Monday, December 31, 1979

Movies I Have Seen - 1970s (24 movies) (and counting)

The Cheyenne Social Club. Starring Henry Fonda. Theatre with friends and high school classmates, John McGonigal and Blaine Pickard, while awaiting our turn for driver training in the big city, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. 1971

Bluebeard. Starring Richard Burton and Joey Heatherton. Theatre with my cousin, Grant Jordison. c.1972.

Asylum. 1972, Starring Robert Powell, Patrick Magee, Geoffrey Bayldon, Barbara Parkins, Sylvia Sims, Richard Todd, Barry Morse, Peter Cushing, Anne Firbank, Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers, Megs Jenkins, Britt Ekland and Herbert Lom. Theatre in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan with my cousin, Grant Jordison. c.1972.

Deliverance. 1972, Starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox and Billy McKinney. Theatre with my sister, Frances (PhD) Luther. c.1972.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon. 1972, Starring Graham Faulkner as St. Francis of Assisi, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague, Valentina Cortese, Alec Guinness as Pope Innocent III, Michael Feast, Nicholas Willatt, John Sharp, Adolfo Celi and Francesco Guerrieri. Theatre with my friend and fellow Grade 12 graduate, Bob Williams, on the last day of high school, June 1973.

A Clockwork Orange. Starring Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge/Narrator, James Marcus, Warren Clarke, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Michael Bates, John Clive, Carl Duering, Paul Farrell, Billy Russell, Richard Connaught, Clive Francis, Michael Gover, Miriam Karlin as Miss Weathers (Cat Lady), Aubrey Morris, Godfrey Quigley, Sheila Raynor, Madge Ryan, John Savident, Anthony Sharp, Philip Stone, Pauline Taylor, Margaret Tyzack, Steven Berkoff, John J. Carney, Lindsay Campbell, David Prowse (Darth Vader), Gaye Brown, Jan Adair, Vivienne Chandler, Prudence Drage, Jeremy Curry, Carol Drinkwater, Lee Fox, Gillian Hills as Sonietta, Beautiful Blonde Girl in Record Store, Barbara Scott (V) as Marty, Beautiful Brunette Girl in Record Store, Katharina Kubrick as Girl Passing Alex in Record Store, Andros Epaminondas, George O'Gorman, Craig Hunter, Shirley Jaffe as Victim of Billyboy's gang, Virginia Wetherell as Stage actress, Neil Wilson, Katya Wyeth as Girl in Ascot Fantasy, Pat Roach, Robert Bruce, Steadman Clark, David Dawkins, Frankie Abbott, Maurice Bush, Roy Beck, Arthur Tatler, Dr. Gundry, Sister Watkins and Margaret Heald as Nurse Braindrain. Theatre with my father, Harold Luther, an avid movie watcher. c.1971.

Paperback Hero. 1973, Starring Keir Dullea, Elizabeth Ashley, John Beck, Dayle Haddon, Franz Russell, George R. Robertson, Ted Follows, Linda Sorenson, Les Ruby, Jacquie Presly, Chet Robertson, Winnie Rowles, Gerry Cooke, John Ottenberg, Linda Findlay, Mike Shabaga, Pat Scott, John Leffler, Jim Arnsten, Dave Steingard and Max Bentley. Theatre, 1973.

The Happy Hooker. Starring Lynn Redgrave as Xaviera Hollander, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Conrad Janis, Tom Poston, Nicholas Pryor, Elizabeth Wilson and Vincent Schiavelli. Theatre with my father, Harold Luther. c.1975.

Walking Tall. Starring Joe Don Baker. Theatre in Swift Current with my Bible College buddy, Randy Squires, 1974. Our attendance at this movie results in a specific addition to the Millar Bible College Student Handbook for the following year, that students are prohibited from attending movies in Theatres during the academic school year.

The Way of the Dragon (Chinese: 猛龍過江, released in the United States as Return of the Dragon). 1972, Starring Bruce Lee as Tang Lung, Nora Miao as Chen Ching-hua, Paul Wei as Ho, Wang Chung-hsin as Uncle Wang, Tony Liu as Tony, Unicorn Chan as Jimmy, Chuck Norris as Colt, Malisa Longo as Italian Beauty, Robert Wall as Fred (Bob), Hwang In-Shik as Japanese Karateka, Chin Ti as Quen, Wu Ngan as Waiter, Robert Chan as Robert, Tommy Chen as Thomas, John T. Benn as mafia boss, Riccardo Billi as Bank Manager, Anders Nelsson as Thug, Andre E. Morgan as Restaurant guest, Jim James as Restaurant patron, and John Derbyshire appears in the film briefly as one of the mafia thugs. Drive-In theatre in Estevan, Saskatchewan, July, 1975, with Ed Neufeld, Steve Tjosteim, Doris Penner, Susan Regier and Beth Graham. Trivia: In Way of the Dragon Lee introduced Norris to movie-goers as his opponent in the final death fight at the Colosseum in Rome, today considered one of Lee's most legendary fight scenes and one of the most memorable fight scenes in martial arts film history.

The Stepford Wives. 1975, Starring Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Mary Stuart Masterson, Nanette Newman, Dee Wallace and Tina Louise. Theatre, c.1975.

Jaws. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw. Theatre with my sister, Frances (PhD) Luther and my cousin, Grant Jordison. c.1975.

Earthquake. 1974, Starring Ava Gardner and Charlton Heston. Television.

Dixie Dynamite. Theatre in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, summer 1975. I wanted to attend the Ian Thomas concert at the Civic Centre that evening, but was delayed by a late departure from a Millar Bible College alumni gathering near Moose Jaw. The Stampeders were the main act that night. When I arrived at the venue, I could hear Thomas belting out "Painted Ladies", and figured that I had missed half of his concert already. Since I had already seen the Stampeders previously, I went to the movies instead. Likely a bad decision, as decades later, while enjoying Ian Thomas perform on SCTV reruns, I realize now that that was likely my only chance to have seen him perform live.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Starring Jack Nicholson. Theatre in Saskatoon with Lenora Doerksen, my best friend's girlfriend (but who did not used to be mine). 1977. Lenora was a friend and old Bible College classmate who was required to see the movie for her training, but her "boyfriend", John Hadfield, hated going to movies, so I went with her instead.

The Godfather. Starring Al Pacino. Television with my mother, Mrs. Dorothy Luther and my girlfriend, Connie (Luther) Fehr, 1977, while I am preparing a sermon for church. The movie experience is memorable, in that, my mother is watching all the violence, murder and mayhem, and then is most horrified when the Godfather lies to his wife about killing her brother. My mother kept exclaiming: "He lied to her!", while I chuckled coldheartedly, and continued on with my sermon preparation.

The Hiding Place. 1975, Starring Jeannette Clift George (as Corrie ten Boom), Julie Harris (as Betsie ten Boom), Eileen Heckart and Arthur O'Connell. Theatre in Saskatoon. c.1977.

Star Wars: A New Hope. Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. Theatre in Saskatoon with my girlfriend, Connie (Luther) Fehr, and her sibings, Ed Fehr, Debbie (Friesen) Fehr, and Debbie's boyfriend, Paul Friesen. 1977. Wow.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Theatre with my wife, Connie Luther and sister, Frances (PhD) Luther. c.1979.

Superman. 1978, Starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder. Theatre with my wife, Connie Luther and sister, Frances (PhD) Luther. c.1979.

Coming Home. Starring Jon Voight, Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern. University of Regina Theatre with classmate Ken Hay. c.1979.

The Deer Hunter. Starring Robert DeNiro. University of Regina Theatre with classmate Ken Hay. c.1979.

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Starring Harrison Ford. Theatre with my girlfriend, Connie (Luther) Fehr and her sister, Debbie (Friesen) Fehr, and Debbie's boyfriend, Paul Friesen.

Blazing Saddles. Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman and Alex Karras, defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions. [Same group watching double feature with Caddyshack, see below]

Caddyshack. Starring Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight and Chevy Chase. Drive In in Moose Jaw with my wife, Connie Luther and her sister Deb Friesen, brother in law, Paul Friesen, brother Ed Fehr, sister in law, Valerie (Ulrich) Fehr, and our baby daughter, Charity Bliss Luther, all in our Ford F-150 SuperCab. "Where're the white women at?"