Dead Air, Slapstick, and Lucas’ Last Laugh
A Lucasfilm movie so panned on its original release that it almost made people forget Howard the Duck.
When Universal accepted American Graffiti in 1972, George Lucas gave them first-look deals on two projects: Radioland Murders and “an untitled science fiction film.” One became the biggest franchise in history, the other sat in development hell for twenty years and eventually grossed $1.37 million.
It’s technically an American Graffiti prequel. Lucas confirmed that Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson’s characters are the parents of Richard Dreyfuss’s Curt Henderson. So it’s a stealth Lucasfilm universe film that nobody noticed because nobody saw it. Or nobody cared. I care.
Even the Temple of Doom “Anything Goes” opening number was apparently inspired by a dance sequence originally planned for this film.
Clearly this was a George Lucas passion project, so it roped-in the likes of Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson, as well as Ned Beatty, Brion James, Michael McKean, Corbin Bernsen, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd, George Burns (his final film), Peter MacNicol, Robert Klein and even Joey Lawrence. Whoah.
Lucas basically used it as a dry run for the Star Wars prequels. He pitched Universal on ILM’s digital matte technology keeping costs down, used it to test the Avid editing system, and had his Young Indiana Jones crew working on it during a production lull. The movie was a sandbox for tools he needed to develop before going back to Star Wars.
Maybe it’s because I love hanging out with The Marx Bros and the Three Stooges, or it could be my obsession with Old Timey Radio, but I’ve always enjoyed this zany and sincere slapsticker. Cable and video store browsers probably gave this more of an audience than Universal ever did.
This another one of those huge forgotten bombs that no one seems to appreciate but me, but it looks great on the shelf next to Haunted Honeymoon.
-Pop
Radioland Murders arrived on Home Video today in 1995, after an October 21, 1994 theatrical release.