In today's Geek Salad we have some films and some fantasy phones.
I was recently watching Ghost Boat on the UK Horror Channel. Like an old fashioned BBC ghost story, its a serial made into a single TV movie starring the fabulously grounded David Jason on Frost fame.
A little lengthy I found, it concerns a WW2 sub, which resurfaces 40 years later to everyone's astonishment. The eerie aftermath is done rather well as a modern crew take it on one last voyage to find out where its been!
As such, Ghost Boat joins movies like The Philadelphia Experiment, Event Horizon and Ghost Ship.
Whilst watching I was struck by how familiar this Admiralty Building was:
It's only the rear entrance to Leeds Civic Hall in West Yorkshire no less! - a place I must have visited several hundred times in my life! And here it is ....
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Speaking about films, reader Brian's recent mention of New Jersey's creepy Pine Barrens being used as a film location reminded me that I have just such a flick in my own VHS collection!
It is The Last Broadcast and concerns a posse of hapless youngsters searching for that infamous harpie of the Garden State, the Jersey Devil. The legend states that it was created in the Leeds or Shrouds House no less! What, Leeds again!
A handheld camera flick, the Last Broadcast's major claim to fame is that it is alleged to have been produced before the Blair Witch Project, the generally accepted origin of the shaky camera film sub-genre. Being the first of this format is not something to brag about though, having spawned a plague of headache-inducing CCTV ever since!
Talking of broadcasting, have any of you ever been in a car back then or now that had a phone in it? I don't mean a mobile or a cell. I mean a proper telephone hardwired into the car. You know, Batmobile style. I never have!
Aww, its the stuff of my dreams to take a call on an old hand set whilst cruising in my 1960's Lamborghini Marzal. Fantasy driving at its best!
How on earth did those car phones work?
What's your fantasy car ride readers?
We were just in Leeds Point this past weekend.There is an old Historic Village called Smithville nearby and my grand daughter volunteered to direct traffic at their annual May Festival.Do you like the Philadelphia Experiment? You would be thrilled with a new haunted house(ship, actually)attraction at the boardwalk in Wildwood(I believe you are familiar with this location).The ride is shaped like a huge rusted old Battle Ship called the Ignus Fatuus and is supposedly been sent through time and plunked down in Wildwood complete with mutants, zombies and all kinds of terrifying scenery.You can take a walk through the ship or ride through on a cable car which also takes you off the pier and high over the ocean.Great fun!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like one helluva ride Brian! Can't believe it goes over the ocean! I've heard of Wildwood from a Fireman chum of mine in NJ. As for the Philadelphia Experiment I love films like that which involve time travel so much so that my Sarge radio stories include an element of it.
DeleteI have seen images of the ride by searching"Wildwood Ghost Ship " or "Wildwood Ignus Fatuus" Perhaps adding "New Jersey United States" would help to refine your search.The Ride itself was loosely based on the storyline of The Philadelphia Project.And Ignus Fatuus is translated to mean "ghost lights " or "will o' the wisp".Spooky!
ReplyDeleteJust looked at some pics online too! What an amazing ride! Wildwood must attract thousands of tourists to get investment like that into its rides. I suppose the Ghost Ship is a huge variation on the old Ghost Train idea. I loved the Ghost Train as a kid!
DeleteThat pier had a haunted pirate ship called the SKUA that was built in the 60's and torn down a few years ago.The public told the owners how much they missed it and I guess the Ignus Fatuus was an upgrade!
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