1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: a show that unmasks history one day at a time. 4 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Bluesier, and in this episode, we're kicking off 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: a week of spooky shows by exploring the origin of 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: Michael Myers, the silent, looming presence of the Halloween film series, 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: and not the guy from Shrek. The day was October. 8 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: John Carpenter's seminal slasher film Halloween, premiers at the AMC 9 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: Empire Theater in Kansas City, Missouri. The story of the 10 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: film follows a masked murderer who escapes from a mental 11 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: hospital and returns to his hometown to resume his killing spree. 12 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 1: The film's violence is tame when compared to horror movies 13 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: of today, but it's popularity launched the so called Golden 14 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: Age of slasher films, with over one d movies in 15 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: the genre released in the six years following Halloween's debut. 16 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: Many aspects of Halloween have since become iconic, including the 17 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: haunting theme music, and, of course, the creepy mask worn 18 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:32,000 Speaker 1: by the movie's killer, Michael Myers. Halloween was also the 19 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: major film debut of Jamie Lee Curtis, who has since 20 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: gone on to reprise her role as Laurie Strode in 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: a number of Halloween sequels. Curtis is now considered one 22 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: of the best screen queens in movie history, with her 23 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: character serving as an early example of the final girl 24 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: trope in horror movies, which sees the heroine as the 25 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: last person standing to confront the killer. It's hard to 26 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: imagine now, but Curtis wasn't John Carpenter's first choice for 27 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: the role. Originally, the director didn't want to cast an 28 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: unknown actor for the lead part, but he was eventually 29 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: convinced by his co writer and producer Deborah Hill. She 30 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: pointed out that Curtis was the daughter of horror movie 31 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: royalty Janet Lee, who played Marian Crane and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 32 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: According to Hill, quote, I knew casting Jamie Lee would 33 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: be great publicity for the film because her mother was 34 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: in Psycho. It may be a clear case of nepotism, 35 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: but it's hard to argue with the results. John Carpenter 36 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: also had a different idea in mind for the movie's title. 37 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: He originally wanted to call it The babysitter murders, but 38 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: producer Irwin Joblin's suggested tying the film to a special 39 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: holiday to make it more marketable. Halloween was the obvious 40 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: choice for a horror movie, so the title was changed 41 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: to that, although I think Arbor Day could have worked 42 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,919 Speaker 1: just as well, as Michael Myers does a fair bit 43 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: of stalking from behind trees and bushes. Carpenter and Hill 44 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: wrote the script together in just ten days, although Hill 45 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: says it was closer to three weeks. Either way, it 46 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: was a quick turnaround for what became such a classic film. 47 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: Much of the writing was split along gender lines, with 48 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 1: Carpenter working on scenes that centered on Michael Myers or 49 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, and Hill writing the scenes with 50 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: Lori and her friends. Hill has worked as a babysitter herself, 51 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: so a lot of the babysitting dialogue is based on 52 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: her own experiences. The film's score was contributed by John 53 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: Carpenter himself, as was the norm for many of his films. 54 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: He came up with the famous Halloween theme by using 55 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: a simple drumming exercise he had learned as a child 56 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: as a starting point. The film is mostly set in Haddonfield, Illinois, 57 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: the quiet town where six year old Michael Myers begins 58 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: his murderous rampage. After a time jump, we see Myers 59 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,799 Speaker 1: escape from a hospital in Smith's Grove, Illinois. Both towns 60 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: are fictional, but they aren't based on real places. Smith's Grove, Kentucky, 61 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: isn't far from Bowling Green, Kentucky, where John Carpenter grew up, 62 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: and Haddonfield, Illinois, is named after Deborah Hills hometown of Haddonfield, 63 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: New Jersey. All that said, the movie wasn't shot in 64 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: any of those states. Instead, it was shot on location 65 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: in California, mostly in South Pasadena, Alhambra, and Sierra Montre. 66 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: In fact, if you look closely, you can spot palm 67 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 1: trees in the background of some scenes, a sure sign 68 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: that you're not in the Midwest. Filming beg and in 69 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: the spring of night and lasted just twenty days, so 70 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: the movie is set in Illinois in the fall, but 71 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: was shot in California in the spring. That discrepancy posed 72 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: some challenges for the production. In order to simulate the 73 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,239 Speaker 1: look and feel of autumn in the Midwest, the crew 74 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: painted thousands of dried leaves and scattered them on the 75 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: ground before picking them all up again to be reused 76 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 1: in other scenes. The effect is somewhat undermined by the 77 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 1: leaves on the trees, which are fully green and don't 78 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: match the autumnal leaves beneath them. A more successful money 79 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: saving measure was the creation of Michael Myer's distinctive mask. 80 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: In the script, the mask is simply described as having 81 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: quote the pale, neutral features of a man. The film's 82 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: production designer, Tommy Lee Wallace, narrowed down the design to 83 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: two options, both of which were latex masks painted white 84 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: and bought for less than two dollars each at a 85 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: local toy store. The unused mask was a clown character 86 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,799 Speaker 1: called Weary Willie, and the winning option was a Captain 87 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: Kirk mask from Star Trek, which means that the eerie 88 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: blank face of Michael Myers is really that of William Shatner, 89 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: albeit whitewashed and all stretched out. Halloween premiered in the 90 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: rather random location of Kansas City, Missouri, before being picked 91 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: up for nationwide distribution in one hundred and ninety eight theaters. 92 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: Two weeks after its debut, Halloween had expanded and grossed 93 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: one point two million dollars, quadrupling its tiny budget of 94 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: three hundred thousand dollars. By the end of its theatrical 95 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: run in the US, the movie had grossed forty seven million, 96 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: or roughly a hundred ninety million today. This made it 97 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: one of the highest seeing independent films of all time, 98 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: and an inspiration to the many copycats slasher films that 99 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: hope to replicate that success. The positive response also ensured 100 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: that Halloween wouldn't remain a standalone film. The original idea 101 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: was to create an anthology series, with each entry telling 102 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: a completely different story set on and around Halloween. However, 103 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: Michael Myers was such a compelling character that the filmmakers 104 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: bowed the public pressure and made a sequel that continued 105 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: his story. The third film in the series, Halloween Season 106 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: of the Witch, returned to the anthology concept with a 107 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: story that had nothing to do with Michael Myers, but 108 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: it was too late. The franchise had become synonymous with 109 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: the character, and each of the many Halloween films since 110 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: then have been squarely centered on Myers. That's a bit 111 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: of a shame, if you ask me. There's only so 112 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: much you can do with his character, but at least 113 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: we have Season of the Witch, a bizarre and often 114 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: hilarious film that's definitely worth a watch if you've never 115 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: seen it. But whether you wish the Halloween series was 116 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: an anthology or not, there's no denying that the original 117 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: is an expert lesson in how to build tension and 118 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: elicit chills using just a few piano notes and an 119 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: unnerving mask. As John Carpenter said, there's a very specific 120 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: secret to what makes a good horror movie. It should 121 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: be scary, simple as that. I'm Gay Blusier and hopefully 122 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 123 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn even more about history 124 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,319 Speaker 1: by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 125 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: d I HC Show, And if you're interested in funding 126 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: my Harbor Day horror movie, you can send your proposal 127 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: to This Day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 128 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you 129 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 130 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: another spooky day in History class. For more podcasts from 131 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 132 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.