Does anyone from the New York area remember that over Thanksgiving weekend on WOR Channel 9 in New York, they used to air King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Godzilla and King Kong -vs- Godzilla? These popular ones would air on Thanksgiving day, and then the next day would have Mothra, Smog Monster, etc....
Anyone?
On Thanksgiving, it was a tradition to play King Kong, Son of Kong, and King Kong versus Godzilla back to back. I never lived in New York and the tradition ended the year I was born (1985), so I never got to see it live. But I have all three on DVD, so I figured that when Thanksgiving rolls around that I might just set them up to play and let them run their course as if they were on television. What an awesome experience that must have been for a child, to be able to associate Thanksgiving with King Kong.
http://www.dvddrive-in.com/holidayfilmfest.htm
Thanks for the link... I may do the same this Thanksgiving with my DVD's.
Just for the record, on the first year that Channel 9 stopped airing these movies, I was ready with my VCR to record the in their entirety. One year too late!!
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Talk about bad luck... It reminds me of 1994 (I was 7) when I tried to record the "Godzilla Bash '94." It cut out halfway through Terror of Mechagodzilla, my favorite Godzilla movie at the time. On President's Day when they rebroadcast it, I was ready to record, but the second tape didn't work. Twice it escaped me and I didn't see it again for a number of years. I still have the tape somewhere though. They made this little Godzilla video for the occasion which featured the song "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult.
As for Kong and Godzilla on Thanksgiving, didn't that site say that they cut out scenes for the sake of time? If I'm not mistaken, they said that the stegosaurus scene from Kong was missing in its entirety.
Yes, on all the later airings that scene was cut out. I know it's campy, but I think it was a great pairing, Kong and Godzilla. I also remember Mighty Joe Young being fun.
And (to make matters better), we always ate Thankgiving dinner right after the movies ended. Not that Mom did it on purpose, it's just how it happened.
Thanksgiving day parade, followed by the monster-mania film festival, then usually there was a Christmas movie on (Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life.. I don't remember), which would be playing in the background as we ate.
Kong versus Godzilla was fun, but it was basically a tongue in cheek film leading up to a wrestling match between the two monsters. It was good for what it was, but not as good as it could have been. Still, that does sound really cool getting to watch those movies as a kid, then eating Thanksgiving Dinner afterwards.
shareI remember that well...I was a big Godzilla fan, and was always mad that King Kong won! I would boycott that film in mini-protest. I loved Mighty Joe Young...I remember getting upset the first time I saw it thinking he was killed saving the girl from the burning / collapsing building.
And don't forget Channel 11 - March of the Wooden Soldiers at 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving - the official start of the holiday season!
As a child, I was upset that Kong won too. As I got older though, I felt that Toho made the right decision. Godzilla had already defeated Anguirus and would go on to have many victories over many monsters. It only seemed right that Godzilla lose one or two of his fights. Even more so, Kong was the underdog (having no weapon such as Godzilla's nuclear blasts) and was the more popular of the two. It seemed only natural that Godzilla should play the villain and lay down for the hero in the end.
shareYes... there wasn't a nuclear blast, but there was the lightning (again, campy but fun). The football tackle that Kong gives Godzilla always got me going and (not to go against what you guys are saying) I was happy Kong got the upper hand.
I just made the decision to watch these on DVD on Thanksgiving Eve. Can't do it on the day now... we are hosting the dinner (holy jeez I'm 37 years old!!).
The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming.....
Yes... there wasn't a nuclear blast, but there was the lightning (again, campy but fun). The football tackle that Kong gives Godzilla always got me going and (not to go against what you guys are saying) I was happy Kong got the upper hand.
I'm happy Kong won too. It just bugged me as a child that he won because I thought reptiles and dinosaurs and whatnot were cooler than gorillas.
I just made the decision to watch these on DVD on Thanksgiving Eve. Can't do it on the day now... we are hosting the dinner (holy jeez I'm 37 years old!!).
Don't apologise. There's always a part of us that never quite grows up, ya know? I doubt my "Kong plans" would go smoothly either because there's always Thanksgiving at Grandma's house. I can't abandon the family for the sake of Kong.
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And... to add to the whole Thanksgiving thing, it was a great way for a kid to start the Holiday season.
Funny enough, one year (late 70's) when New Years fell on a Friday, us kids were happy to get the extra weekend off from school. And, to make matters better, a local station aired some old Universal monster movies (Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Mummy, etc) New Years night and over the weekend.
Let's start the holiday season with Kong -vs- Godzilla and end it with Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming.
AAhh... March of the Wooden Soldiers... there is a movie that should just be called "Let's Start the Holidays with Laurel and Hardy!" I loved it.
As of late, they've aired it in color (hate colorization), but they inserted a cool scene with these transparent gnones and includes the song "Go To Sleep," a beautifully photographed sequence in the underground caves. Must have been "edited for duration".
The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming.
I was born and raised in the Bronx, I lived for Thanksgiving weekends, me and my 2 best friends would switch off who's house we would watch the movies at, depending on who's parents had the least guests lol, and I always argued the Godzilla should have won...I also remember...way back then, we had Chiller Theater later at night, with the creepy 6 fingered hand...
shareHell yeah! Great childhood memories. Age 8 in Uniondale, L.I. 1977. Good times.
shareI did some research and found out since WWOR channel 9 in New York is no longer part of a UPN or a CW and more independent, they are considering doing the monster-mania thing again for the holidays.
That would be cool (message to the higher ups).
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Thanks for the memories! Yes, King Kong and Godzilla on WOR Channel 9 were as much a part of Thanksgiving as turkey and pilgrims. My friends and I watched a marathon of Godzilla movies on what is now called "Black Friday" while our moms went and shopped the post-Thanksgiving sales. Those were such good times, even if the movies themselves were cut to ribbons by WOR to make way for more Crazy Eddie commercials.
shareHere's a blast from the past to all you former New York area monster kids..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpFuZb_Mq0w
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Yes. I remember them when I was little. Childhood memories.
shareWasn't there also NFL football on? Ratings must have been very bad
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