The 1977 "Star Wars" Movie Program

When "Star Wars" first hit the theaters some theaters offered special complimentary movie programs to movie goers.  This was a first run item not duplicated or repeated when "Star Wars" was rerun in theaters the following year.   I don't remember ever having one of these but my wife says that she got one when she went to see "Star Wars" and she had it for a long time through her childhood.  Years ago, I found an original program on Ebay and added it to my collection.   When it arrived, I showed it to my wife and she remembered the one she had as a child.  My first question to her was "How is it that you had something of "Star Wars" that I never had?"

And now I present the 1977 "Star Wars" complimentary movie program.

For some of you, sharing this program will bring back fond childhood memories ... for others this will be a new experience for you knowing that something like this once existed and now having the chance to view it for the first time.

Giant two page center spread showing the classic publicity shot of starfighter combat - Rebel Alliance X-wings versus Imperial TIE Fighters.

Estes "Star Wars" Flying Model Rockets

With the success of "Star Wars" it was only natural that Estes would want to get in on the huge cash pie.  

Enter the Estes flying models in the "Star Wars" flavor.  

I'd long been a fan of model rocketry and the Estes catalogs held the same kind of fascination with me that the Dinky diecast toy catalogs held ... they were filled with things that as a child I thought were neat beyond belief but which I didn't seem to ever be a part of.  Estes catalogs featuring that impressive camo German V2 rocket and the "Star Trek" versions of the "USS Enterprise" and the "Klingon Battlecruiser" drew my child-like fascination.  

Oh, I saw a few model rocketry shows in my childhood but my attempts to build model rockets always met with failure.   I was much better with models of rockets rather than model rocketry and it remains that way even today.  While interesting, model rocketry just isn't a hobby that I think I would get very much enjoyment out of ... 

I digress.

In the late 1970's Estes produced several flying rocket models under the "Star Wars" license; the Proton Torpedo, the X-Wing Fighter, the TIE Fighter, and IIRC, a flying R2D2 rocket (yeah, where was that in the movie?).  I always wanted the X-Wing and the TIE Fighter because the X-Wing looked really cool (better than the MPC kit IMHO) and since MPC never made a model of the basic Imperial TIE Fighter I wanted the flying model rocket just to put together as a static, non-flying model.  Never did that, either, but it was a wish, a hope and a dream of mine back in that special time that was 1977 to 1979.


The Estes Proton Torpedo ruined me as a child and as a "Star Wars" fan because it looked so plausible ... then whoever it was that finally designed and drew the canon proton torpedo made it look like a snow cone sitting on top of a fire extinguisher and ... well, I like the simplicity of the Estes Proton Torpedo better.   I mean, what happens to the casing after the torpedo is fired?

Discussion for another time, I guess.  Given that, here's three 1978 period advertisements for the Estes products ... the X-Wing Fighter, the TIE Fighter and the Proton Torpedo.  I really, really wanted the X-wing and TIE simply because MPC didn't make a TIE Fighter model (not a regular TIE Fighter) and the X-wing looked better than the MPC model did (at least to me).

Advertisement - Warren's "Creepy" magazine, June 1978, showing more "Star Wars" merchandise.

New Star Wars products on Page 67!

Advertising from Warren's "Creepy" magazine, June 1978, showing more, new "Star Wars" merchandise including the first four plastic models by MPC, a cheapo Darth Vader costume, an Estes flying model rocket of Luke Skywalker's "Proton Torpedo" and the first three movie related toy vehicles designed for the (then) new action figure line.

If you look close at the windshield of the Landspeeder you'll see the arm of the Luke Skywalker action figure.  The rest of the image of the toy was cut off and manipulated.  I had all of the MPC model kits except Darth Vader's TIE fighter ... not sure why I never had that but I just never did.  Likewise for the Vader costume and the Estes rocket because neat as it was I really wasn't into model rocketry when I was young.  

My first action figure vehicle was the X-wing fighter which I received for my birthday in June of '78.  I was 9 years old.  Later that Summer I got the TIE fighter while on vacation visiting my uncle and aunt in Chattanooga, TN.  The Landspeeder was the hardest vehicle to find and I didn't get it until the late Fall of 1978 when I found it at a local Western Auto store, of all places ... it was the only one they had and, as far as I know, the only one they ever got in.

As for the MPC plastic models, the X-Wing Fighter was a real step-bitch to put together, ditto for the R2D2 model with its opening panels and extending leg.  The C3PO model went together fairly easily.  None of the models survived into my early teenage years ... thankfully MPC later not only reintroduced these models but added a whole lot more to the lineup.

Advertisement - first Star Wars merchandise listing - Warren Publishing - "Creepy" and "Eerie" Magazine - October 1977

Growing up in the 1970's, Warren Publishing's "Famous Monsters" was big among kids my age but for me it was Warren's other horror offerings, "CREEPY" and "EERIE" magazines which were a mixture of fantasy, horror and science fiction.  Many famous artists contributed to these magazines, artists like Richard Corben, Pepe Moreno, and Frank Frazetta.

After "Star Wars" debuted in May of 1977, the story aspect of these two magazines began to be less horror and more science fiction.  Also, after "Star Wars" merchandise started to roll out the ad sections at the back of these magazines became clearing houses for all the good stuff.

Here is the first Star Wars merchandise advertisement in Warren Publishing's "Creepy" series magazine, Issue 92, and "Eerie" series magazine, Issue 87, both circa October 1977.  Figures and toys were still several months away but these early merchandising items were the first few snowflakes of the marketing and merchandise avalanche that was soon to follow.

Here we have the original four masks, a few films, the original double LP (vinyl) soundtrack, the novelization of the movie, a movie poster and four T-shirts.  The movies were available in two formats; black and white (with subtitles) for $9.95 or color with sound for $29.95 (which back then was quite a bit of money).

For what it is worth, in the Summer of 1978, the local Hattiesburg public library had a special showing of the color 8mm movie with sound.  They touted that they were showing "Star Wars" but it was only about 10 minutes long ... butchered for the Super 8 genre but hey, it was "Star Wars" ... again, and I loved sitting on that tile floor in the dark in the old public library and watching 10 minutes of pure magic.