Ahhhhh the ’42nd Street Memories’

I think one of the best things that Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse film did was make the mainstream aware of the exploitation genre. I still say this to this day. Do I think they pulled off the duplication of the films they were paying homage to? Not so much but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the film. Ever since 2007, more film fans have been digging into the past and finding tons of gems that were lost until the interest was revived. With the history pages turning, people could smell a wiff of the 42nd Street culture. While most of us were not there to experience it first hand, there were plenty of filmmakers and New York City and Jersey citizens that did.

Recently, you may have seen American Grindhouse – if not, you should as it is on Netflix Streaming – which touches on some of the culture that was 42nd Street but there is plenty more to say on the subject. With the threat of 35mm film being phased out by digital screenings and as a personal programmer of film, I can tell you that this IS Film History. We will never see grindhouses again in the truest form. Sure, there will be 24 hour movie marathons but imagine theaters playing movies nonstop within a day, most of which were 24 hours. While I think that it is a shame that the possibilty of seeing a film whenever you want or even catching a double feature has since passed, there are still plenty of stories to hear from the past.

Enter British filmmaker/documentarian Calum Waddell. You might recognize his name or his production team, High Rising Productions, from some of the Arrow DVD and Blu-Ray’s that have been released. Back in August of 2010, Calum and his production team wrapped their one on one interviews with people who were part of the 42nd Street culture for his documentary 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America’s Notorious Street. While you may recognize some of the speakers in here like Frank Henenlotter, Joe Dante and more. One of my favorite things about the trailer is that they got 42nd Street Pete. I have met Pete and heard plenty of his stories from Cinema Wasteland and I can tell you that this guy has some of the best stories of the era.

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The best thing you can do after you watch that trailer once it is over is to start talking about it. Calum needs our help in completing it so spread the word! Repost on your Facebook, tumblr pages, wherever you can.

Find out more about Calum and his work at www.highrisingproductions.com and lets hope we see this documentary sooner than later!