Newspaper Movie Guide 1980

I found a newspaper from June 6, 1980, and one of the things I always think is fun to do when looking at an old paper is checking out what was playing at the movies back then.

You may have heard that it's the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, but were you also aware of another classic movie which opened 30 years ago...

Did you happen to notice "With Mel Gibson" near the bottom of the ad? That's probably the last time Mel was buried in the credits like this. Check out the trailer which uses the "With Mel Gibson" credit too...



Next there's this low-budget slasher movie that has a title that sounds like it could be an anti-abortion documentary to me...

And the Silent Scream trailer...


Now here's a film that has gone by a number of different titles. The original title is Snapshot, but was retitled when released on video as The Day Before Halloween, or The Night After Halloween. To further confuse things the name of this film in the 1980 newspaper ad is...

I love that ad copy, "Don't open the door... Don't answer the phone... Don't look in the attic... " - all of which just happens to be titles of other horror movies. One More Minute looks like a pretty intense slasher film, but according to YouTube film reviewer, SlasherIndex it's anything but...



Two years earlier in 1978 National Lampoon's Animal House was a huge hit, and a flood of imitators followed. Not to be out done, MAD Magazine presented their first (and only) motion picture with MAD Magazine Presents Up The Academy...

MAD Magazine artist Jack Rickard illustrated the poster, and that's practically the only thing MAD had to do with this film. Oh yeah, a live action Alfred E. Neuman makes a quick cameo too...

That "Alfred" mask is either funny or terrifying depending on your sensibilities. Anyways, the film was a flop, and fellow blogger, Frank, at Franklin Mint Blog does excellent job of documenting the whole mess. (You can also download the soundtrack at his blog too!)

Well, here's the TV commercial...



It's an interesting coincidence that another "Animal House-like" movie opened on June 6, 1980, with poster art by Jack Davis who just happens to be another MAD Magazine artist...

The full-color poster has slightly different art and a totally different tag line...


And finally a TV commercial for this forgotten comedy...

Weeki Wachee

Let's take the plunge into another retro brochure collection. This time it's that classic mermaid attraction Florida's Weeki Wachee...

The two images above are from a card that I believe dates from the early 1970's.

The brochure below is from 1978...

I'm assuming the picture of the girl with torpedo-like underwater scooter was intended to be the front, and the "shark girl" was on the back of the brochure - but it could go either way. Maybe with the popularity of Jaws "shark girl" was placed in the racks facing up.


If you look closely at these brochures you''l see that Weeki Wachee was once owned by ABC Leisure Attractions - which was a subsidiarity of the American Broadcasting Company. Weeki Wachee is no longer owned by a private company, and is now a state park.

Supergrass made a music video for their song "Low C" which plays like a mini Weeki Wachee documentary. Check it out...

AutoWorld

Well here's the brochure for the infamous Six Flags AutoWorld in Flint, MI. It's a little controversial, and was featured in documentaries made by a well-known portly provocateur (you're smart, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about).

There's been a lot of speculation on AutoWorld's failure. I think the basic reason it failed was because it was simply a bad idea. The automobile theme was too limiting to support an elaborate indoor "family entertainment center." Even in Michigan, where major car companies are headquartered, and tens of thousands of people make their living from the auto industry there weren't enough people interested in visiting AutoWorld to support the place.


Oh look the brochure folds out into a "fun map" to help you plan your visit...


It's funny how the back of the AutoWorld brochure urges to "Plan your visit soon!" Yeah, you better have since it lasted less than 2 years.

It's time to say goodbye to AutoWorld!

Mystery Fun House

Here's a 1990's brochure for Mystery Fun House in Orlando, FL. It was the attraction notable for a large fiberglass wizard on the front of the building. Mystery Fun House operated from 1976 through 2001, and was located virtually across the street from the Universal Orlando Resort.

It's interesting to note, that in a little over a month, Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando will be the home to a certain very popular boy wizard. So now that wizard who use to hang out at Mystery Fun House can... Umm... Yeah, I got nothing. I thought I was going somewhere with this setup, but I got nothing. Please enjoy the rest of this brochure for this defunct attraction.