1964 Action Featurette DEMO DERBY played more than 6,000 screens with A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

Filmed on location at
NORWOOD ARENA, NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE
INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER JAMES A. PIKE
ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER

New Englanders claim it is a unique and original American sport. Southern boys agree, but argue over just where in America it all began. Sociologists see the roots of this sort of mechanical mayhem and wanton destructiveness in the thrill-seeking, rabble-rousing entertainments of ancient Rome. Pure Americana or Classical derivative, "DEMO DERBY" has a special place in movie history.
In the summer of 1964, "DEMO DERBY" opened in Boston with "ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS" and in Hartford, New Haven and Worcester with "VIVA LAS VEGAS."

In the next ten days, it was booked into 61 theaters all across New England. But when it was paired with the Beatles' "A HARD DAYS NIGHT," it played on more than 6,000 screens, all across the country. And after its spectacular first run, it continued to be booked into theaters and drive-ins for TEN MORE YEARS!
If you remember Madras shorts, penny loafers and crew cuts, don't be surprised if "DEMO DERBY" brings a smile. It is so real, that by the time the show is over, you may have to look outside to be sure your old car isn't still there. So, turn your DVD player into a time machine and buckle up for a wild ride down memory lane.

Original Music by ARTHUR KORB Director of Photography ANGUS MACASKILL
Narrated by JOHN SCOTT NASCAR Technical Advisor CARLETON MERRILL
Title Song by TRAVIS E. PIKE and ARTHUR KORB, Performed by THE RONDELS
Written, Produced and Directed by JAMES A. PIKE
DEMO DERBY © 1964 Pike Productions, Inc. DVD © MMV Pike Productions, Inc.
DVD Package Design & Supplemental Material © 2009 Travis E. Pike

4:3 ASPECT RATIO / DVD REGION 0 / NTSC / 1964 / BW / 28 MIN / UNRATED

FROM THE "DEMO DERBY" SCRAPBOOK

Paramount Marquee

Boxoffice_Logo
'Demo Derby' Featurette In NE Multiple Openings

BOOKED IN 61 THEATRES & DRIVE-INS IN NEW ENGLAND
IN THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF RELEASE

    BOSTON -- A 28-minute featurette, "Demo Derby," filmed on location around Boston on demolition derby crashes, produced by Jim Pike, Pike Productions, opened at the Paramount, Boston; Capitol, Worcester; Allyn, Hartford, and Paramount, New Haven, June 25. It was on the bill with "Robin and the 7 Hoods" at the Paramount, Boston, and with the new Elvis Presley film, "Viva LasVegas" in New Haven, Hartford and Worcester.
   Pike, a former film producer for WNAC-TV, Boston, formed his own company in Newton Center to produce commercials for network and spot television, plus special purpose films, but became interested in the photographic challenge of demo derby action. It's Pike's first theatrical motion picture.
   Edward Ruff Film Associates is distributing the film which was made in Norwood, Millis and Dover, Mass. A record from the original score of the sound track has been pressed with "Demo Derby" title song and on the flip side, "Kathy," the love theme from the picture.

     If the old Romans had been able to photograph the audiences arriving in the arena to bait the gladiators, they might have come up with the same faces one sees in “Demo Derby,” locally-made production. Nobody gets burned to death or is killed, but this is what the audience seems to be waiting for. One of the cars is burned to a crisp and the others look as if they had been in a five-car collision on the Fourth of July. But this adds up to the grins on those absorbed faces.
     The film, which is a series of crashes on various nearby tracks, is rather terrifying to people who hope the younger generation is learning to drive safely rather than to ram into each other. But the youngsters love it as releasing some sort of destructive compulsion and becoming famous at the same time.
     Their local hero, Don McTavish of Dover, battles with Glenn Legere of Braintree for a $500 prize.
     Producer Jim Pike has come up with a remarkable film which is one of the most galvanic impressions of modern life and teenage recreation I have ever seen on the screen. Arthur Korb composed the effective, and suitably crashing score.

CONNECTICUT
Ansonia Bridgeport Danbury Middletown New Britain New London Poquonock Waterbury Willimantic	Capitol, 15-18 July Merritt, 15 July-4 Aug Palace, 22-28 July Palace, 15-22 July Strand, 22-28 July Garde, 22-28 July Bridge Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Pine Drive-In, 15-21 July Capitol, 8-14 July

MAINE
Bangor Caribou Ft. Fairfield Madawaska Mattawamgeat Milo Van Buren Waterville	Opera House, 22-28 July Dorseyland Drive-In, 12-14 July Ft. Fairfield Drive-In, 2-4 Aug Madawaska Drive-In, 12-14 July Mattawamgeat Drive-In, 22 July-4 Aug Milo Drive-In, 7-8 Aug Van Buren Drive-In, 31 July-1 Aug Haines, 8-14 July

MASSACHUSETTS
Avon Brocton Brocton Brookline Chicopee Dartmouth Fall River Fitchburg Lawrence Lowell Malden Medford Milford No. Adams No. Andover Orange Quincy Raynham Shrewsbury Springfield Springfield Sturbridge Welfleet W. Springfield	Avon Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Brockton, 29 July-4 Aug Skyview Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Coolidge, 5-11 Aug Airline Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Auto Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Somerset Drive-In, 1-14 July Whalom Drive-In, 8-21 July Palace, 15-28 July Strand, 8-14 July Grenada, 5-11 Aug Twin Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Mendon Drive-In, 19-21 July Corey Drive-In, 12-18 July Denrock Drive-In, 15-28 July Orange Drive-In, 22-25 July Strand, 5-11 Aug Raynham Drive-In, 15-28 July Edgemere Drive-In, 8-21 July Paramount, 29 July-18 Aug Round Hill Drive-In, 5-11 Aug Dolly Drive-In, 22-28 July Welfleet Drive-In, 29 July-1 Aug Memorial Drive-In, 5-11 Aug

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Boscowen Dover Manchester Manchester Nashua Rochester Somerswarth	Boscowen Drive-In, 15-28 July Strand, 22-28 July Manchester Drive-In, 15-28 July Rex, 24-26 July Nashua Drive-In, 15-28 July Rochester Drive-In, 12-15 Aug Route 16 Drive-In, 26 July-8Aug

RHODE ISLAND
Newport Pawtucket Providence	Strand, 5-15 July Leroy, 7-13 Aug Majestic, 15 July-3 Aug

VERMONT
Ascutney Brattleboro Burlington No. Montpelier White River Jct.	Ascutney Drive-In, 22-25 July Parkway Drive-In, 22-25 July Flynn, 15-21 July No. Montpelier Drive-In White River Jct, Drive-In, 2-4 Aug

FOR DIEHARD DEMO DERBY FANS

Get clippings from local newspapers that reviewed "DEMO DERBY" when it first played with the Beatles "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT." For those special 60's fans who actually saw "DEMO DERBY" and "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT" on the same bill and who might want a reprint of the review in their local newspapers to go along with their "DEMO DERBY" DVD -- we recommend the NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE. We tried it and you see the amazing result, below. If you find an especially good review, drop us a line at webmaster@long-grin.com. If we post it here, we'll attribute its discovery to you!

Demo Derby Review Archives

“DEMO DERBY” sprang from a story idea and title song written by young Travis Pike. Stationed overseas when the film was made, his first original song to be used in a movie was arranged by Arthur Korb and performed by the Rondels.

For those of you who never saw one, this is what a phonograph record looked like. This is a “45,” so-called for the number of revolutions per minute (RPM), it had to make to reproduce the sound exactly as it had been recorded (always assuming the record wasn't warped). This was also called a "single," with only one song per side, versus an album, which would, in those days, have had a much smaller hole in the middle, run at 33 1/3 RPM, hold way more songs per side (usually five to six), and be great big.

page updated 12 June 2009

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