Movie Watching: April 15th, 1973, Soylent Green and More

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Let’s say you’ve got the urge to catch a flick tonight. It’s April 15th…..uh, 1973. Am I right? Let’s take a look at some of the movies you might head out to see this evening at the local cinema. Grab your long leather coat and bring at least $1.65 x 2 for a pair of tickets. This is gonna be fun.

Billy Jack
Directed by: T. C. Frank (Tom Laughlin)
Starring: Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Howard Hesseman
Synopsis: Billy Jack (Laughlin), an American Cherokee Indian and “Green Beret” Vietnam War vet, defends the Freedom School and its counter-culture students from antagonistic townsfolk.
Interesting Factoids: Billy Jack was initially released in 1971 and fared poorly. Re-released in 1973, the film became a huge hit. Howard Hesseman, later of WKRP in Cincinnati, appears in the film as a student.
Billy Jack IMDb, Billy Jack Wiki
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Charlotte’s Web
Directed by: Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto
Starring: Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynde, Henry Gibson
Synopsis: A remarkable spider named Charlotte (Reynolds) devotes her life to her friend, Wilbur the pig (Gibson).
Interesting Factoids: Partridge Family stars, Dave Madden and Danny Bonaduce provide voice work.
Charlotte’s Web IMDb, Charlotte’s Web Wiki
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Class of ‘44
Directed by: Paul Bogart
Starring: Oliver Conant, Gary Grimes and Jerry Houser
Synopsis: A sequel to Summer of ’42, Summer of ’44 follows Benjie, Hermie and Oscy upon graduation from high school and onward into college and war.
Interesting Factoids: John Candy appears in a tiny role near the beginning of the movie. His first feature film role.
Class of ’44 – IMDb, Class of ’44 – Wiki
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High Plains Drifter
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill
Synopsis: A trio of outlaws are headed for the mining town town of Lago. The frightened townsfolk hire The Stranger (Eastwood) to protect them.
Interesting Factoids: An entire town was built on the shores of Mono Lake in California for the shoot.
High Plains Drifter IMDb, High Plains Drifter Wiki
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Soylent Green
Directed by: Richard Fleischer
Starring: Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young
Synopsis: In the future (2022), the world is suffering from pollution, over-heating, over-crowding and depleted resources (yikes, too close for comfort). Much of society survives on food rations such as ‘Soylent Green’. In this brutal environment, a detective searches for the murderer of a wealthy business man.
Interesting Factoids: Edward G. Robinson died from cancer on January 26, 1973. Just twelve days after shooting completed.
Soylent Green IMDb, Soylent Green Wiki
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And, oh yes, one almost forgotten to the annals of time:

Walt Disney’s Charley & the Angel
Directed by: Vincent McEveety
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Harry Morgan
Synopsis: In the time of The Great Depression, workaholic Charley (MacMurray) finds out from an Angel (Morgan) that he is soon to die. Charley sets out to become a better husband and father before he checks out forever.
Interesting Factoids: Cloris Leachman was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her appearance in the film. MacMurray, age 64 at the time of filming, played the father of two young boys. That’s virility!
Charley & the Angel IMDb, Charley & the Angel Wiki

(Additional Source: 1)

TV Time: Be a Pepper!

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Be a Pepper! C'mon, you know you danced around your living room to this one.

Hey kids! It’s time for Bionic Disco’s ‘Ad of the Day’. Today, we’ve bottled up a good one – Dr. Pepper’s famed “Be a Pepper” song & dance spot featuring actor David Naughton (who later went on to star in 1979’s Makin’ It TV series and American Werewolf in London).

This ad was truly inescapable to TV watchers of the 70s. That sure as heck included me. Enjoy (a Pepper!)

70s Soaps Canceled – ‘All My Children’, ‘One Life to Live’

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ABC has announced the cancellation of two of its longest-running television series; All My Children and One Life to Live. The network has stated that it wishes to “evolve” its daytime schedule and two new shows; The Chew and The Revolution (neither one a Soap Opera) will be filling the empty slots.

Both of the canceled shows ran throughout the 1970s (not to mention the 80s, 90s, and 00s) and certainly seemed like they’d continue running on the ol’ goggle box for all eternity.

My goodness! Erica is late for her own wedding. For Shame. (Sept. 1978)

All My Children (set for implosion this September) began its 41-year run in January, 1970. 70s-era stars included Susan Lucci as Erica and Richard Hatch (later of Battlestar Galactica) as Phil.

One Life to Live (circa 1979) soon to roll the final credits.

One Life to Live (set to expire in Jan. 2012) made its debut in July of 1968, with stars such as Erika Slezak and Al Freeman, Jr. capturing viewer’s attention in the 1970s.

Personally, I was never a Soap-watcher, but I’m sure a lot of tears (real ones this time!) will be shed over the loss of these venerable television institutions.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

The Osmonds: Number One for March 1971

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Donny and the boys get their Elvis on

March has arrived and Spring is just around the corner. Can you smell the fresh apples in the air? No? Well, maybe after watching The Osmonds perform their hit, “One Bad Apple”, a number 1 single from March 1971, we can fix that. Enjoy.


Bee Gees – Superstars in Gold Lamé

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Here’s your image of the day – The Bee Gees (circa 1977) resplendent in matching (and skimpy!) gold lamé gear. Yeah, you’ll probably need to shield your eyes from the gorgeous glare of golden superstardom. The Bee Gees we’re everywhere in the 70s and dominated the music charts across most of the decade.

Bee Gees - so successful, they clothed themselves in gold. (photo: Michael Ochs Archives)

The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack reignited the fading disco craze and, aided by top Bee Gees tunes such as “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive”, went on to sell 40 million copies – at that point, the highest-selling album in history.

You can be sure we’ll feature the Bee Gees from time to time at Bionic Disco, but if you’d like to dig deeper you can hop to the official Bee Gees site and the Bee Gees Wiki.