Reel Reflection: Looking Back at 2022's Movie Anniversaries

 

by Michael Lyons

Well, we seem to say it a lot lately in late December, but, again - What. A. Year.

As all of the events of 2022 whirled past us, movie fans could always find something to celebrate, as some notable films marked anniversaries this year.  Here is a look back at just some of them before we close the calendar:

 

The Avengers (2012) - Ten Years

Big Marvel Cinematic Universe movies seem so commonplace today that it's hard to believe that a decade has gone by since this first merging of several-super hero films.  Even though the franchise has grown, changed, expanded, and brought many different thoughts from fans, there's no denying this movie still packs a big ol' entertaining wallop.

 

Treasure Planet (2002) - Twenty Years

Released over Thanksgiving weekend of 2002, when it faired poorly at the box office, many were quick to dismiss this as "Disney's Holiday Turkey."  So unfair.  This science-fiction take on Treasure Island features brilliant character animation and pure heart and emotion that sneaks up on you.  An underrated gem, a "treasure," indeed.

 

Unforgiven (1992) - Thirty Years

Who better to helm a revisionist Western movie than Clint Eastwood?  The director and star's brutal take on the genre deservedly won the Best Picture Oscar that year, and is still impactful three decades later.

 

Tootsie (1982) - Forty Years

So funny.  That is the only way to describe this brilliant comedy.  Dustin Hoffman is perfect as a struggling actor so desperate for work that he disguises himself as a woman to get a role on a soap opera and becomes a star.

Not only filled with great humor but also messages about how different genders are perceived and perceive life.  Plus, the scene where Bill Murray calls Dustin Hoffman "a slut" is still classic!

 

The Godfather (1972) - Fifty Years

Still one of the greatest films of all time.  Francis Ford Coppola's Corleone crime family saga is perfect storytelling and much more than a "mob movie." It's a tale of the seductive nature of power, how that power can be corrupted, and how the power of family creates an indestructible bond.  There is a reason this movie is still discussed half a century later. 

 

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Sixty Years

If not the best, then one of the best film adaptations of a book ever made.  Gregory Peck embodied the role of lawyer Atticus Finch in this translation of Harper Lee's novel about a lawyer who defends a black man in small-town Alabama when the man is wrongfully accused of rape.  Set against the backdrop of not just the small-town South but coming-of-age understanding, To Kill a Mockingbird, the book, and this film, seem to become more powerful and relevant as the years pass. 

 

Casablanca (1942) - Eighty Years

They don't get more iconic than this.  In one of the defining roles of his career, Humphrey Bogart is Rick, the cynical ex-patriate who owns a nightclub in Morocco that gets caught in the crosshairs of World War II as he unexpectedly encounters his one-time love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman).

So many unforgettable scenes and lines of dialogue ("Of all the jin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine," "We'll always have Paris," "Here's looking at you, kid," "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.").

Casablanca is a story of the power of alliances and how we can never escape our past.  It's the gold standard of the age of the silver screen.

 

As we head into the long holiday weekend, look ahead, reflect and take some time to remember these and other wonderful films that reached milestones in 2022.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

 

 

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There's Magic in Store: The 75th Anniversary of the Original "Miracle on 34th Street"

 by Michael Lyons

 

Pure Movie Magic.  How many times have you heard that phrase?  Or have you seen it splashed across a movie poster?  It's beyond overused and applies only to certain movies.

One of them is the original Miracle on 34th Street.  The movie that's become a classic Christmas tradition and part of many film fans' seasonal rotations has magic to spare. What's most remarkable, as it celebrates its 75th anniversary, is that Miracle on 34th Street does this without the benefit of visual effects and, instead, tells a down-to-earth story overflowing with the ethereal wonder of the season.

The film tells the now-familiar tale of how Macy's department store in New York City hires a kindly gentleman as their seasonal Santa Claus, only to learn that he claims to be the real Saint Nick himself. What follows is a tremendous amount of speculation, resulting in a hearing to determine if Santa is really who he says he is.

Director George Seaton and his wife were vacationing with writer Valentine Davies and his wife when Davies told Seaton about his idea for the story.  Seaton then crafted the screenplay (which won him an Academy Award) and stepped behind the camera as director to helm Miracle on 34th Street.

When it was ready to be released, Darryl F. Zanuck, the head of 20th Century-Fox, decided to release the film not during Christmastime but on June 11, 1947, as Zanuck believed that more people went to the movies during the summer.

All marketing and promotion at the time, including the original trailer and poster, had no images of Christmas and kept the story shrouded in mystery to entice audiences to theaters.

Once critics saw Miracle on 34th Street, however, the secret was happily out of the bag.  In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote: "For all those blasé skeptics who do not believe in Santa Claus - and likewise for all those natives who have grown cynical about New York-but most especially for all those patrons who have grown weary of the monotonies of the screen, let us heartily recommend the Roxy's new picture, Miracle on 34th Street. As a matter of fact, let's go further: let's catch its spirit and heartily proclaim that it is the freshest little picture in a long time and maybe even the best comedy of the year."

In addition to its story, Miracle on 34th Street is buoyed by the performances. Young Natalie Wood is amazingly natural as the "older-than-her years" little girl Susan Walker; Maureen O'Hara as Susan's mother, Doris, the Macy's manager who hires Kris Kringle, reveals great strength and vulnerability as she is torn between fantasy and reality; John Payne brings warmth to his role as Fred Gailey, the attorney who defends Santa in court and learns to believe; Gene Lockhart is hysterical as the skittish judge, and holding the film together, in the kindest, gentlest performance film has ever seen is Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle.

The performance won Gwenn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and he delivered one of the greatest acceptance speeches when he said, "Now I know there is a Santa Claus."

In the seven and a half decades since its release, Miracle on 34th Street has become more beloved each Christmas season. Although there have been remakes, such as a made-for-TV version in 1973 and the big-budget theatrical remake in 1994, none compare to the original. 

Author Sarah Parker Danielson wrote a book chronicling the making of the film, aptly titled Miracle on 34th Street, in which she states:

"Though its setting is the Christmas season, the film's message is a simple one applicable year-round: Life’s intangibles are what make living worthwhile. As Fred Gailey points out, what really matters are the things that Kris Kringle stands for - hope, joy, kindness, and love. That the characters in the film come to understand the meaning of these intangibles is the miracle on 34th St."

In other words: pure movie magic.

Happy 75th anniversary to Miracle on 34th Street, and Merry Christmas to one and all!

Sources:

Sarah Parker Danielson, Miracle on 34th Street, JG Press, 2006

Wikipedia

 

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Just Like The Ones We Used To Know: Looking Back on Bing Crosby's Last TV Christmas Special, 45 Years Later

 by Michael Lyons

Bing Crosby and David Bowie during their iconic

performance on Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas

Of all the memories of watching Christmas specials on TV through the years, there's one that is indelible.

It happened on November 30, 1977.  I was eleven years old and watched the annual Bing Crosby Christmas special with my mother and father, as we did each year.  It was called Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, and, as he did each year, he ended the special by singing his iconic trademark song, "White Christmas."

My mom started crying as Bing sang it on our furniture-sized television.  When "White Christmas" finished, my mom said, "That's the last time."

Many watching Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas felt the same way that evening.  Sadly, Bing Crosby had just passed away in October of 1977, not long after taping the special (it had been a tough year as Elvis Presley had passed in August).

As it did then, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas still feels like an end of an era.  Oh sure, there were, and have been similar, variety show-like Christmas specials since, but Bing Crosby represented a time when those comforting Christmas carols weren't re-recorded by every artist with a microphone and weren't played 24 hours a day on the radio.

When you heard Bing Crosby, it was Christmas.  Sure, he was known for more, but thanks to "White Christmas" and the movie of the same name, as well as Holiday Inn, seeing him and hearing him felt like a sign of the season.

That's what makes watching Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas bittersweet.

The special's "story" centers on Bing receiving an invite from a distant relative ("Sir Percy"), inviting him and his family to England to spend Christmas there. Bing, his wife Kathryn, and children Harry, Mary, and Nathaniel, spend the holidays at Sir Percy's estate.

While there, they meet the butler, the cook, and the maid (all played by Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter) and spend some time with Sir Percy's neighbor, David Bowie (during which he and Bing perform the medley of "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy," which would not only bridge musical generation gaps but also become a hit single in the 1980s).

Also, model and singer Twiggy joins the Crosbys for a discussion about some of Charles Dickens' most famous characters (many of them played in this ethereal sequence by actor Ron Moody, who had played Fagan in 1968's musical Oliver!).

Toward the conclusion, the Trinity Boys Choir joins all for a rousing medley of such Christmas songs as "Jingle Bells," "Winter Wonderland," "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and "Carol of the Bells."

And it all concludes with Bing, standing at the piano, for that touching, last rendition of "White Christmas."

Recorded in England, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas aired on November 30, 1977, on CBS, a little over a month after Bing's passing on October 14th.  Bing's wife Kathryn recorded a special introduction that aired before the special.

Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas ad

featured in TV Guide.

Watching Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas today, 45 years after its debut, it's not only a reminder of how closely Bing was connected to the holidays but also a memory of "another time" when Christmas specials such as this were like televised Christmas cards, from entertainers.  And an era when families scheduled time to gather together to watch them.

It was a wonderful time, and Bing Crosby was a wonderful part of it and an amazing talent, who has left quite the legacy, that we get to enjoy every Christmas season.

And Bing's closing words in the special, just before he sings "White Christmas," still resonates today:

“Really, I guess Christmas has a way of calling up the best in people. It's time to review your blessings, to renew your faith, to share the warmth of the season with new and old friends, with family. It's a time of joy, of closeness, a time to look back with gratitude of being able to come this far, and the time to look ahead with hope and optimism to a future day when there'll be peace on earth and goodwill towards all men. We wish you all the blessings of the season and a dream to place under your pillow to see you through the cold nights.”  

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Getting There Is All The Fun: Memories of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," in celebration of the film's 35th anniversary.

 By Michael Lyons

Five years ago, when I started this blog and noted on the calendar that it would debut in November, I knew that the first article I had to write would need to be about Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  The film was about to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and I couldn't wait to commemorate this (to read the article, click here: Holiday Road: The 30th Anniversary of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" ).

 

Since its debut on November 25, 1987, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, has become more and more of a favorite for me in the past 35 years.  It's now not only one of my top holiday movies (and a must-watch each season) but also one of my favorite comedies of all time.

 

My first introduction was a trailer that surfaced during the summer of '87 that concluded with the now famous "Those aren't pillows" scene, resulting in an eruption of laughter from the audience that was usually reserved for the main feature, not the coming attraction.

 

As it came closer to the opening day of Planes, Trains and Automobiles on the day before Thanksgiving, I became fascinated with the film.

 

The story revolves around uptight marketing executive Neal Page (Steve Martin), who is on a business trip to New York and is desperately trying to get home to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his family.  Weather and travel-related hurdles prevent this, and he gets unwittingly paired up with Del Griffith (John Candy), an innocently annoying shower curtain ring salesman. The latter tries to help Neal but ultimately becomes part of the problem.

 

It's a somewhat basic conceit, but what drew me to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and it continues to, is that it was a Thanksgiving movie.  There weren't, and still aren't, a lot of films that celebrate this particular holiday.  In fact, at the time, there weren't a lot of Christmas movies.

 

The last big theatrical holiday film before Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was A Christmas Story in 1983. Hard as it is to believe, there weren't a lot of choices when it came to holiday-themed films 35 years ago.  As a holiday movie fan, there was much to look forward to with Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

 

Additionally, Martin and Candy were at the height of their movie popularity. In the 80s, comedies were king, with films like Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop as two of the biggest of the decade.

 

To add to it all, the film was written and directed by John Hughes, who had brought "The Brat Pack" to prominence by creating films for a generation with Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Two years after Planes, Trains and Automibles, Hughes became the king of holiday comedies with the one-two punch of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989 and Home Alone in 1990.

 

This would be Hughes’ first “adult” film.  Knowing that he was an expert at crafting stories and injecting unique humor only increased my interest in the movie.

1987 newspaper ad for 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

After seeing the film on Black Friday, I was ecstatic.  It was all of the humor, timing, and physical comedy Steve Martin was so brilliant at, coupled with a genuine performance from John Candy, where the comedian crafted a character.

 

Running throughout Planes, Trains and Automobiles was a surprising amount of heart that never felt like it was “tacked on” but grew out of the story and the two main characters.  I watched Siskel & Ebert & The Movies that weekend (and, after all, who didn’t?  Their reviews could make or break a movie), and they raved about the film.

 

As Thanksgiving weekend came to a close, I knew, I just knew, that Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was a holiday and comic classic in the making.

 

Then, the box office results came out, and, as far as I was concerned, something had gone terribly wrong.  I opened the newspaper (remember those?) on Monday and the small box on the “Entertainment” page with the box-office results had Planes, Trains and Automobiles at number three.

 

Wait!  What?!?  It was behind another comedy, Three Men and a Baby, at number one, and a re-issue of Disney’s 1950 animated feature, Cinderella.

 

How could this be?  I was so disappointed.  However, as the holiday season of 1987 faded, pop culture had other plans for Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

 

The 80s would see the boon of home video and cable, which, like many films, brought a new appreciation for this one.  The VHS and DVD copies of the film I would purchase through the years would become part of the Thanksgiving season.

 

I am such a nerd for Planes, Trains and Automobiles that I watch it yearly two days before Thanksgiving, as that is when the film opens. I have heard multiple stories from fans who also make sure that they watch the movie sometime during Thanksgiving week, whether the day before or Thanksgiving night, as a comforting way to ease out of the “Turkey coma.”

 

Also, when the internet became “a thing,” word spread that Hughes had made a much longer (some say about three hour long) version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which had been trimmed down to a lean 90 minutes.

 

The footage was said to be lost with only one scene, with Steve Martin attempting to eat airline food, surfacing, as it was used on TV in place of the, now classic “F-word car rental sequence.”  And, fans of the film, like me, wondered and fantasized what those scenes (some of which were also in the original trailer) and that wondrous “Hughes cut” of Planes, Trains and Automobiles must be like.  

 

Luckily, we can wonder no more, as this year, finally, for the film’s 35^th anniversary, over an hour of footage has been unearthed and released on 4K.

A deleted scene from 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

 

It's amazing to think that there are even more classically timed comedic scenes than the now iconic ones mentioned, like the "pillows," the rental car scene, and, especially, the close call between two semi-trucks.

 

While those scenes and lines of dialogue (Neal: "What do you think the temperature is?"  Del: "One.") have become part of the lexicon for fans of the film, there's so much more to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

 

Here is a film about how in a fast-paced world, we can miss out on life itself, like connections with a complete, kind-hearted stranger, that can teach us more about them and ourselves.  

 

No wonder, like so many others, for thirty-five years, I have enjoyed traveling with Neal and Del every Thanksgiving.

 

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Stuffed With Laughs: Classic Sitcoms Where Thanksgiving Goes Terribly Wrong

 

Cheers' "Thanksgiving Orphans" episode

by Michael Lyons

Thanksgiving is a fantastic holiday.  Food at the table, and family gathered around it.  It truly is a day to be thankful for all that we have...and still, like all holidays and so much else planned in our lives, things can go wrong, and sometimes do.

We all have memories of those Thanksgivings when the turkey was undercooked; the potatoes were runny, the stuffing wasn't from Stovetop, and, even worse, we had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving.

This idea of plans being ruined for Thanksgiving and those who wouldn't be gathered together typically wind up getting together for the holiday has been fodder for several Thanksgiving-themed sitcom episodes.

And so, as we look ahead to the holiday and hope that our plans go as planned; here are three episodes from three classic sitcoms where Thanksgiving went terribly wrong:

 "Over the River and Through the Woods," The Bob Newhart Show, originally aired on November 22, 1975

In this very funny episode of this understated and hysterical show, Psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) decides to stay home in Chicago for Thanksgiving when his wife, Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), travels home to visit her family for the holiday.

Bob says he can't leave his patients, but truth be known, he doesn't want to travel to see his in-laws, so he stays home.  And karma has its own plans.

Emily leaves, and Bob has no one else to spend Thanksgiving with except Jerry (Peter Bonerz), the sarcastic dentist he shares an office wife, Howard (Bill Daily), the clueless airline pilot who lives next door, and Elliot (Jack Riley) his offbeat patient.

The four spend the holiday in Bob's oh-so-70s Chicago apartment, and as they continually get depressed over how bad their Thanksgiving turned out, they begin drinking and drinking and drinking.  

The result is a disastrous holiday for all of them and laughs for all of us, as "Over the River and Through the Woods" features these pros, with perfect comic timing, in their "drunken" state.  Especially funny is when they attempt to cook the tiny turkey Bob had in his freezer.

Emily comes home to find that they are not just a mess, but they've ordered a lot of Chinese food.  It's the perfect end to a humorous Thanksgiving episode and a perfect example of why Bob Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show are both brilliant.

 "Thanksgiving Orphans," Cheers, Originally aired on November 27, 1986

 

The gang at Boston's funniest bar, Cheers, all have their Thanksgiving plans, and they all fall apart, leaving the gang to gather at Carla's (Rhea Perlman) house for football and turkey.  And things go from bad to horrible.

Norm (George Wendt) brings the turkey but can't get it to cook; Diane (Shelley Long) shows up from another dinner dressed as a pilgrim, and frustrations grow.

It all comes to a hilarious climax, as their anger with each other results in a food fight...and one of the most all-out, no-holds-barred food fights you've ever seen!

This episode takes the theme of "Thanksgiving gone wrong" to the next level, and like The Bob Newhart Show, there is an great ending gag involving Norm's wife, Vera, that won't be revealed here.

 "The One Where Underdog Gets Away," Friends, Originally aired on November 17, 1994

This one is from the first season of Friends, where the sitcom's Thanksgiving episodes become favorite traditions among fans.

As expected, everyone's big plans for the holiday fall apart, and Monica (Courteney Cox) agrees to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the gang. They learn that the Underdog balloon has broken loose from Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and they all run to the roof, locking themselves out of the apartment.  

Dinner, of course, is ruined, and they settle for Chandler’s “anti-Thanksgiving dinner” of grilled cheese but find themselves happy that they’re still all together.

The sharp writing and comic timing that was a hallmark of Friends are on full display here:

Chandler (Matthew Perry): "Oh my god!  Underdog has broken loose and is flying over the city!

Joey (Matt LeBlanc): "The balloon?"

Chandler: "No, no...The actual cartoon character."

Watching this well-crafted episode through the years, it's easy to see why Thanksgiving, or "Friendsgiving," became such a tradition.

So, if your Thanksgiving takes a turn for the worse, consider viewing one or all of these with your undercooked turkey, and know that you are in good (and funny) company.

 

 

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Blind Ambition: The 30th Anniversary of "Scent of a Woman"

 by Michael Lyons 

     "PACINO."  That was sprawled across the top of the movie poster for Scent of a Woman when it was released in 1992. It makes it seem like the movie is about the legendary actor. While Al Pacino is brilliant in the film, deservedly winning his long-awaited Best Actor Oscar, he is the centerpiece of so much more at work in the movie.

    The character he plays - loud, brash, demanding attention - is in the spotlight. However, supporting performances, direction, writing and messages also make Scent of a Woman still something so special three decades after its initial release.

    Starting at a stuffy, traditional prep school, young Charlie Simms (Chris O' Donnell), looking to make some extra money over Thanksgiving break, agrees to take care of a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel named Frank Slide (Pacino).

    Lt. Col. Slade is brash, bitter, rude, and speaks his mind.  He is also blind after a military accident took away his sight.  He lives with his niece (Margaret Eginton) and her family, who are his caretakers, and they desperately want to get away for the holiday weekend.

    Despite how Frank insults him, Charlie takes the job, thinking it will be easy money.  Just before leaving for Thanksgiving, a prank is pulled on the dean of his school, and innocent Charlie finds himself unwittingly involved.  A hearing will be held on the Monday after the holiday weekend, weighing on Charlie over the four days.

    As he arrives at Frank's house, Charlie finds that the Lt. Col. has other plans.  Without his niece knowing it, Frank has booked a trip to New York City, and he will be dragging Charlie along.   During it, they wind up doing everything from paying an unexpected visit to Frank's brother, tangoing with a beautiful stranger, and even test drive a Ferrari. As an added twist, the Lt. Col. has also planned a tragic end to the Thanksgiving weekend.

    During all this, Frank and Charlie form an unlikely bond, during which they help each other and help one another get their lives on a better path.  This relationship at the center of Scent of a Woman allows the film to emerge as a powerful character study.

    Pacino is mesmerizing in this role.  With a career filled with already iconic performances at this point, Frank Slade emerged as one of his best, as he commands every scene, inviting the audience to guess what he will do our say next.

    Chris O'Donnell delivers an equally compelling performance on a different level.  It isn't easy to deliver in an understated way, and O'Donnell does her perfectly.  His emotional confrontation with Pacino toward the film's end is as real and raw as movie moments.

    Additionally, there is a "who's who" of solid character actors who make the most of small scenes and moments throughout Scent of a Woman: James Rebhorn is perfectly smug and viscous as the headmaster of the prep school; Bradley Whitford, so on-point as Frank's obnoxious nephew, who satisfyingly gets his comeuppance; Gabrielle Anwar, sweet and luminous as the stranger who dances with Frank; Ron Eldard as an earnest New York City cop and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in one of his first major roles, as a schmoozy, obnoxious, and clueless schoolmate of Charlie's.

Director Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop) brings a comforting, understated style, allowing these performances to take center stage.  He also provides a satisfying conclusion when Frank joins (and defends) Charlie at the prep school hearing. 

Opening on December 23, 1992, Scent of a Woman connected with critics, audiences, and the Academy. Not only did Pacino win, but the film was nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture.

For its thirtieth anniversary, the film is most definitely worth a re-watch (or an actual watch, if you've never seen it), as it’s the kind of film that seems from an era, but wasn't that long ago (today, this movie would most likely be a streaming series).

A remake of the Italian film, Profumo di donna, Scent of a Woman is not just character studies; it's about our internal and external struggles and seeking help from those around us. 

It's fitting that Scent of a Woman takes place at Thanksgiving, and it's one of the perfect movies for this time of year, as it's also about how things can change for us from an unexpected connection in our lives, and how we should seek out those connections, without pre-judging others. All in the spirit of the season.

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Masked Marvel: The 40th Anniversary of "Halloween III: Season of the Witch"

 

by Michael Lyons

From divisive to beloved.  That's the journey that Halloween III: Season of the Witch has taken in the forty years since its initial release.

When it first came out in 1982, audiences expected another entry in the Michael Myers storyline (and little did they think that would still be going on today), which this film wasn't, and critics were savage (Roger Ebert awarded the film *and 1/2 out of four and called it "...a low rent thriller from the first frame").

With this, Halloween III sank at the box office, becoming the lowest-grossing Halloween film up to that point.  But, as it can be, time has been kind to this weird, mostly ridiculous, 80s time capsule of a movie, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch has gained its audience, and its place as a seasonal favorite, in the past four decades.

With the first two Halloween films centering on Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, director John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to create an anthology series of films, each with a Halloween theme and containing their distinct storyline.

The first of these was  Halloween III: Season of the Witch, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, in which Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) seeks to uncover a mystery surrounding the death of one of his patients.  He is joined by the deceased patient's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), and they travel to the strange small town of Santa Mira, California, and discover a plot by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), owner of Silver Shamrock Novelties, to use Halloween masks to take over the world.

It seems that on Halloween night, there will be a "big giveaway" broadcast on TV, and as kids sit near the television with their masks on, the broadcast will interact with a computer chip on the mask, which will initiate the takeover of the world.

There are also bugs and snakes that come out of people's mouths when this happens; robot henchmen who work for Mr. Cochran; something about the legacy of witchcraft and, oh yeah, Stonehenge is somehow involved.  

The plot doesn't matter; the fun of Halloween III is how off-the-wall and far-fetched the plot is, in a B-Movie way.  Audiences shouldn't look for logic but, instead, enjoy how illogical the film really is.

This is probably part of the reason why the cult status of the film has grown into something more through the years.  That, and the incredible earworm of the countdown theme song that appears in the Silver Shamrock commercials: "Eight more 'til Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween..." sung to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down.

Looking back on the film, recently on the website,  From the Front Row , Mattie Lucas wrote: "No one will ever mistake Halloween III for a great film, but it is a misunderstood one, a curious experiment in franchise filmmaking that was bold as it was ultimately foolish.  Taken apart from the Halloween franchise and evaluated as a stand-alone film, it's a solid piece of 80s horror and a fascinating 'what-if' that offers a window into an alternate universe where the series took a vastly different direction."

And, so, as Halloween III celebrates its 40th anniversary this October, all that's left to say, in the ominous tone of Conal Cochran himself: "Happy...Halloween."

This Halloween, don't be scared that you don't have the perfect gift for that movie-lover in your life for the upcoming Holiday Season! My book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available at Amazon .  AND, signed and personalized copies are available on my website, Words From Lyons

Also on my website, this and other fun Halloween-themed podcasts and articles, check them out here:Words from Lyons .