When
I was growing up in the New Jersey burbs during the seventies and early eighties there
was a great Thanksgiving Day tradition that I’d like to share with you today,
on the eve of the holiday in 2015.
Every
year, WOR Channel 9 would broadcast King Kong (1933), Son
of Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949) on Turkey Day.
Then,
on Friday, the same station would host a Godzilla marathon consisting of such
films as King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Godzilla
vs. The Smog Monster (1971) and many others. Some years, if memory serves, War
of the Gargantuas (1968) also played.
I
remember showering and dressing early on those Thanksgiving Days, so I could be
lodged near the TV when the Kong movies started.
Meanwhile, my Mom and Dad would be busy in the kitchen preparing a great meal of turkey, stuffing, baked carrots with cinnamon, and home-made biscuits. The house would fill with the delectable aromas of the feast, and even downstairs -- while glued to WOR-TV -- I could feel my appetite for dinner building.
Meanwhile, my Mom and Dad would be busy in the kitchen preparing a great meal of turkey, stuffing, baked carrots with cinnamon, and home-made biscuits. The house would fill with the delectable aromas of the feast, and even downstairs -- while glued to WOR-TV -- I could feel my appetite for dinner building.
Our
guests, usually my grandparents and aunts and uncles, would arrive sometime in
the early afternoon, around 1:00 pm and I would socialize with them, and then
sneak back to the family room for more King Kong.
Sometimes my uncle Larry, a horror fan after a fashion, would
join me.
Then
the meal and dessert -- a chocolate cream
pie and a pumpkin pie -- would be served, and we’d all enjoy each other’s company
over the delicious food. After an
appropriate interval of visiting and socializing, I’d high-tail it once more back down the
stairs to watch more of the movies.
I’m
certain my description of Thanksgiving makes it sound weird and anti-social,
but you must remember that in the seventies, there were no VCRs (let alone DVRs or
movie streaming), which meant that if you wanted to see a movie like King
Kong, you had to seize your moment, or else wait for another year.
I
believe it took me the better part of four Thanksgivings to see all of King
Kong, and then not even in chronological order. I
actually saw the entirety of Son of Kong first, perhaps because
it was often scheduled between our early afternoon dinner and dessert course.
This
tradition of King Kong Thanksgiving and Godzilla Black Friday continued over a
long period at my house -- the better part of a decade -- so much so that I still irrevocably associate the
Holiday season with WOR Channel 9 and its monster movie broadcasts.
I still remember, a bit guiltily, forcing my parents to watch
the seventies Godzilla
movies on Fridays, while we ate Thanksgiving leftovers in the family
room. My folks liked the King
Kong movies, but when it came to Japanese monster movies, they weren’t
exactly big fans..
Anyway, if you decide to spend the holiday with giant monsters, make sure to bring the pumpkin pie...and Happy Thanksgiving.
Include me with the many for whom Kong is a cherished Thanksgiving memory.
ReplyDeleteThe tradition was started by my dear friend, the late Chris Steinbrunner, who was the program director at WOR. (He invented the Million Dollar Movie.) I used to tell him that he was responsible for legions of film buffs....
John,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blast from the past! (And thank you, Mr. Abbott--and the late Mr. Steinbrunner--for making a movie buff; where would I be now without WOR?)
Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
Ivan
Growing up on Long Island in that same golden age, I would always trek into NYC for the Creation Thanksgiving comic conventions that weekend, so missed seeing these classic films. Hmm, I though WABC/7 had the rights to the Godzilla movies since I recall they made the rounds on The 4:30 Movie.
ReplyDeleteAnd as James Abbott noted, I am among the movie buffs created and nurtured by WOR/9, WPIX/11, and WNEW/5. Halcyon days!
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteWow, you tapped into a real childhood memory cap! Kong watching on Thanksgiving Day and Godzilla watching on Friday are some of my fondest childhood memories. While my dad preferred to watch football, he always let my sister and I watch our monster movies. There was something special about no school (and no nuns!), a special meal, family and monsters. I remember being really disappointed when WOR stopped this tradition (I guess it was the early 1980s?) so I tried to recreate it by playing the movies on my VCR. Thanks for tapping into one of my primal childhood pleasures!
Phil
PS" Do you remember a WOR movie show called "Supernatural Theater" that ran on Saturday evenings in the early 1960s? The intro featured clips from "The Crawling Eye", "Forbidden Planet" and "Frankenstein 1970"? The show used the intro section of "The Martian Hop" by the Ran Dells. Ah, another great memory cap. Thanks again John!
Yes Phil, I remember Supernatural Theater on Channel 9. The memory stayed with me, so when I started my blog on weird, almost lost, or obscure movies, I used that name. Now readership from 138 countries. People love strange 60's & 70's flicks. New York TV way back then was the greatest! Cheers!!!! Ken, the 16mm Film Collector at Supernatural Theater.
DeleteVery similar memories here. As Gary said above, WOR/9, WPIX/11, and WNEW/5 got me through a lot back in the day.
ReplyDeleteWas it the Million Dollar Movie that used the Gone With the Wind main music as its theme song? I was blown away when I first watched GWTW in the late 80s, and realized where that classic music came from!
Definitely some great memories. I also grew up in NJ and looked forward to the monster movies on WOR every Thanksgiving and Black Friday. In addition to the aforementioned programs on the different channels in the NY/NJ area...we also can NOT forget that WNET Channel 13 used to run the old Universal monster movies every Saturday night...and let us not also forget about the legendary Fright Night which also aired on WOR on Friday/Saturday nights.
ReplyDeleteI heard Jack Palance stars in the Godzilla promo. LOL don't remember that back in the day. Or am I crazy?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone living in the New York metropolitan area in the early-to-mid 1970s remember the WWOR Channel 9 late-afternoon weekday movie showcase entitled "Science Fiction Theater"? Its introduction featured a live-action black-and-white close-up negative image of a real human eye that occasionally blinked to the sound of subtle eerie music.
ReplyDeleteEvery year at this time, I get misty and nostalgic for the Holiday Movie Special on WOR. I finally found a source who had the 1981 broadcast of King Kong complete with commercials, so this will be playing in the background on Thanksgiving Day. Some of the ads have been on YouTube for years (you linked to one source) and I've had an approximation for a decade. It's great to finally have the real deal. Those were special times indeed when my whole family was together and, well, alive. :)
ReplyDelete