Professor Walter's History Lessons

Quick! Make a movie! But don't make it too good. And do it cheap.

Contstatin Film, a German film company, purchased the rights to make a Fantastic Four movie. However, the contract giving them the exclusive rights stipulated that the filming be completed by a deadline in order to retain the rights. In 1992, the deadline was fast approaching and the estimated forty million dollars necessary to make a blockbuster Fantastic Four movie was not available. The company turned to filmmaker Roger Corman who accepted the challenge: make a bare-bones movie at minimum cost.

They never intended to release the low-budget film. But the actors and public were never told that this was just a place holder until the big-budget movie could be made. They worked diligently, for low salaries. They were told that if the movie did not go to theaters it would be a pilot for a TV series. Filming lasted only one month and the cast went on to give interviews and appear at conventions. A premiere date of 1994 was set, but in 1993 it was announced that the film would not be released because of its budget.

For $1.5M, Constatin Film created a movie that they never intended to release. They retained the rights and more than a decade later they released a big budget Fantastic Four movie which grossed $330M. To those interested, there are a few bootleg copies of the "never to be released" film floating around.

-Professor Walter

A shining star in The Wizard of Oz

The cast of the 1939 classic film "The Wizard of Oz" contained many singers and extras. There were those in costume as well as those working behind the scenes. And there was the star, Terry. She was born in 1933 during the Great Depression and took to acting early, with stars such as Shirley Temple in 1934's "Bright Eyes." Terry's big break would come in The Wizard of Oz where her performance was so perfect that she is cemented in the national psyche.

At the time of The Wizard of Oz, Terry commanded a salary of $125 per week, more than most of the actors in the film and of most Americans at the time. Many on the set felt this unfair, as Terry was younger and "less-traditional" than the others. Despite this Terry retained her salary and performed well, even after an on-set accident broke her foot, requiring two weeks of recovery at Judy Garland's home.

Terry continued to make films up until her death in 1945 at the age of eleven, yet nothing would ever compare to her stellar performance in The Wizard of Oz; as Toto, Dorothy's dog.

-Professor Walter

The Sound of Irony

The Edelweiss is a high altitude mountainous flower that grows in Europe.  The flower was previously used in traditional folk medicine, but since the 1880s has been a protected plant in many countries.  Its name comes from the German edel, meaning "noble," and weiss, meaning white, translated to "noble whiteness" or "noble purity."  Its alluring appearance and mountain ties have made it a part of our cultural heritage.

The Austrian-Hungarian Army used the Edelweiss as the symbol for their alpine troops, it was used in WW II by the Wehrmacht Gebirgsjäger, and it is on the Austrian Euro 2 cent coin.  Its influence is far reaching and can be seen on many popular commercial items, including Austrian beer.

In 1934 the flower performed one of its most dubious duties.  Adolph Hitler was set to arrive at Anhalter Station and a delegation from various women's organizations in Berlin planned to greet him with flowers.  However, after contacting his propaganda minister's secretary, they were informed that Hitler had no favorite flower, nor any particular interest in flowers.  In a spur of the moment decision, the Edelweiss was selected for him, due to its rarity and connection to the Bavarian mountains where Hitler spent time in his youth.  From that point on it became the official flower of the Fuhrer.  Conversely, and interestingly, it was also the badge of the anti-Nazi youth group, The Edelweiss Pirates, during the Third Reich.

Perhaps its best known role is from The Sound of Music, the last musical on which Rogers and Hammerstein collaborated.  The song "Edelweiss" was written specifically to take advantage of the skills of Theodore Bikel, who played Captain George Ludwig von Trapp in the stage production.  Despite the flower's connections to Hitler, the song was meant to illustrate von Trapp's support of his homeland in opposition to Nazi rule.  The song's popularity exceeded that of the musical itself, spawning many misconceptions -- including one that President Ronald Reagan fell prey to.  When the emissary of Austria visited the United States, Edelweiss was played because it was believed to be the national anthem and a traditional folk song.

-Professor Walter

Looks like we picked a bad day to start a show

On November 23, 1963 Great Britain was introduced to an eccentric time traveller known as The Doctor and his time travelling machine the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space).  Over the course of the next three decades, Doctor Who and its stars would become sensations in Great Britain and build a cult following throughout the world.  But the premier episode was seen by few due to a lone assassin.

On November 22, 1963, at 1:00pm President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead, struck down by the gun of Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.  The following day the world mourned, and the televisions were filled with programming related to the late president and the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson.  The first episode was buried in the news of the assassination.  Fortunately, it was replayed the following week, before the second episode aired, and the rest is history.

The show would see unexpected popularity that only waned as it came toward its cancellation in 1989.  A TV movie was released in 1996 as an attempted back door pilot to resurrect the series, but it failed.  In 2005 the series was successfully re-launched and has continued to be a staple sci-fi program for the world to this day.

-Professor Walter

From humble origins great heroes are born

Animated programs come from many sources, from a sitcom based on the Honeymooners (The Flintstones) to a show born as a small skit on a variety comedy program (The Simpsons).  Some have more commercial origins, as is the case with Underdog.  The famous canine, who graced over 100 episodes and a full length feature motion picture, was born not out of the traditional sources, but instead came from a breakfast cereal.  In 1959 the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising agency in New York handled the General Mills account.  They developed a collection of animated shows to promote cereal.  One of them was Underdog.  

W. Watts Biggers, Chet Stover, Treadwell D. Covington and artist Joe Harris worked together to create the new series.  When Underdog became a success they left to form Total Television to continue creating the show, utilizing Gamma Studios in Mexico to produce the animation.  The show's success outlasted General Mills's support when they stopped being the primary sponsor in 1969, although General Mills did retain the rights to the series until the mid-90s.  But Underdog's popularity stayed strong.  Even though the show ceased production in 1973, in 2007 Underdog returned, this time to the big screen in a live action adaptation which generally garnered poor reviews.  No word yet on when Underdog's next big return is planned.

-Professor Walter

Revising Literature for the greater good

Roald Dahl was one of the greatest authors of the 20th century penning such classics as The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  His legacy extends to virtually every child in the western world to fans of the original Twilight Zone where his story, of the wife who murdered her husband by beating him with a frozen leg of lamb and then feeding the murder weapon to the police, became an episode.  His stories often had a dark tone differentiating them from many other works of the time.  Arguably his best known tale is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with its iconic Oompa Loompas.  What many do not realize is that the Oopma Loompas were revised for reasons of political correctness.  Originally they were black skinned pygmies from Africa.  The NAACP and other groups saw reflections of slavery in the novel.  For that reason in the second edition they were revised to be dwarfs from Loompaland with light skin and long brown hair.  In the iconic 1971 film the Oompa Loompas were changed to have orange skin and green hair to avoid the issue all together.

-Professor Walter

Faith and Love started a revolution in public perception of Down Syndrome

In the first portion of the 20th century people with Down Syndrome were stigmatized.  Often they were taken away and placed in mental institutions.  These "flawed" children often lived short lives and doctors thought they were helping parents by assisting them in ridding themselves of these children. 

On August 26, 1950 Dale Evans, half of the singing duet with Roy Rogers, gave birth to their only child together.  She was a beautiful baby girl they name Robin Elizabeth Rogers.  Doctors knew something was amiss and a few days later informed the parents that their little girl had Down Syndrome (known as Mongoloid at the time).  The doctors, believing they were doing what was best for the parents, encouraged Roy and Dale to give the child up.  They would not, and took the child home with them against doctor advice.  Dale refused to keep her child hidden from public view.  

"In those days people saw an offspring as evidence of genetic weakness in the parents.  Mongoloid children were usually hidden because society was not willing to accept them...But God knew that if we would accept the challenge of caring for Robin, he could use us to witness of his love in new and exciting ways."

Robin spent nearly 2 years with her loving parents as a happy child.  Then, shorty before her second birthday, Robin passed away from heart disease.  Roy and Dale were devastated.  Dale could not bring herself to view their child after death.  Roy took that responsibility and, afterwords, spoke to Dale describing Robin as "a small size sleeping angel".  That statement sparked a memory in Dale and she recalled the passage from Hebrew 13:2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."  Dale took it to heart.

"Like sunlight breaking through clouds after a storm of darkness, it all became clear to me. She had come to us from God - an angel – with all her handicaps and frailties to make us aware that his strength is found in weakness. In the two years she had been among us we had grown close as a family and we had learned how deeply we needed to depend on God. My job was to help deliver that message that had been given us by an angel."

Dale wrote a book about Robin entitled, Angel Unaware. The short book told of Roy's and her love of Robin and the life they lived together utilizing a strong Christian Faith to get through the hard times.  Her book would go on the become her greatest legacy.  Her book would be at the forefront in changing the public's perception of Down Syndrome.

While there is still progress to be made in achieving full public acceptance of those with Down Syndrome, Dale Evan's book was a great catalyst change.  She brought it from a state of family shame to a part of society.

-Professor Walter

Balls to the wall!

In today's language the phrase "Balls to the wall" means to push the limit, to go full speed.  Many believe the phase has a "dirty" connotation, but that is not the case.  The phrase is actually a reference to the throttle on planes.  When you wanted to accelerate, the throttle would be pushed toward the firewall.  When you wanted to go as fast as possible you would push the throttle with it's ball all the way to the wall.  Hence, the phrase balls to the wall was born.  The first time it was used is believed to be during the Korean war, it is likely related to the phrase "balls-out" from WWII, which has the same meaning.

-Professor Walter

Worst Award Ceremony - Ever!

In July of 1991, the Clio Awards were set to be presented in Manhattan.  The Clio is the advertising industries version of the "Oscar" with awards going to the best and brightest in bronze, silver and gold.  The best and brightest in advertising were there on that Balmy Thursday, in 86 degree heat to see if they had won.  Many of the guests were from other countries, and all were dressed as one would expect for such an event.  There was one problem, no one from the Clio awards was there.

As they would later find out, Bill Evans the owner of the Clio, was in serious financial difficulty and his staff had left after missing one too many paychecks in the month of May.  Evans was not there either.  After an hour of waiting outside the doors were opened and everyone finally found their seat only to see an unfamiliar face at the podium, that of the head caterer.  While he did quite a good job, considering the circumstances, he never had a script and when clips were played, often out of focus or upside down, he had to ask people in the audience who made each clip.  Not to mention that no one had the winners list so no Clios were handed out.  Eventually he was booed off the stage.  Then things got worse.

A PR representative decided to take to the stage and continue the presentation, after one too many trips to the bar.  His lackluster performance turned the event into more of a circus, especially when he unexpectedly broke out in song when the band played a familiar Irish tune.  Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.  The PR man mumbled something about being out of script and wondered off the stage.  The helpless band played Hello Dolly, for the fourth time that night.

The audience sat in stunned silence, the stage empty except for the microphone and the Clio awards.  Soon the audience, disgusted with the display, began to make their way toward the door when one man in a tuxedo broke away from the crowd and walked on stage and grabbed a Clio waving it in the air.  Some in the crowd gasped, others cheered, and more still ran up to get one for themselves.  In less than a minute the Clios were gone.

The Clio was purchased by an investment firm and sold to a Dutch firm now called the Nielsen Company which still puts on the ceremony every year.  But none so far have been as memorable as the one in 1991.

-Professor Walter

The most deadly film of all time?

In 1956 Howard Hughes produced a film about Genghis Kahn starring John Wayne called The Conqueror.  The film was shot primarily near St. George, Utah 137 miles downwind of the U.S. Government's nuclear test site.  There are images of John Wayne with a Geiger counter on the site, however at the time the connection between radiation fallout and cancer was not fully understood.  By 1981, 91 of the 220 people who made the film were afflicted with cancer, an astonishing 41% of the crew. 

The factruth is that no one is certain if the high rates of cancer were a direct cause of the nuclear tests however Dr. Robert Pendleton, professor of biology at the University of Utah, made the observation,

"With these numbers, this case could qualify as an epidemic. The connection between fallout radiation and cancer in individual cases has been practically impossible to prove conclusively. But in a group this size you'd expect only 30 some cancers to develop...I think the tie-in to their exposure on the set of The Conqueror would hold up in a court of law."

Many point to out the fact that smoking was prevalent at the time of the filming as a likely cause, however there are additional reports of visiting family and friends afflicted with cancer as well, including the majority of the 300 Indians of the Shivit Reservation who had served as extras on the film together. 

-Professor Walter