The Case of the Kitchen Killer

I had dropped this previously from my website, but decided to post it again since now I can show this film without splitting it up in 3 parts. The total length is about 23 minutes which is a bit long for a short comedy.

The film is based on a joke by comedian and writer Pat McCormick. It goes something like this: "The scariest time in my life was in the men's room at Grand Central Station in New York. I was all alone when I turned around and saw a man approaching me brandishing a pair of kitchen tongs." The film is a 'what if' this could happen type of scenario could ever be put to screen. I went with it but never quite felt comfortable with the end result and abandoned the film only to later finish it at the insistence of friends and family. It premiered at Smith Tower in 1976 on my 21st birthday. The film was shot entirely with a 16mm hand wound Bolex and all the sound effects were dubbed (rather hastily - I admit) . Also the music was never cleared so the film could never become a distributable product. Also it never won awards but was televised in 1976 on KGW's 8 Lively Arts.

There is a small cameo played by my father, Lendon Smith aka Dr. Lendon Smith the children's doctor. Dad loved acting and he got into playing the lousy father.
The clip of him as the crippled tormented father aired on the Phil Donahue show in 1976 when our family was featured. My 10 minutes of fame, thanks to my father's amazing career.

This is the second time I uploaded this film. The copy that was on the You Tube server had a watermark from an unlicensed video encoder. This copy is a bit better.

The film (or the transfer) is somewhat crude, but at least the sound is clear.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Kitchen Killer
• Lendon Smith
• spoof comedy
• crime films

[du11GGo]

Who was the sexy tubby guy driving the Studebaker? Smitty>Hitchcock no doubt!

[ottodachat]

@du11GGo I can't remember who drove the Studebaker that day.  Perhaps Doug Gentner?

[ottodachat]

If you look closely at the first shot, in the background is construction of the Fremont Bridge, before that is the Broadway and the on ramp to the Steel Bridge. I think the first shot was done in 1972. Most of the principal filming was done from 1972 to 1973.

[femmecorbeau]

effin' brilliant, man. loved watching it again and this time, all together! xoxoxoxoxoox

[ottodachat]

@femmecorbeau merci beaucoup! Le film continue a etonner. I need to put some accents in there

but you get the vouloir-dire.

[du11GGo]

Smitty, I couldn't get the youtube link to post my response. It's me, Gentner