Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.


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Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: Mikey ()
Date: October 16, 2013 02:45AM

From the few threads I've follwed here, I can see that most of you are fantastic detectives.

I've got a mystery that I've been working on over a period of about 30 years, and I could use a LOT of help.

Around 1972, I caught a scene from a movie being shown on channel 9 (I think) when they used to show movies on Sunday afternoons. Unfortunately, I couldn't hang around to see the title of the movie, but the scene I saw was of a man running up the steps of a house at about 1816 west Belle Plaine avenue, just west of Ravenswood. During the scene, the camera spun around, and I saw the Ravenswood "L" go by, and the company I was working for at the time, which was at 1801 w. Belle Plaine (Dynascan Corp., makers of electrical test equipment and Cobra CB radios). I'm pretty sure it was in color, but I couldn't make out any faces in the short time I watched it. It appeared to be a low-budget film, shot very recently, probably 1970 or so.

Anyway, I've tried everything I could think of, but I can't identify the movie. Anyone have any ideas? My sanity is on the line here.

Thanks, in advance!

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: PKDickman ()
Date: October 16, 2013 04:34PM

It is not ringing any bells.
But the Film office has a pretty fair list of the films legally shot in Chicago.

[url=http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_film_office6.html]Movies shot in Chicago[/url]

Luckily, the Old Daley years were low on filming permits so there aren't too many to scan through.

I would look at the lists for the 70s, eliminate any I knew were wrong and check the others with the IMDB database to see if the actors or plot rings a bell.

[url=http://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home]Internet Movie Data Base[/url]

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: Mikey ()
Date: October 16, 2013 05:06PM

Hi, and thanx for the quick reply.

I began researching this subject about 20-odd years ago, and have made a couple of calls to the Chicago Film Office. They weren't much help, unfortunately.

I've watched a number of films that were possibilites: no luck. I've now whittled down the list of candidates to a handful, the two most possible being "Mickey One", which was black & white, and "T.R. Baskin", which was never released on VHS or DVD. So I'm sort of stuck for a while. My next move was to buy "Mickey One" from Amazon, but as bad as my old memory is getting, I firmly believe that my mystery movie was in color.

My goal is to find someone who lived at that location back around '70 who would have remembered filming being done there. A long shot, but I'm still trying.

In the meantime, I occasionally see lists of films shot here that contain odd films I'd never heard of, so there is hope....

Thanx again for the help!

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: jd ()
Date: October 16, 2013 09:24PM

Could it be "Medium Cool" by Haskell Wexler?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064652/

Siskel & Ebert did a thing on that "semi-documentary" around that time. I saw the movie and it was "medium cool" to me in a "Billy Jack" kind of way.

Check the film office for shooting locations.

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: jd ()
Date: October 16, 2013 09:29PM

Here is Ebert's 1969 review:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/medium-cool-1969

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: Mikey ()
Date: October 17, 2013 01:49PM

Thanx for the suggestion, J.D.

"Medium Cool" is one of my favorite films, and I've watched it a few times. Sadly, it's not the one I'm looking for.

I'm new to this forum, and I'm hoping that someone who reads my original post will have an answer. I'm sure it will happen soon.

I will agree with you about Medium Cool, though... fantastic movie, and one that I feel that everyone should see, at least once. A powerful view of what happened in 1968. I myself got bopped by a cop, and I wasn't even near the action. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: nordsider ()
Date: October 17, 2013 04:38PM

Mikey,

A shot in the dark; could it possibly be the movie called "Fearless Frank" (1967), an obscure early work by filmmaker Philip Kaufmann. I haven't seen the movie, but this was one of the first/experimental movies by Kaufmann; and I've read that he grew up near Montrose beach and harbor, in the same general area of Chicago, and suspect that it may also have been filmed there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fearless_Frank



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2013 03:39PM by nordsider.

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: WayOutWardell ()
Date: October 18, 2013 12:46PM

Mikey, there are some still photos of 'Fearless Frank' on the Chicago Screenshots website, and apparently it's available on Netflix.
Hope it helps!

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: Mikey ()
Date: October 18, 2013 04:29PM

Thanx, nordsider and W.O.W. for your help!

I saw the screen shots of Fearless Frank, and it DID start the wheels turning. I'll give it a looksee. I don't remember that one being on any lists of Chicago films that I've seen. I'll have to call Factes and see if they've got a copy.

Way Out Wardell... I have a jazz LP of that title by a tenor man named Wardell Gray.
Interesting.

Mikey

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: WayOutWardell ()
Date: October 21, 2013 02:46AM

Mikey Wrote:

> Way Out Wardell... I have a jazz LP of that title
> by a tenor man named Wardell Gray.
> Interesting.

Yep, that's where it's from!

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: rjmachon ()
Date: October 21, 2013 05:13AM

Mikey,

YouTube has 5:45 of the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19CIj1QasPo


Also on 1ChannelMovie.com has the movie, Fearless Frank 1967 online.

http://www.1channelmovie.com/search/fearless-frank/

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Re: Filming Location on Belle Plaine ave.
Posted by: Mikey ()
Date: October 22, 2013 07:08PM

rjmachon: Thanx for the lead! I'll check it out.

Mikey

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