Hollywood Sneak Previews

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Growing up in Southern California was a movie-lovers paradise! Myhome base of Bellflower, California was relatively equidistant to LongBeach, Hollywood and Westwood each with an abundance of movietheaters to tempt my attendance. Beginning in 1955, at age 10, myparents allowed me to take the bus every Saturday morning to mygrandmothers house in Long Beach, where I earned a dollar an hourdoing yard work. I arrived very early Saturday mornings so myafternoons would be free to see as many movies as possible before the6:00 pm bus would deliver me home. Then when I hit my teens, my parentspermitted me to add Hollywood and Westwood to my weekly movieexpeditions.

Hollywood being the movie capitol of the world, I soon discoveredthe tradition known as the Major Studio Sneak Preview. There are twokinds of sneak previews: those shown nationwide in promotionalcampaigns designed to help spread word of mouth for a new movie, andothers, mostly shown in and around Hollywood, that are legitimate testscreenings attended by studio execs to gauge audience response anddevelop marketing strategies. Since the titles are kept secret, thesegenuine sneak previews are included free with the admission paid tosee whatever is playing that week. Audiences are occasionally asked tofill out survey cards and rate the movie after the screening.

The excitement of attending genuine sneak previews was in notknowing what new movie would be screened. They were usually scheduledon a Friday or Saturday night with only a small notice in the newspaperatop the ad for the regular feature that simply said: Major StudioSneak Preview Tonight at 8:00. Secrecy was important, as the studioswere seeking a genuine response from an audience not already inclinedto favor the stars or genre of the film being tested. To assure I gotin, I would routinely arrive around 6:00 and sit through the regularfeature even if Id already seen it. I would know it was an importantscreening when several rows of seats were roped off and reserved forthe studio brass.

The biggest thrill was seeing What Ever Happened to Baby Jane(1962) as a sneak preview at the State Theater in Long Beach. As themovie got underway, the audience grew increasingly restless. The moviewas in black and white, and the very long extended sequence before theopening credits had many in the audience booing the screen, especiallywhen little Baby Jane began singing Ive Written a Letter to Daddy.The booing morphed into cheers and wild applause once Bette Davis andJoan Crawfords names finally appeared. According to the preview cards,the studio was concerned about retaining the scene wherein Bette servesa dead rat to sister Joan. Imagine that being a concern today!

A similar reaction attended the first quarter hour of the sneak for Play Misty for Me(1971). Clint Eastwood had not yet attained his iconic status, andafter a casual start the audience had no idea where the story wasgoing. Groaning and seat shifting permeated the theater. Once it becameclear the film was a thriller and the Jessica Walter character apsycho, the roller coaster ride was on and the audience fully engaged.Clearly Eastwood had established that not only could he act, but couldadmirably fill the directors seat as well.

Another disconcerting audience reaction was at the sneak for Days of Wine and Roses (1962). We were used to seeing Jack Lemmon excel in comedies like Some Like it Hot and The Apartment,but Im sure I wasnt alone at the outset in waiting for the laughs tokick in as Lemmon delivered his incredible Oscar-nominated performancewhich earned enthusiastic applause over the closing credits.

The most fun I had at a sneak preview was attending the first public screening of Blazing Saddles (1974)at the U. A. Theater in Westwood. This was early in Mel Brooks filmcareer, and he had the audience rolling in the aisles from the openingmoments - and especially during the infamous campfire flatulencescene. After the movie when the lights came up I noticed an exhilaratedMel Brooks sitting in an aisle seat in the roped off section, alongwith Harvey Korman and several other actors in the film.

Other special moments I recall enjoying at sneak previews include Ann-Margrets titillating performance of the title song in the opening and closing sequences of Bye Bye Birdie (1963); the inspired pairing of John Wayne and Maureen OHara in McLintock! (1963); Rock Hudson in the underrated The Spiral Road (1963); and Kirk Douglass brilliant portrayal of a modern day cowboy in Lonely are the Brave (1962).

I vividly recall one Friday during my junior year in high schoolbeing excited about attending a sneak preview announced in the L.A.Times that morning. The ad included a hint that it was to be JerryLewiss newest movie. Sadly, that Friday happened to be on November22, 1963. Anticipation turned to anxiety and shock when our politicalscience teacher announced to the class that President Kennedy had justbeen assassinated. The preview was cancelled, of course, as were mostentertainment venues.

At the outset of the 1970s it seemed to me that the quality of lifein Southern California was beginning to deteriorate, as was theexperience of going to the movies. The long established onscreentraditions of verbal discourse and human behavior were shifting into anew realm of anything goes, and with increasingly little left to theimagination. In 1977 I abandoned a beginning career in real estate andmoved my family to Southern Oregon in search of greener pastures and amore purposeful life. Three years later my passion for classic moviesevolved into a new career recreating the movie-going experiences of the1930s, 40s and 50s for PBS in an original TV series called Matinee at the Bijou.

Thelast sneak preview I ever attended was on a trip to L.A. on behalf ofthe Bijou series. Being a political junkie it was especially gratifyingfor me to be in the audience for a sneak preview of The Formula (1980);a big oil conspiracy thriller starring Marlon Brando and George C.Scott. During the intermission prior to the screening I learned whilechatting with an usher that along with the studio execs in attendancewere several major oil executives checking out the proceedings. Thefinal shot of the film lingers on a congested L.A. freeway interchangeand resonated for me as a kind of deeply personal affirmation of my newlife in Oregon.