Top 5 at the Twister Museum

Previously: 

Top 5 Smokey Bear

Top 5 at the Dick Tracy Headquarters  - -  Top 5 at the CRC Car Show

Top 5 at the Banjo Museum  - -  Top 5 at the Harryhausen Exhibit

Top 5 at the Oklahoma History Center  - -  Top 5 at the Museum of Osteology

There are several contenders for "Great Oklahoma Films" but nothing holds a more special place in my wind swept, debris-strewn heart more than the 1996 F-5 of a film, Twister!  It was filmed primarily in Oklahoma with a few scenes showcasing the town of Wakita.  And that's where the Twister Movie Museum has been ever since.  

Since this year is the 25th anniversary of the film, I thought it was time to go back for a visit for the first time in several years.  And since I was there, why not pick another Top 5 List?

5.  Twister Pinball Machine

This eye-catching piece is near the entrance and sets the tone for visitors.  I would have it much higher on the list but it's not functional.  Which is a shame, because you just know it had plenty of movie sound effects like wind, shouting and maybe that evil weatherman getting his face smashed in and whatnot.  For now, we'll just have to imagine.

4.  Twister the Ride Smashed Penny

Anybody that knows me knows that I love to smash a penny or two.  While the museum doesn't have its own penny smashing machine, it does have this smashed beauty from Universal Studios' Twister ride.  They shut the ride down in 2015 but it's nice to have a tiny little memento from it on display.

3.  Twister Trading Cards

The main reason I included these is because I'm constantly looking for them on eBay and can never find them.  They're a throwback to the days when just about everything got their own collectible trading card set regardless of their level of success or popularity.  I'd still like to pick some up if I ever see them in the wild, if only to finally get ahold of that Philip Seymour Hoffman rookie card.

2.  Twister Storyboards 

The makers of the film donated several items to the museum from the production including several storyboards.  It's a nice way to see what they envisioned for a few scenes and shows some of the talent involved in movie making before they ever start rolling cameras.  

1.  Dorothy

Yep, there she is.  The most famous Oklahoma movie prop is front and center when you walk in.  There were a few Dorothys used by our ragtag weathermen heroes and several Dorothy props made for the film.  The nice museum lady said this was the "Damaged Dorothy" and was used for scenes when the old girl took a beating.  

Nothing beats a small town, roadside museum and there's nothing better than a small town with a cool gimmick.  The Twister Movie Museum combines the best of both.  And as an added bonus, here's another visitor I spotted who showed up for the 25th Anniversary:

On Location: Possums

Previously:

The Adventures of Jurassic Pet  - -  Where the Red Fern Grows

Thunderstruck  - -  Bringing Up Bobby

Nowata is the quintessential Oklahoma small town.  Located in the northeast part of the state, it's biggest claim to fame for years was that guy's "bowling ball art" he displayed in his yard.  But fate finally came a' callin' when the 1998 film "Possums" cast the town to play itself.

The movie stars country music singer Mac Davis as the radio announcer for the town's high school football team.  When the school cancels the football program (the "Possums") due to lack of funds, Mac continues to announce imaginary games every Friday night.  The town get swept up in the fake games and wackiness ensues.

Of course, the fun part for me is checking out the town to see how much it has changed from the time of the movie's production.  You can see above that the town's mural has faded since the vibrant 90s.  The town has the standard "small town look" and if you drive around Oklahoma as much as I do, they all start to blend together.  But I was able to match a few buildings I saw.

You can see the Nowata County courthouse in the background in a few scenes.  Most of downtown gets shown off throughout the film.  But since it's a football movie the main location is the High School football field.

So the fake games of the fake team eventually go to the fake State Championship and win!  Since the fake games became so popular, word spreads to the actual State Champs and they're not happy.  So they all pile into the school bus and head to Nowata.  Check out who plays the coach:

Yep, that's legendary OU football coach Barry Switzer as the coach of "Prattville Pirates."  As far as acting goes, he does a pretty good job.  It's a small part but he did well enough that I'm surprised he didn't do more acting.  The only other things I've seen him in include a cameo in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" (as an announcer) and as himself in an episode of the OKC-based series "Saving Grace."

Well, the Pirates challenge the nonexistent Possums to a game to decide what's what, so Mac Davis and his pals have to scramble to get a team together.  Eventually they play and one of them wins.  It all seems to work out...roll credits.  It's not a bad little movie.  But it's definitely a great claim to fame for a small town.

Twisting in the Wind

Homage comes in various forms.  For a state like Oklahoma, which tends to keep things low-key, there's not too many movies that celebrate the state.  Sure, there's a few that take place here, but not too many that that really take a swing at the high-octane craziness that can happen, especially during tornado season.

A more typical type of homage is the roast.  Nothing tells you how you've endeared yourself to your friends like having them tell you how much you suck.  And one of the thickest branches on the "Roast Family Tree" is the Mad Magazine parody, which has been skewering pop culture for decades. 

From my perspective, the Oklahoma Homage Stars aligned in issue #349 of Mad.  It was the Fall of '96 and in addition to taking shots at Madonna, Hercules and Xena, Twister got their steaks and eggs served to them too.  With that, let's take a look...

As per the usual Mad format, we start off with a big splash page with the characters introducing themselves with gags-a-plenty.  The usual Mad art style is your standard "caricature" that tends to be somewhat accurate when it comes to faces.  BUt while Helen Hunt is recognizable, it looks like the artist didn't make any kind of effort to make Bill Paxton's character look like the actor.  It's enough to almost think they weren't able to see the movie but maybe caught a few Mad About You reruns.

The parody follows the plot of the movie pretty much, starting with young Helen Hunt seeing her father get killed by a tornado and swearing to one day hunt that tornado down and kill it.  The likenesses continue to be off with pretty much every other character throughout the story.  But there's a reason why Twister's most famous character looks a little off...

Gary Larson had retired the previous year.  If you're not familiar with the name, he was the cartoonist for The Far Side, which was incredibly popular in the 80s and early 90s and frequently featured cows, which is why we have this additional homage.  I guess he was still in the popular zeitgeist enough to influence our parody's writer to use for the Twister "flying cow" gag.

Which leads to a joke that should have been in the movie...and for some reason a Bart Simpson cameo.  Remember, it wasn't just the Far Side that was popular back then.  So just like in the movie we get the "gang goes to see Aunt Meg" scene and dine on "tasty cow."  And just like in the movie they go chase some more tornadoes.  But unlike the movie, we get a twist ending:

Speaking of homages, we end with a combo.  Taking a page from Newhart and the Wizard of Oz, Helen Hunt wakes up safely back in Must See TV Land with what I assume are semi-accurate caricatures of the cast.  You had to know her hit show was going to make it in this Mad parody somehow.

So not too many Oklahoma mentions but still plenty of state identity made it out of the movie and into the magazine.  This will have to hold you over until I can track down the "Grapes of Wretch" parody they undoubtedly did at some point.

Scene Inspection: Dillinger

The life and times of mobster John Dillinger was immortalized in the 1973 film, "Dillinger."  The story of the "gangster's gangster" was partially filmed in Oklahoma.  And the town of Ardmore served as one of the movie's locations.  Check out a screencap from this scene:

Never mind what these two are talking about.  The real draw here is the billboard behind the shoe shine chair.  If you're like me, then you're always looking in the background for interesting details...or even "interesting" details.

 For example, old advertisements in the background of old movies are "interesting" to me.  Looks like it's your lucky day!  So let's break down some of the old ads from Dillinger:

"Oil, Cattle and Beautiful Lake Murray"

The middle ad boasts about some of Ardmore's biggest money makers.  Sure cows and oil pay the bills but the town's crown jewel is definitely the lake. It was built over 1935 (a year after Dillinger died) to 1941 and still bills itself as the "most beautiful lake in Oklahoma."  The lake's other claims to fame are the largest state park in Oklahoma and the first Oklahoma state park listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Sam P. Hall Ford"

This ad is on the right side toward the bottom (and partially obscured) with red letters and yellow-ish.  The Ardmore Ford dealership did big business in the area for decades.  Sam P. Hale was a Ardmore Rotary Club president and community leader.  And right above that ad is:

"Colverts Fine Dairy Products"

Colverts was another big business in Ardmore for the longest time.  It was mainly known for its tasty ice cream and unique sign outside which, unfortunately was taken down not too long ago.  But, thankfully, it was taken to the Greater Southwest Historical Museum.  Nostalgic milk enthusiasts can also join a Facebook Fan Page about the dairy.

The other ads aren't particularly legible but I haven't given up on them.  I'm just one eBay matchbook auction away from continuing to work my way through the rest of the sign.  Stay tuned...

Where the Red Fern Grew

Previously:

Thunderstruck  - -  Bringing Up Bobby

If you went to grade school at a certain point in the 80's then wheeling in the projector for "movie day" meant a pull from only a handful of movies.  It seemed like one of the ones that was in the heaviest rotation was 1974's "Where the Red Fern Grows," based on the book by the same name.

The Depression era story is a coming of age tale about a boy growing up in the Ozarks with his two beloved hounds and his quest to hunt raccoons for some reason.  It's a "dog movie" for kids so, of course, the dogs die at the end.  Spoilers, I guess.  Despite the downer of an ending, the film does take advantage of some great Oklahoma scenery for its locations.

Natural Falls State Park in the eastern part of the state, near the Arkansas border, was the filming location for many shots in the film.  Formerly known as Dripping Springs, the park has a 77 foot waterfall that the filmmakers used as a backdrop for a few scenes in the movie.  Here's the view of it from the park's observation platform:

Here's a look at it in the film (it's around the 31 minute mark):

Some other scenes were shot in the nearby town of Tahlequah.  But with a period piece it's always hard to try to match up locations since filmmakers try to stay away from big buildings that might create any anachronisms.  Occasionally some signage will leak through the Hollywood magic though:

So the next time you're in that area maybe stop by the falls to take in some famous scenery.  According to the park's website pets are welcome too so bring the dogs.  Just try not to tree any raccoons.

On Location: Thunderstruck

It's not uncommon for professional athletes to make the transition into acting. Sometimes it turns into a prosperous second career and sometimes...you get movies like Thunderstruck. The 2012 film was legendary baller Kevin Durant's foray into movie stardom and featured the OKC Thunder in all their glory (kind of). So let's pop the top off this can of Pringles:

A fair amount of the movie was shot in Arkansas but since it takes place in Oklahoma City hey made sure to include some obvious local settings.  The most obvious, of course, is Chesapeake Energy Arena.  Plenty of game scenes were shot there:

The story is essentially your basic body-swap-without-a-body-swap story.  Young Brian is an Oklahoma high school student with dreams of being a basketball star but no actual talent.  After getting the opportunity to try to sink a basket from half court during a game, Brian screws it up monumentally and is consoled by KD.  And that's when this Friday gets freaky:

For no apparent reason they switch basketball ability.  Brian becomes incredible talented while Durant starts to play like a high school bench warmer.  As you can imagine, wacky hijinks ensue.  Instead of breaking down the plot (or "plot") let's take a quick look at the few Oklahoma filming locations they used, like this shot outside the Chesapeake Arena exterior:

Later in the film there's a nice establishing shot of downtown that shows crane work being done on the Devon Energy Center.   It was under construction from around 2009 to around 2012 with the cranes arriving around 2010 giving us a nice little time capsule moment for the movie.

Toward the end of the movie our hero Brian hastily heads over the bridge into the Bricktown area on his way to swap back b-ball powers with KD and you get a nice little look at the area:

Once he gets there it's time to de-magic the magic.  But who was the sinister fiend behind the curse this whole time?  It occurs to the guys that the switch first happened after the basketball bounced off Rumble the Mascot's head so they recreate the incident:

Yep, Rumble was apparently (perhaps unknowingly) the mastermind behind this entire voodoo dumpster fire.  At least the guys got their payback.  That monstrous, cheer mongering prairie dweller will think twice before he curses an NBA legend and some rando kid.

So after that, both of the guys win their respective games (spoiler warning, I guess) and we all learned some kind of valuable lesson...The End.  (Also, Jim Belushi was in this movie.)

 

On Location: Bringing Up Bobby

"Bringing Up Bobby" was a fairly unsuccessful independent film from 2011 starring Milla Jovovich and Bill Pullman.  It was written and directed by former X-Man Famke Janssen but, most importantly, it was filmed in Oklahoma...which is essentially the only reason it got my attention.

The cast and crew utilized several locations in the Sooner State so if you end up watching it, at the very least, you can have fun spotting the Oklahoma locations.  In fact, let's do that now, starting with this great big cross:

The beginning of the movie tries to set the tone by showing off this big boy.  You can see it along I-35 at the Life.Church in Edmond.  Next up, our characters decided to get some dinner at a very familiar location along Route 66 (and not too far from the church):

Yep, that's Pop's 66 Soda Ranch in Arcadia, the world famous locale that sells over 700 different kinds of soda.  I guess the crew couldn't resist such a unique looking exterior and they couldn't stop at just one because right down the Mother Road they shot a scene at...

...the historic Arcadia Round Barn.  It's one of the few round barns in the U.S. and has lasted (in various states of repair and disrepair) for over 100 years.  It's currently a tourist attraction and rents out their "Upstairs Loft" for events, which we get to see in the movie:

After a while, the film moves away from the showy tourist attractions and towards the showy office buildings in downtown Oklahoma City.  Here's the office of one of the main characters:

Leadership Square houses tons of businesses and is recognizable by the red sculpture "Galaxy" outside.  These are only a few of the locations the film utilizes.  If you catch it on TV, keep your eyes open and maybe you'll see some places you recognize.