More From Towers and Sperry in 1976

Belatedly consumed with weeding out the irrelevant from more than 45 years of files this month, darned if I didn't find three more postcards from movie principals. The year was 1976, and both Willis "Doc" Sperry and Tom Towers had volunteered a few moments in December to acknowledge receiving their copies of Official UFO with the movie article. Tom managed on more than one occasion to wish me season's greetings, and I've little doubt his Christmas holiday included at least one visit to the tennis court, one of his favorite places. I think I was more relieved than he when the publisher returned Tom's KRIM Theater photo -- the only copy he owned -- to me after its long absence. Retired American Airlines pilot and UFO witness Doc Sperry was still devoted to his partnership in Orion Aircraft Sales at that time.

UFO: Your Guide to the 1956 Movie

These old TV Guide listings for the 1956 documentary motion picture (with Tom Towers' name eventually corrected from the erroneous "Powers") only hint at the movie's contents and historical importance. If you're new to this site, please know that this is the place for the truth about the background and production of "U.F.O." No, we aren't perfect, but with no budget and the necessity to rely mainly upon old letters and files, I believe we've accomplished a lot. Be sure to explore blog entries way back from the beginning and work forward as you read so you'll learn all about this remarkable (and almost forgotten) major motion picture in a coherent sequence. I still hope to add more about the script and its changes in the months ahead. And thanks for stopping by. -- Robert Barrow

Major Dewey J. Fournet - A Footnote for the Movie

A brief and illuminating e-mail about the late Dewey J. Fournet, Jr., arrived a few days ago. In the early 1950s Air Force intelligence officer Major Fournet monitored the government's UFO investigation and became convinced of the UFO issue's importance to science and national security. His letters to me from the 1970s are posted in my blog concerning the 1956 movie, "U.F.O." and I've mentioned him on occasion in my regular UFO-related blog, and of course his name is legend concurrently with Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt and Albert M. Chop in UFO research history.

With Ms. Bergeron's permission, I have excerpted the significant portions of her note below. I'm pleased to add this important little anecdote to UFO research history, and we should all hope that one day soon our current government officials will honor and heed the words of those preceding them who realized that discovering more about UFOs may be vital:

"My name is Kim Bergeron, and I’m the godchild/niece of Dewey Fournet, Jr. (my mother’s brother). I’ve recently purchased the UFO movie in which, I understand, my uncle was portrayed. . .

"One of my fondest memories of my uncle was a conversation we had when he knew he had precious little time left on this earth — for the first time ever, I asked him point blank if he believed that U.F.O.’s may really exist.

"He looked me right in the eyes, smiled coyly, and responded, 'I have no doubt.'

"I only wish now I’d asked him that question many years earlier, so he could have shared more stories from his many years of investigating such."

In Celebration of. . .Nothing

Well-intentioned though I remain, my promises to start dealing with the "U.F.O." script itself have not materialized. With winter's approach hovering nearby, along with other consuming matters, I might not get into the script for some time. Nevertheless, know that all the "good stuff" from my collection about the movie and its participants is in this blog. Or, to quote a legendary broadcaster (so legendary that I can't remember his name) of years gone by, unsuccessfully trying to put in a good word for some program -- "Don't miss it if you can."

The Movie is Available

The motion picture, "U.F.O." is a rarity even on cable TV anymore. The VHS version was pulled from the commercial market after a brief appearance a few years ago and wasn't around long enough to merit a DVD version. For all intents and purposes, it appears that "U.F.O." is forgotten and relegated to the celluloid junkyard. In recent years, as in past years, I've written the studios about their interest and the movie's status, and utter silence was consistently my response.

For these reasons, watching this now 52-year-old film dwell in obscurity, I think it's fair and a real service to the public that a DVD of the movie is offered at nicap.org, the official tribute site for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, once the USA's leading civilian UFO organization.

The disc is more than reasonably priced for your donation (apparently, it currently accompanies a second disc which reproduces my original magazine article about the movie, originally published in the seventies) and it must absolutely be noted that all funds received for the DVD are plowed back into NICAP's educational not-for-profit Web site.

You can learn more simply by going to nicap.org and on the first page click on the tab near the top center that reads "Books and videos for sale" Then scroll down and amongst numerous other offerings the "U.F.O." DVD is featured. The page also provides an e-mail address and a mailing address. PayPal and money orders seem to be the preferred modes of payment.

Original color films of the famous and still unexplained Utah and Montana UFOs featured in this otherwise black-and-white motion picture may alone be worth the small donation requested. Both the movie and the impressive accumulation of UFO evidence documented by Francis Ridge and other dedicated researchers at the historic NICAP site are highly recommended.

Intermission Without Popcorn

No, I haven't added to this movie tribute site yet, but I still wish to remind new readers that I've posted some very interesting letters and documents I received from and about the people involved with the movie. Start at the beginning and read the words of former military and government personnel who worked with the official UFO investigation in the 1950s -- people who saw the evidence personally and realized that UFOs are real. Read the account of a former American Airlines pilot who experienced an incredible UFO sighting. Eventually, I hope to write about script changes, because the completed production featured significant variations that contrast with writer Francis Martin's original story.

Movie Article Chronology

Four articles written by me have been published about "U.F.O." The first appeared in 1977 and the last in 2006. In one form or another, the contents of all articles are based upon information entered into this blog. The four issue covers are displayed here and pertinent details are as follows:

1. " 'UFO' Revisited" was printed in the February, 1977 issue of Official UFO, published by Countrywide Publications, NY, NY, sold at the nation's newsstands and book stores and available also via magazine subscription. Currently, it can be read in its entirety at NICAP.org (recommended because the original photos were eventually included, and two articles can be accessed on one Web page simply by clicking on either magazine cover) or at Ufologie.net (no photos, but offers both an English and French language version). See links in the margin to access these Web sites. As mentioned previously, the cover is an abomination because the story about a daughter's abduction by a UFO is total fiction, included by the publisher to raise magazine circulation. Official UFO's early and enviable reputation as a reliable source for UFO information was well on its journey to oblivion by this time.

2. "Review of a Most Remarkable UFO Documentary Film" was printed in the Winter 1977-78 issue of Argosy UFO, published by Popular Publications (parent company of Argosy Magazine), NY, NY, sold at newsstands, book stores and through subscription. This article may also be read in its entirety via the NICAP link. I don't know why the editors settled upon this long and rambling title, for it wasn't my original choice. This issue of Argosy UFO was also its last, following a successful run of several years, because a foreign company purchased Popular Publications and immediately took a hatchet to several companion magazines. Editor Audrey Hunter, truly a gem to work with, had tipped me off about the pending sale, but had no idea what magazines would be cut. Nevertheless, I remain grateful that she published not one, but actually three of my articles in this final issue, each headlined on the cover (re the movie, Presidents & UFOs and the UFO course I taught at a college).

3. " 'Unidentified Flying Objects,' Accidental Epic" appeared in the January, 2006 (Vol. 30, No. 2) edition of the International UFO Reporter, journal of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies (Chicago, IL), and I'm eternally grateful to esteemed researchers and editors Jerome Clark and Dr. Mark Rodeghier for the opportunity to present the background of this important motion picture to members of the scientific, professional and curious CUFOS community. My original title for the piece was "Epic Reluctant," which I still prefer, but the stone-cold fact since time began dictates that writers don't make the editorial decisions!

4. "Tom Towers: The Other Al Chop" was published in the August, 2006 (Vol. 30, No. 4) edition of the International UFO Reporter, journal of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies (Chicago, IL). Editors Clark and Rodeghier brightened my life by accepting this article, for this was basically the one "lost in the mail" when I sent it and rare visuals (including a great passport photo of Towers as he looked in the mid 1970s) to Saga Magazine's UFO Report some 30 years previously. Space considerations caused Official UFO to cut most of my information about Towers' life when the first article was printed in 1977. Saga wanted to see the piece and the visuals and though I mailed them off in a large and secure package, the parcel seemingly never made it to Saga, and editors declared it must be lost in the mail. I would sooner believe it became lost in the mail room, or at the least absconded with at some point between here and there. Obviously, I was absolutely devastated about the irreplaceable visuals, though Towers was very understanding about the passport photo's loss, and fortunately it wasn't really one of his prized possessions (unlike the KRIM Theater photo, which he worried about persistently until its return).

More Visual Newspaper Ad Layouts

Yesterday's Newspaper

Is a picture worth a thousand. . .moviegoers? Studio publicity agents could write all the advance newspaper articles about "U.F.O." they desired, but there was always a firm realization in the film industry that the movie poster was king. Then, as now, nothing could beat an enticing visual effect. Today, we attract a movie audience in large part with televised commercials, TV reviews and Internet presentations. In 1956, however, despite the availability of TV, radio and magazines, newspaper entertainment pages were an important asset for interesting the public in new motion pictures coming to town. Posted today are samples of the layouts available for newspaper ads regarding the Greene-Rouse movie.

Other Publicity Articles

From the movie press book, these are the remaining articles prepared by the promotions staff at United Artists, all of them intended for newspapers. Remember, in 1956 newspapers reigned supreme from coast to coast. By 2008, many of the nation's largest and most respected newspapers have lost considerable clout, thanks to the Internet and the reluctance of younger readers accustomed to the Web's fast track and brief TV/radio blurbs to spend time wading through newsprint. A shame, really.

The Billing, The Story, The Staff

I found it rather peculiar that the United States press book for "U.F.O." displayed only this brief synopsis of the story (despite other promotional information), while the British press book provided far more detail in its synopsis section; its length, in fact, gave me the opportunity to use and augment it lightly for my second magazine article on the film (printed in Argosy UFO -- see note in margin for my two early articles available for viewing via one link, which takes you to the NICAP.org Web site).

Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Researcher Gary Mangiacopra, exceptionally knowledgeable about movies and the technical processing of film itself, recently astonished me with a revelation that the British version of the 1953 science fiction movie, "Invaders From Mars," contained something the U.S. version lacked. There's a scene in this fictional movie, one of the better sci-fi films of the 1950s, where a scientist actually discusses with other characters the leading United States UFO incidents of the day, including Capt. Mantell's death, and photos of the famous "Lubbock Lights" and other supposedly real UFOs are prominently posted on the wall. In the version released to American theaters, all of this is missing! Now that both versions are available on DVD, the amazing comparison can easily be made.

For all the freedoms enjoyed by Americans, it's disturbing how many are apparently not. Who's in charge here? Or maybe, as per the original story title upon which the movie, "The Thing" was based, we should ask: "Who Goes There?"

Show and Tell

Another page of the "U.F.O." press book featured this blurb for audiovisual ads. While my meager collection regarding the film lacks numerous items, I always particularly regretted my inability to locate the 78 r.p.m. record, the radio spots and the slides and telops mentioned. Unlike posters, lobby cards and 8" x 10" photos, I suspect those audiovisual items weren't considered "keepers" in their time and, at any rate, most of them probably fell victim to continuous play (worn out), return to and destruction by distributors, and TV/radio station management and employees who believed in discarding promotional material once it became irrelevant and a storage nuisance.

Other Attempts to Promote the Film

The press book offered theaters a variety of promotional material. The displays shown here on one scan include both a montage of UFO-related newspaper articles and studio artwork suggesting (in the most dramatic and ultimately irresponsible way possible) what may have caused the tragic death of Captain Thomas Mantell during a UFO pursuit. As I've tried to make clear throughout our cinematic journey, the motion picture's minimal implementation of dramatic effect and complete absence of visualized "saucers" (except for the objects seen briefly in the Utah and Montana films) simply didn't stand up to the assumptions and promises distributed via United Artists' promotional items. We should sparingly use the word, "lackluster" but, unfortunately, Clarence Greene's almost one-track-mind obsession with truth and documentation over publicly implied sensationalism doomed the motion picture's opportunity for widespread audience appeal. It's truly a shame that the film's stature as an historical masterpiece has gone unappreciated by nearly everybody except the UFO researchers who instantly comprehended its importance.

A hasty relegation of "U.F.O." to the trash heap of fifties science fiction film canisters and TV channels interested only in filling time between commercials was an injustice still unrealized by motion picture critics and historians -- primarily because they know little or nothing about the incredible events which actually transpired during the U.S. government's early years of UFO investigations. The Library of Congress and the American Film Institute, in my opinion, really should embrace and honor this movie as it has few others.

The Early Word

Advance screenings of "U.F.O." provided a few news clippings with titles appropriate for the movie press book.

Attention Theater Owners

Well, I do give United Artists credit for setting up a poll with the reasonable yes-or-no statement, "I believe flying saucers actually exist," instead of using the absurdly gut-wrenching version, do you believe in flying saucers? I do wonder how well the poll gimmick worked around the country, but I've no information on the results.

With those innocent years of the fifties long gone, can you imagine in 2008 trying to get away with the "paper glider" stunt? Attempting to distribute anything near playgrounds and schools would probably get you interrogated or arrested, and if you dared to put a glider inside a parked car, chances are so-so that the driver returning to his vehicle would be packing heat and you'd be shot down on the street. And to think some of you anticipated (sigh. . .) that we'd all be part of one world, civilized and living peaceably on Mars by now. Dream the dream. . .