3-D Contest (1 Viewer)

In honor of 3-D's 50th Anniversary, let's test your knowledge of some little-known 3-D facts:

1. Vincent Price was billed as "Mr. 3-D." He starred in four 3-D features - name them.

2. There was one lovely actress who could have been called "Ms. 3-D." She starred in three 3-D features. Name the actress, and the movies.

3. During the Golden Age of 3-D, there was only one film that was a 3-D sequel to an earlier 3-D title. What were the two films?

4. Andre DeToth directed HOUSE OF WAX, and had monocular vision. He directed two more 3-D movies. Can you name them?

5. The Three Stooges appeared in two 3-D shorts, SPOOKS and PARDON MY BACKFIRE. However, Columbia made one more 3-D short in 1953. What was the title, and the star?

6. Technicolor built a massive 3-D camera which utilized a pair of interlocked three-strip cameras. (Imagine the raw stock bill on these productions!) Each scene was photographed with 6 rolls of negative film: yellow, cyan, magenta left and Y,C,M right. Name the only two features photographed with this costly camera rig.

7. What popular recording artist appeared in a Universal-International 3-D musical short?

8. KISS ME KATE was billed as the first "Important Big Musical in 3-D!" What was the first 3-D musical which beat KATE to theatres by nearly two months?

9. Clint Eastwood made one of his first screen appearances in a 3-D film. Name the film.

10. What 3-D movie was banned in several cities because it was initially released without a Seal of Approval from the Production Code office?

Let's see who can get the most correct answers. The winner gets a pair of tickets to every 50th anniversary 3-D screening in 2003 and 2004 at the Loew's Jersey.

Bob Furmanek

OK, I'm game...

1. Vincent Price starred in HOUSE OF WAX, SON OF SINBAD, DANGEROUS MISSION and THE MAD MAGICIAN.

2. Rhonda Fleming, in JIVARO, INFERNO, and THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE.

3. CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and REVENGE OF THE CREATURE were both shot in 3-D.

4. Andre De Toth directed THE BOUNTY HUNTER and THE STRANGER WORE A GUN.

5. ???

6. ???

7. Nat King Cole

8. THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE

9. Clint Eastwood appreared in a brief scene in REVENGE OF THE CREATURE.

10. THE FRENCH LINE

Oh yeah; of course you know 3-D was around long before BWANA DEVIL in 1952!

Shouldn't this thread be in polls? I tried a trivia thread here and was politely moved outta here.

Here are the correct answers to the contest:

1. Vincent Price starred in the following 3-D features: House of Wax, Son of Sinbad, Dangerous Mission and The Mad Magician.

2. There are actually 3 correct answers to this question. Rhonda Fleming appeared in Inferno, Those Redheads from Seattle and Jivaro.

Patricia Medina was in Sangaree, Drums of Tahiti and Phantom of the Rue Morgue.

Joanne Dru was in Hannah Lee (aka Outlaw Territory,) Southwest Passage and September Storm.

3. The only 3-D film to inspire a 3-D sequel was Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Revenge of the Creature. The third entry in the Creature trilogy, The Creature Walks Among Us, was not filmed in 3-Dimension.

4. Andre DeToth, the director with monocular vision, directed House of Wax, The Stranger Wore a Gun and The Bounty Hunter.

5. The third Columbia short filmed in 3-D was Down the Hatch, starring Swedish dialect comedian Harry Mimmo. If you've never seen it, it is one of the worst Columbia comedy shorts of all time!

Many people answered this question with the UPA cartoon, The Tell-Tale Heart. While reference books have listed this as a 3-D short for years, I can find no concrete documentation of this fact. I can tell you for sure that it was only released flat. I've gone through hundreds of industry trade magazines from 1953 and 1954. There is no reference to UPA producing this in 3-D. I'm afraid this is one of those instances where a title is included on a list by mistake, and the wrong information gets copied repeatedly over the years. If anybody has proof that it was produced in 3-D, I'd certainly like to know about it!

6. The two features photographed with the massive Technicolor camera rig were Money from Home and Flight to Tangier. Both were released by Paramount.

7. The 3-D musical short was Nat King Cole with Russ Morgan's Orchestra (which is the correct title.) Nat sings two songs, including his hit "Pretend." An interesting anecdote: the footage of Nat King Cole was the initial test footage for Universal's studio-built camera rig, and was photographed prior to principal photography of their first 3-D feature, It Came from Outer Space. Executives were impressed enough with the quality of the Cole footage to proceed on the feature. Will Cowan shot additional footage of the Russ Morgan Orchestra, as well as an acrobatic troupe, and the studio released this 2 reel short as a companion to It Came from Outer Space.

8. The first 3-D musical was Paramount's Those Redheads from Seattle, which featured popular vocalists Theresa Brewer, Guy Mitchell and the Bell Sisters. It was released in September of 1953, over two months before the opening of MGM's Kiss Me Kate.

9. Clint Eastwood made one of his first screen appearances as a lab assistant in Universal's Revenge of the Creature.

10. RKO's The French Line was initially released without a Seal of Approval from the Production Code office. The flood of controversy over this issue caused the film to do tremendous business, and RKO eventually made some modifications to the "Looking for Trouble" song (they removed a suggestive monologue, and cut to long shots for Jane Russell's questionable dance moves.) Because of this controversy, the film continued to do tremendous business, even in it's altered version. The poster art proclaimed "That Song, That Dance - That You've Heard So Much About!"

Because of the controversy over this film, RKO shelved the 3-D release of Son of Sinbad (which had several suggestive dance sequences.) When they finally released it in 1955, 3-D was boxoffice poison. The film was blown-up and released in anamorphic SuperScope instead.

Thanks to all that participated in this contest. I'll notify the winners and make arrangements to provide passes for the Loew's Jersey 50th anniversary 3-D screenings in 2003 and 2004. I hope that you enjoyed this opportunity to test your expertise on 3-D cinema!

Can the 3D version of Kiss Me Kate be found anywhere?

KISS ME KATE often plays in 3-D in revival houses. A terrible red/blue anaglyph TV version aired on SeledTV in the early 80s, but the original theatrical print in polariod is amazing!