Quite a few folks wrote today to say that they remember Otto Preminger's Skidoo and that it's even weirder than I said. Several more wrote to say they're dying to see it and one said, "I don't care if you did show us a trailer for the film. I refuse to believe a movie like that was ever made." I've seen the film and I'm inclined to agree with that last guy.
Several wrote to point out that Harry Nilsson (who was then just "Nilsson") is in the film and also that he performed on the soundtrack and in that trailer. Yes, he is and did — he even sang the credits — but we respect him, anyway. And Jerry Beck noticed something I hadn't: The cast includes Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin and Cesar Romero, the three main male villains from the Batman TV show. Mr. Preminger was also the villain in one episode of that series and George Raft, who's also in Skidoo, did one cameo. I don't know why that's significant but I just know it is.
I have it from two sources that Paramount Pictures has no rights to Skidoo and couldn't put it out on DVD if they wanted. The rights have reverted to the Preminger Estate, and apparently it was one of the movies Otto didn't want shown, lest it cost him his reputation. Easy to understand why.
One person wrote me that they hoped someone would put it out on DVD while a few of the cast members are still around to be interviewed for commentary tracks. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you could get those people to even admit they were in it.
The thing I'd love to find are the radio commercials that Mr. Preminger recorded for the film. They sounded like he knew he'd made a gobbler and was trying to order people into the theaters. His tone was angry and his accent was more Germanic than usual as he yelled, "GO SEE SKIDOO!" And he listed the cast members: "JACKIE GLEASON IN SKIDOO! GROUCHO MARX IN SKIDOO! PETER LAWFORD IN SKIDOO!" My friends and I used to do impressions of him and add remarks like, "GO SEE SKIDOO! YOU STILL HAVE FAMILY IN EUROPE!" Or "WE HAVE WAYS OF MAKING YOU SEE SKIDOO!"
Every website needs a cause and this one has three…
- Get the Souplantation to add their Creamy Tomato Soup to their regular line-up.
- Get the Cadbury Adams Gum Company to bring back Adams Sour Orange Gum. (We'll be discussing this with tomorrow morning's video link.)
- Get Skidoo released on DVD.
I was thinking of adding something about stopping the War in Iraq or dealing with Global Warming but I prefer to avoid the easy, unimportant goals.