see until many years later due to its R rating. It is perhaps the perfect distillation of what life was like for a high schooler in the early 80's. There are exaggerated cartoon like elements to the film, but that only makes it funnier. 

Joni trailer

that's my skull

The Marbro Drive-In has a double feature of The Incubus and The Fifth Floor. John Cassavetes stars in The Incubus which should be a good enough reason to see this strange horror movie. The Fifth Floor is an interesting film about a disco dancer who collapses on the dance floor and ends up in an insane asylum. 

The Incubus trailer

The Fifth Floor trailer

Our final movie for this week is Creepshow which boasts a Stephen King screenplay and was directed by the great George Romero. It's an anthology horror movie with 5 tales inspired by E.C. Comics from the 1950's. It had just come out on November 12, 1982. It was a decent hit and inspired a second edition released in 1987. That's all for this week. Be back next week to see what was playing at the movies in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on some random year from the past. 

cringe at weird kids

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. 

Film Flashback October 30, 1979

It's once again time for a Film Flashback to see what was playing at the movies in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and the date this time is: October 30, 1979. Lee Marvin and Robert Shaw (in his last performance) star in the movie Avalanche Express about a Russian spy who has decided to defect. The beautiful Linda Evans is also in the film. The trailer is odd as it almost only features still images. 

Avalanche Express trailer

The Amazing Maurice would be appearing at Big K at 5:30 PM so you can catch his show and still have plenty of time to see a movie on this night.

October 30, 1979 was a Tuesday night so you could see movies at the Martin Twin for just $1.50. Dracula and Skatetown, U.S.A. were what was playing on this evening. Saturday Night Fever director John Badham helmed Dracula which starred Frank Langella, Donald Pleasance, Laurence Olivier, and Kate Nelligan. The romantic horror tale was a modest hit. 

Scott Baio and Patrick Swayze are two of the many stars in Skatetown U.S.A. which was billed as "The Rock and Roller Disco Movie of the Year!" Maureen McCormick is in it which makes it a winner in my book as anything with a Brady kid is awesome. Billy Barty is in it too and he is another one of my favorite actors from the Seventies. The movie was an attempt to cash in on the roller skating disco fad, but by the time the movie came out times had changed and the interest in the film was minimal. I think it's a fun movie and a really great time capsule of that era.

he has walked through centuries untouched by time

times sure have changed

The Marbro has a couple of good movies with Rocky II and Convoy. I've been sharing ads for and listing all of the movies that played at the Marbro Drive-In over the last few weeks and will finish that sometime in December so why not check it out. That's all for this week.

I don't know, he looks pretty mad

We crashed the gates doing 98

Film Flashback October 22, 1982

Let's head back 38 years ago and see what was playing at the movies on October 22, 1982. Homework is in its 2nd week at the the Martin Twin. Homework was a reworked film that was made in 1979, but not released until 1982 after some scenes with Joan Collins were added. It's subject was a fairly common teen movie one from this era: older woman seduces a young man. It was a decent hit making over $2 million at the box office even if the top billed star Joan Collins was barely even in it. I could not find a trailer, but the whole movie was on YouTube last time I looked. I think I will pass.

What was surely anticipated to be a huge hit, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was beginning its run at the Martin Twin. It wasn't a flop as it grossed over $14 million, but it was derided by most critics and the public was very off put that the movie had nothing to do with Michael Myers (other than a brief cameo on a television screen) and was instead about a Druidic plot involving Stonehenge and Halloween masks. The intent was to turn the Halloween franchise into an anthology series, but this movie put an end to that idea and Michael Myers would return in the future. I didn't see this film until many decades later and I really enjoyed it. The movie has become quite popular of late with the Halloween masks jingle for the Silver Shamrock company getting stuck in everyone's head. 

the night no one comes home

The Cinema_One has The Road Warrior for your viewing pleasure. I wouldn't see this one until years later, but it is a great action movie. 

The hope of mankind will appear as a stranger

The Marbro Drive-In has The Beach Girls and Summer Camp. The Beach Girls is a silly teen sex comedy with three young ladies moving into their uncle's beach house for a vacation. After bales of marijuana wash up onshore things really get smoking (pun intended). It's not too bad of a comedy. I can't say the same for Summer Camp. This one involves the camp owner inviting campers from 10 years ago to come for a reunion, but really it's to get them to fix up and save the camp. Pranks and hijinks ensue...or more like lojinks. I couldn't find trailers for either film so that's it for this week. If you've been paying attention I've been listing every film that played the Marbro Drive-In and that will continue tomorrow as I head into 1975. 

Film Flashback October 16, 1976

Since we're off to check out The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea at the Cinema_One on October 16, 1976 let's go get some seafood first at Long John Silver's. If fish isn't your thing, they've got chicken planks for $1.69. It was always a big treat to get food from Long John Silver's when I was a youngster. I miss the Cape Cod style of the buildings which they abandoned in the 90's. 

Kris Kristofferson went from being a floor sweeper at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville (also worked at the restaurant that became rock club Cantrell's) to a renowned songwriter, then singer, and finally a massive movie star in about 12 years. Sarah Miles plays a widowed mother who ends up falling for Kristofferson's character, Jim Cameron, who is the sailor. The son of the mother doesn't like this development so he plots revenge in this mystery/thriller/love story which features beautiful scenery.

Television showing promo

Bo Svenson and Cybill Shepherd star in Special Delivery which is playing at the Martin Twin. I have never seen this movie, but the the trailer looks like it would be fun. It's about a bank robber hiding the money in a mailbox. Unfortunately for the bank robber others saw him stash it there. 

Two hot young stars make the sparks fly

Before we check out the other movie playing at the Martin Twin let's go up the road apiece and see what's on the big screen at the Marbro Drive-In. The ad promises us shock after shock. Blood From The Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 Hammer film so you know it will be pretty good. Valerie Leon sparkles as Margaret who gets possessed by the spirit of Tera thanks to a ring with a red stone. Blood and Lace is the other horror film guaranteed to shock you. This American International Pictures film, which was also released originally in 1971, features Gloria Grahame as the sadistic Mrs. Deere who runs an orphanage where she tortures children. The movie also features a hammer wielding killer.  

Blood From The Mummy's Tomb Shout Factory trailer

How many faces does terror wear?

We end this week's Film Flashback by going back to the Martin Twin to see the Volunteer Jam movie which starred, who else, the Charlie Daniels Band. It is billed as "The first full length Southern Rock motion picture," Note: it was filmed in Murfreesboro at Murphy Center. I could not find a trailer, but there is a purported playlist of the movie on YouTube. The playlist seems to be a mixture of various Volunteer Jam performances including some from 1978 so I think that's a fail for the playlist. The "Long Haired Country Boy" performance, however, is definitely from the movie so check it out below. RIP to Charlie Daniels. He was a bonafide musical legend who always made me feel good about being from Tennessee.

I get stoned in the morning, I get drunk in the afternoon

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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.