Going to the movies was an extremely rare treat for us. I don’t know if it was just the cost of the movies or maybe my parents did not enjoy the theater. Regardless, I guess the rarity of it made special memories for us when we did get to go.
“The Gnome Mobile” is one of those movies that I still have a vivid memory of going to see. It was released in 1967 but I watched in the theater sometime during the mid 70s during an afternoon showing.
Have a good weekend everyone!
My life is almost back to normal so thank you for your patience. I hope that I will be back to Monday-Friday posting again soon. Today I am posting a couple of commercials that I remembered over the weekend.
If wrinkly pantyhose was the number one clothing issue in the 70s I am guessing (from the number of these commercials I was exposed to as a child) that ring around the collar was the second greatest clothing horror!
(Waits for the groans to subside…)
Okay, you can’t talk about 70s movies without bringing up “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”.
And in case you are wondering, yes this movie is in my DVD arsenal.
Couple of interesting IMDB trivia items:
The helicopter crash was unintentional. The $60,000 dollar helicopter used up more of the budget than everything else combined.
The song “Puberty Love” was sung by Matt Cameron…
who would later become the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. 
My wife is not into scifi movies at all, so it surprised when she said that she liked this one. The Omega Man is based on the book I am Legend written by Richard Matheson. (I am sure you recognize that name from the movie bearing the same name starring Will Smith.) This adaptation starred Charlton Heston as one of the last survivors of a world destroyed by biological warfare.
A great classic from the 70s.
What is the secret of Soylent Green?
Another sci-fi favorite of mine from the 70s.
A sad piece of IMDB Trivia: “When Thorn discovers that he is too late to stop Sol’s suicide, he begins to cry. According to a 1997 interview with Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies, Charlton Heston was really crying because he was so moved by Edward G. Robinson’s performance. Robinson knew he was dying from cancer and kept it from the cast and crew. He knew this would be his last film, and his death scene was the last scene he ever filmed. He died just ten days after shooting wrapped. “
“In the not too distant future, wars will no longer exist. But there will be rollerball.”
This movie is most definitely in my top 10 from the 70s.
Rolllerball – 1975 starring James Caan. (Video is a tad bit on the poor quality side.)
But is this really a great movie? Let’s see… violence… check… explosions… check… carnage… check… car chases… well no, but humans vs motorcycles is a plus… so yeah, it is a GREAT movie. lol
I watched Idaho Transfer a couple weeks ago. This is a scifi film that was directed by Peter Fonda in 1973.
In essence, the story is about a college (or something similar) that develops a time machine. They discover that the future is a barren waste land. So a team of young people go into the future to try and reestablish civilization.
The reviews where a wide range of opinions rating the film from brilliant to boring. I liked many of Peter Fonda’s movies, so I thought I might as well see for myself.
I did watch it all the way thru, so it kept my interest, but there wasn’t really any climatic points in the film. I felt like I ate a bowl of plain white rice for supper. I was full, but my taste buds were left wanting. I guess I would be in the middle on this one.
There wasn’t a trailer to post, but the movie is on YouTube for those of you who want to see what it is about. You will just have to decide for yourself.
Idaho Transfer from 1973
Grizzly Adams first aired as a movie in 1974 starring Dan Haggerty, then as as a TV series from 1977 thru 1978 with a finale airing in 1982.
One of the co-stars was Denver Pyle (who a lot of people will remember as “Uncle Jesse” from “The Dukes of Hazzard”) that had a mule called “Number Seven”.
I didn’t realize that it was based on a true character. I don’t know if I missed that day of school or just complete naivety on my part, but I learned something new today. The story of John Adams is very interesting and for those of you who would like to learn a bit about him here is the wiki link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Adams
I know I watched that show several times back then but I can barely remember anything about it. I am going to see if it is available on DVD from Netflix.
In my article about stuffed animals with AM radios from 1977, that I posted a couple of days ago, Jane and Martha had talked about the fact that King Kong must have been the better seller, because of the size of the ad.
It dawned on me that this was a year after the infamous remake of the King Kong movie starring Jessica Lange.
I would have only been ten years old and my father wouldn’t let me see PG or R rated movies at that time. If you were able to watch it in 1976, what did you think? Was it something that, as a child, you thought was incredible?
