Reposing comfortably, for years, somewhere behind Tom Towers' sofa in his southern California living room was his personal copy of the 116-page script for the movie, "U.F.O." Dated October 21, 1954, this likely was the very first screenplay draft for the film turned out by writer Francis Martin, and I say that simply because the eventual production varied significantly from the original typewritten document. Indeed, Towers' copy contained occasional handwritten notations and circled passages, probably scribbled by Tom himself during the days when he prepared for or was required on the movie "set" as lead actor.
To my surprise, Towers offered and mailed his treasured script to me in the seventies as I researched the movie. Though his small KRIM Theater photo (see earlier references to this snapshot taken by Towers' friends) was undoubtedly his most cherished movie souvenir, the script was unquestionably next in line, and the loan of each to me was profoundly appreciated.
As years passed, I remembered reading the script, and vaguely recalled photocopying some pages, but because I found no script among other "U.F.O." memorabilia, I assumed those pages had been destroyed or misplaced. As fate would have it, however, the photocopied script -- all of it -- eventually turned up in a box of things unrelated to the movie. Strangely, I had forgotten copying a complete script.
Of course, I wish I could reproduce the document in this blog, page by page, but there may still be ownership and copyright issues involved, so I'll opt for quoting passages where necessary. We'll begin when I post part two.
