Now for something slightly different... 3D glasses for television.
The big network have occasionally used the 3D gimmick during the season finales in May. I know that's pretty obvious, but that's about all I can tell you.
Here's a pair for Fox-O-Rama, and according to the glasses not only were some FOX shows in 3D but also Aroma-Vision. Anyone reading this know anything about the FOX Aroma-Vision?
Also there's printing on the back of these glasses advertising Married... With Children and Revenge of the Nerds IV.
American Broadcasting Company, better known as ABC, has 3D glasses sponsored by Wendy's New Fresh Stuffed Pitas.
Lastly but not leastly, the National Broadcasting Company and Barq's brings you a very special 3D episode of 3rd Rock From The Sun
Here's the 3D glasses for Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. It was odd to use the red & blue 3D style of glasses for a 2003 movie, but I guess the RealD 3D system wasn't ready yet. The upside was they didn't charge you $2 for the glasses.
Speaking of charging for a pair of 3D glasses, here's a free pair generic cardboard polarized 3D glasses from the 1980's. I wonder if they would work as well as the newfangled plastic glasses they ask $2 for?
And finally, I found another pair of Hondo 3D glasses, but this time with awesome American Indian graphics.
Continuing my series on 3D glasses here are the glasses for Comin' At Ya! which was a cheap spaghetti western from 1981 that kicked off a brief 3D movie fad...
Yeah I know, those glasses are not very impressive.
A pair of 3D glasses for a television broadcast of Hondo have much better graphics...
Now that's how you design a proper pair of 3D glasses for a western movie. Simulated wood grain, shotguns on the side, the star's image smack dab in the middle, and all in full-color.
Now here's something fun. If you happen to have a pair of red & blue 3D glasses (like the Hondo glasses above) you can watch the opening credits to Comin' At Ya! in 3D through the magic of YouTube. The effect is acually not too bad. Don't get me wrong, it's not great, but it's not too bad.
In at the last minute, and continuing my current excruciatingly exhausting schedule of one post per month I present to you Friday the 13 Part III 3D glasses...
More and more movies today are being presented in that newfangled digital 3D, but I don't need to tell you that 3D movies are nothing new. Over the years and without really trying too hard, I've managed to amass a fairly large collection of 3D glasses. Hopefully, if I don't start slacking (I make no promises) , I'll post more of my collection throughout the summer - maybe even once a week!
The 3D glasses above were not the glasses used for the 1982 film. These are the glasses for the souvenir 3D poster. The graphics on theses glasses are gory fun, and show Jason doing his thing.
Trog-Lo-Dytes were a circular piece of milk chocolate packaged in a cartoonish cardboard wrapper called an "Action Pack" (package patent pending) manufactured in the late 1970's by the Pangburn Candy Company of Fort Worth Texas.
The back of the Trog-Lo-Dyte. Say kids, it's only 23 cents!!
The gimmick of the action pack is when you gently pressed down on the top of the package the cardboard would slide, and usually reveal some sort of joke. Well instead of explaining it why don't I show you through the magic of GIF animation...
They're pretty funny, but that last one with the magician I don't get. Was there supposed to be some sort of joke there?
After intense public demand, and for the first time on the interweb, I proudly present the "Official Clue Card" for the classic 1960 film Scent of Mystery.
Actually there was no public demand, and this card is from the 1985 showing on MTV which you could purchase for a buck at 7-11 stores. It's sort of amazing that MTV ran a rather dull and obscure 25 year old (at the time) mystery movie - even with the scratch and sniff card gimmick. They'd never run such a film today, but maybe they could try a scratch and sniff version of Laguna Beach.
When the film was originally released there was a machine that pumped the scents into the theater, but from all reports it didn't work very well. I've read the machine held 50 scents, but the card only gives you 30. Looking back now I feel short changed on smells.
Side 1
I'm happy to report the scratch and sniff card still works. Talic being the strongest of the scents, which you don't even have to scratch to smell. The strawberry and rose scents are pleasant enough, but the popcorn is just bizarre and indescribable. I guess a fake popcorn smell was beyond the grasp of science.
Side 2
I debated if I should even post this. I doubt anyone cares about a 1985 MTV scratch and sniff card for a forgotten movie. But then I thought if I don't post this who will? And it's my duty as a blogger to fill the internet up with crap nobody cares about. That's what we bloggers do dammit!
I'm sucker for a gimmick. Even if I'm not interested the product, I'm always intrigued by merchandise that's "new and improved," has a unique mail-in promotion, or comes with some little toy surprise.
I'm especially intrigued by the PR stunts and gimmicks used to promote horror movies. The king of these stunts was William Castle. He was responsible for gimmicks like fake skeletons flying over move goers heads, and buzzing the theater seats during the film.
One of the coolest sounding gimmicks ever was for the film The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies. It was shown in glorious "Hallucinogenic Hypnovision." Now prove me wrong, but it sounds so much more fun to see a movie in Hallucinogenic Hypnovision than George Lucas's THX cinema audio system.
Unfortunately I wasn't born in time to experience these wonders.
The last original horror movie gimmick I can think of came from the obscure low-budget 1978 monster movie Slithis (alternate title: Spawn of the Slithis).
As part of a PR tour the Slithis monster made personal appearances at local theaters. Here's a UPI photo dated 5/5/78 that shows Slithis at the University of Nebraska. The students in this pic don't seem very impressed.
Besides the personal appearances, Slithis's big gimmick was an advertised "Survival Kit" handed out ticket buyers.
This was a "kit" in the very, very loosest of terms. In actuality it was a 4 inch folded card (on rather dainty pink card stock no less). When opened, on the left was an important Slithis survival warning, and then on the right was Slithis fan club info. To complete my little Slithis Survival Kit presentation, here's a scan of both front and back. Now if you're very clever you can print out your own survival kits. Just be sure to use pink card stock. I'm not responsible for your Slithis survival safety if you choose a different color.
If I've whetted your appetite for all things Slithis, check this guys site for an extremely long review of the film. Also here's the Slithis TV spot... Slithis... Slithis ... Slithis...
Also there's printing on the back of these glasses advertising Married... With Children and Revenge of the Nerds IV.
American Broadcasting Company, better known as ABC, has 3D glasses sponsored by Wendy's New Fresh Stuffed Pitas.
