The Obligatory “Star Wars” Post
by Paula Bosse
“A long time ago, in 1977…”
by Paula Bosse
The relentless Star Wars promotional onslaught has been upon us for a while now. I have no idea what episode we’re up to at this point, but let’s look back to overlooked tidbits about that first movie. My favorite is this wire-service blurblet which appeared newspapers in April, 1976 — a full year before the movie was released.
“Luke Starkiller” is a great name. Too bad Lucas changed it. Gene Siskel asked him about it in 1983.
The movie played exclusively at the late, lamented NorthPark I & II; it opened on Friday, May 27, 1977. Lines were around the block. For weeks.
May 26, 1977 (click for larger image)
(Did you keep your “free Star Wars buttons”?)
Moviegoers were stunned that the ticket price had been boosted to a then-unheard-of $3.75 (the equivalent of about $14.50 today). As one article explained, “Twentieth-Century Fox takes 90 percent of the gross receipts after deduction of expenses” in exchange for allowing theaters to show the movie. (I wonder how much popcorn was!)
Lastly, a fairly enthusiastic social commentary piece about the movie can be found in an article written by Dallas Morning News editor and editorial-page mainstay William Murchison (in fact, the article appeared on the editorial page of the DMN). The moneyed Mr. Murchison likens the exhilaration felt in finally getting into a showing that hadn’t been sold out to “crashing the Astor Ball” and is shocked at the “ungodly” ticket price — “a price that would buy a good Cabernet Sauvignon.” Even so, he and Lovey apparently were quite taken with the exploits of Mr. Starkiller Skywalker, et al.) (Check the Dallas Morning News archives for the article “Movies to Make You Feel Good” by William Murchison, DMN, Aug. 30, 1977.)
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Sources & Notes
“Star Wars” poster by Tom Jung found here.
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Copyright © 2015 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
See Gary Busey, Jack Elam and Mark Hamill with a bad Texas accent in this promo for “The Texas Wheelers”: https://youtu.be/TnnoWVXWCaY
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Yeah, I almost posted that link. That was an MTM-produced show that I have the vaguest of vague memories of. I remember my father laughing pretty hard at one of Jack Elam’s scenes.
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It actually opened in the larger, 1100-seat #1 auditorium in 35mm and monaural sound. That’s how I saw it on opening day – of course, I was knocked out. After a few weeks in 35mm, Northpark finally obtained a hard-to-get 70mm Dolby stereo print and shifted it over to the 900-seat #2 auditorium.
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Interesting. I would have assumed it would have been shown with Dolby sound — in BOTH theaters!
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20th Century-Fox did not have high expectations for the picture and Dolby Stereo was not common in 1977. Exhibitors generally didn’t feel the picture would develop “legs,” so Fox marketing actually had a hard time selling it. That’s why it opened on so few screens nationwide. When it quickly established itself as a blockbuster in limited release, exhibitors started clamoring for contracts. Fox hadn’t ordered enough prints to satisfy such demand, so their own labs (Color by DeLuxe) took over the printing from Technicolor (notice the odd title on your poster shot that says “Technicolor” and “Prints by DeLuxe.” Usually, if Technicolor shared credit with another lab, it would be because they made the prints from a negative developed by DeLuxe, Metrocolor, Movielab, or others and the credit would read “Color by Whoever, Print by Technicolor.”). Technicolor’s printing used the laborious and expensive dye-transfer process that resulted in stable colors that did not shift or fade over time, and they simply could not ramp up production fast enough to meet demand. 70mm stereo prints were another matter entirely. This was the era’s ultimate visual/audio high-fidelity prestige presentation format and the picture wasn’t filmed in it. So prints had to be made from an internegative blown up from the original 35mm source. Very expensive process requiring extreme precision to avoid loss of the enhanced picture quality which was the process’s goal in the first place. The developer of Dolby, Tomlinson Holman, came out to Northpark to oversee the installation of the sound system for the 70mm Star Wars print, and to personally calibrate the system to Auditorium #2’s acoustics. Very involved process but results well worth it. This was what GCC and, in particular, Northpark’s management, was always willing to do for their patrons. The 35mm monaural print would have continued pulling in the crowds, no doubt about it.
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Thanks, Steve!
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Paula, I took my boys to see Star Wars in 1977 when they were 5 and 6. It changed their lives! High tech and sci-fi became inspiration for their very fertile imaginations. Brandon, now 44, saved his Star Wars figures and vehicles over the years and has never been enticed to sell anything on EBay. I’m going to take him back to see Star Wars, again, soon. May the Force be with you.
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Thanks, Melinda!
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AND lets not forget that *Luke* was originally conceived to be a girl who pals up with Han Solo. I think Star Wars played at North Park for close to a year and I couldn’t tell you how many times I saw it there.
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