When the Preview Came After the Show
We settle into our seats, the lights go down, phones are silenced (Just double-check to make sure, please.), and the trailers begin. They’re such a familiar part of the movie-going experience that it’s really easy to miss something truly odd about them. Their name. Why do we call them “trailers” when they always appear ahead of the movie? (The answer is simple: trailers used to follow the main attraction instead of appearing before.) There’s a lot to know about movie trailers and previews, and how they don’t just belong to cinema anymore.
Today’s Trivia Question
What classic movie was promoted with a whopping four-minute theatrical trailer that contained no footage from the actual movie?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Bonus points if you can explain just what that four-minute trailer showed.
| A Few More for Fun… |
Before Welles decided that a trailer could be a little show of its own, others used the preview and even outdid the movie in unexpected ways.
What was unusual about the trailer for 1927’s The Jazz Singer?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
| A Few More Trivia Questions Before You Go… |
Trailers can make us eager to see a movie and bring us through the theater doors, but cinema has found a lot of other ways to get us in those seats, and then remain in our heads long after the credits roll. From recognizable sounds to quirky gimmicks, there's more unique movie trivia associated with all of the little things about moviegoing.
Science
What machine provided the original hum for a Star Wars lightsaber?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Extra trivia
What is the name of the famous “scream” heard in Star Wars, and how many films has it appeared in since first being recorded in the 1950s?
History
What movie was the first feature-length film promoted as 100% “all-talking”?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Geography
Although they have experienced huge popularity, faded from view, and are now making a comeback, drive-in movie theaters have been around for almost as long as the “talkies.” In what state was America’s first patented drive-in movie theater opened in 1933?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Movies
To promote Vincent Price’s 1959 horror film The Tingler, what did the director, William Castle, have installed under some of the theater’s seats?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Language
Before “blockbuster” meant a well-known video rental franchise or a hit movie, it meant something entirely different. What was a “blockbuster” before it belonged to the movies?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Answers
Today’s question Answer: D. Citizen Kane. Orson Welles made a film entirely unique for its time, and rather than showing audiences the innovative angles and major plot points, he kept actual footage out of the trailer. Bonus points if you said it was a “making of” variety of film, narrated by Welles. He introduced the Mercury Theatre cast and gave a tour of the production while leaving the actual movie a mystery. | |
| 01 | Answer: C. It had more spoken dialogue than the movie. The Jazz Singer is credited with pushing Hollywood toward “talking pictures,” but most of that film relied on silent-movie techniques. Its Vitaphone trailer, however, featured actor John Miljan talking directly to the audience, and it featured more spoken dialogue than the film it advertised! And speaking of talking and advertising, you may not know the name or face of Don LaFontaine, but it’s highly likely you’d recognize his voice. |
| 02 | Answer: C. 5,000. LaFontaine became known as “The Trailer King” after providing his booming voice to thousands of previews. He became especially associated with a wonderfully dramatic setup that typically began with “In a world…” You just imitated him, didn’t you? |
| 03 | Answer: B. An old movie projector. The movie’s sound designer, Ben Burtt, recorded the motor of an old projector at the University of Southern California, and its hum is one of the main ingredients that create the familiar lightsaber sound. |
| 04 | Answer: C. Lights of New York. Although The Jazz Singer gets much of the recognition for sound, it featured large sections of silence. Warner Bros.’ Lights of New York, released in 1928, was the first feature advertised as 100% all-talking. The “talkies” had officially arrived. Extra trivia: The scream in question is the “Wilhelm Scream” (listen to it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/jHam4SbViXQ?si=kiTKpcPKJVo3lGez), and it is estimated to have been used in more than 200 films, with some putting estimates closer to more than 400! |
| 05 | Answer: D. New Jersey. Richard Hollingshead opened his drive-in theater in Camden, NJ, on June 6, 1933. It cost 25 cents per car, and another 25 cents per passenger. Bet a second mortgage wasn’t needed to visit the snack bar either! |
| 06 | Answer: B. Vibrating motors. Castle described his gimmick as “Percepto.” He used war-surplus vibrating motors that were attached beneath selected seats and turned on at carefully chosen moments so unsuspecting viewers would, literally, feel something moving underneath them! As if Vincent Price wasn’t scary enough on his own. |
| 07 | Answer: B. A bomb with the capability of destroying a city block. The term seems to have appeared during WWII, when bombs were designed with the capability of leveling an area the size of the average city block. Soon after the term appeared, the Hollywood trade press had grabbed the term and used it to describe films that could wipe out competition at the box office. |
How did you do? Score 1 point for each correct answer and 1 point for each bonus you knew. Perfect score: 10.
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