WOXU Golden Reel Award
(Image courtesy of WOXU)
Five years after that night, in the fall of 1988, Detroit radio station WOXU 660 AM 'The Ox', co-sponsored a local movie-making contest with a former independent UHF channel that got swallowed up by a major Hollywood studio in the early days of channel jacking as cable TV stretched across the country. Channel 39 joined the Peak Broadcast Company, PBC.
Primetime programming got a boost with shows geared toward the 16-29 demographic. DENVER HEIGHTS (playing figuratively, metaphorically, and literally) followed the trials and tribulations of a group of friends from various socioeconomic backgrounds. TAKE FLIGHT, again using a play on words to follow the trials and tribulations of a group of flight attendants. MUNCHAUSEN, an early reality show, followed people afflicted with the syndrome as a group of doctors tried to treat the condition.
Both the radio station and the TV channel featured shows hosted by a former Hollywood actor named Ken Billingsly. For Channel 39, now known as the PBC Network, Billingsly did a two-hour stint as Dr. Fungi (Fun-Guy) performing schtick and offering movie trivia of classic if not campy horror movies during his show, Monster Matinee with Dr. Fungi, the plural form for fungus. He opened every show with a word of caution.
"Warning! It's frightening how bad this movie can be!" This didn't stop local viewers from missing Billingsly's bad impersonations or corny jokes or sight-gags. Known for his self-effacing behavior for showing 'moldy-oldies', Billingsly developed a bit of a cult following for showing films like Aunt Ruth is Having One of Her Spells, The Door at the End of the Alley, or Night of the Gnats.
Billingsly eventually sold his Dr. Fungi creation to the PBC where an ever-changing number of Dr. Fungi continue to host a Saturday night feature twice a month. When one host retires or moves on, he or she lays down behind the trunk of a tree that long ago fell on top of the original Dr. Fungi, who had a different name then but none of the doctors can ever remember what the original name was. The ground emits a yellowish-orange glow. Time-lapse photography shows various mushrooms growing until the camera cuts away to the studio where a laboratory door opens in walks the new Dr. Fungi.
A favorite of fans and Dr. Fungi
(Image courtesy of Channel 39-WOXU)
On the radio, Billingsly hosted a talk show where he interviewed current and former celebrities, some of whom appeared or worked on the movies he showed as Dr. Fungi. It was while discussing the most recent movie to be shot in Detroit with its two stars that the idea for the film festival arose.
Desktop Cinema was catching on with the advent of home video equipment. The Ox was curious to see what local talent had to offer. Ken Billingsly would MC the event at the historic Main Theater in Royal Oak.
Michigan was no stranger to Oscar-caliber talent having been home to George C. Scott and Julie Harris. Otto Preminger had filmed ANATOMY OF A MURDER in the Upper Peninsula. COLLISION COURSE, a buddy cop movie featuring Jay Leno and Pat Morita had wrapped filming in Detroit. The Hollywood vibe hummed in southeastern Michigan.
Channel 39 and the Ox offered awards in three media categories: VHS, Super Eight, and 16mm. Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress were up for grabs in each. Alvi Trout stuck to the one he knew best. Super Eight. He also stuck to an idea he had been fostering since that night the motorcycle crashed to the road.
What if the unfortunate driver found a way to return? Would he come back to the moment before the accident happened or would he return five years later? Would he disrupt the lives of those who lost him?
Alvi Trout had very little time. The movies were due by October 13. It would take about a week to have the film developed. He'd need about a week to edit in film from the night of the accident. Unlike video, editing Super 8 film causes jumps in playback. There would be audio gaps where the splicing tape covered the magnetic strips that held the audio. He didn't have a script on paper but he had one in his head. He turned to the people he knew could handle his improvised dialogue.
They were all onboard.
Of course that meant shooting around their work and school schedules. Bobby Marshall worked alongside Alvi at a shestore in a nearby mall. Becky Conroy worked there too but at a jeans store. Chuck Phillips was working at a gas station. And Sarah Willette, who Alvi wanted as the lost rider's girlfriend in mourning, was currently student teaching at an elementary school during the day and waiting tables at night. It would have to all be done in a single day but considering his feature was three minutes and thirty seconds before the editing, they could do it.
Alvi Trout filming and directing RIDE BACK
They found a Sunday where they all had the same three-hour block of time available. Sarah convinced her manager to let them film a scene at Skiddadles, her place of employment. She told him they would be quick. They needed a booth and a couple of glasses of apple cider. It didn't hurt that she was dating the guy.
Sarah Willette headshot for RIDE BACK promotional package
Bobby Marshall and Chuck Phillips created one of the more memorable moments of the movie. Phillips plays a guy who is floundering after failing out of college. Lost and on a trajectory for destruction, he is surprised to find Grant Walker (Bobby Marshall) sitting at the bar of their old haunt, The Dead End Inn.
Chuck Phillips and Bobby Marshall improvise the bar scene in Ride Back
(RIDE BACK promotional package)
'You still have a path,' Grant Walker (Bobby Marshall) tells him.
'A path to nowhere.'
'It's a lonely path. When you come to that proverbial fork in the road, go to the left.'
'Why?'
'Because you don't know what lies to the right.'
Later in the short feature, the four friends reunite one last time to say their goodbyes. Grant Walker has gotten the chance to tell his friends what he couldn't the night of the accident. He gets back on his bike and rides off without looking back at the three friends standing around his grave.
Chuck Phillips and Becky Conroy
(RIDE BACK promotional package)
Bobby Marshall and Sarah Willette
(RIDE BACK promotional package)
Grant Walker (Bobby Marshall) riding into destiny
(RIDE BACK promotional package)
RIDE BACK did not win the Best Picture for a Super Eight Film award at the WOXU film fest. Sarah Willette did get a nomination for Best Actress.
At a reception afterward, Alvi Trout met Ken Billingsly. The aging actor told Trout he had a guy eye for framing a scene. If Trout ever thought about going to California to make movies, Billingsly still had some contacts out there.
"Don't be upset about the trophy, kid," Billingsly said. "I've got a shelf full of them and I still never got Arnold-money. Stick to the story."
Ken Billingsly
(Photo courtesy of the Billingsly family)
Billingsly offered Alvi Trout a job on his TV show. Assistant Writer and Second Unit Director, which meant Alvi Trout would be filming or taping portions of the show that didn't feature Billingsly. External scenes involving the puppets or extras in costumes. Avli Trout took the job. A year later he was nominated for a local Emmy. Once more, the award went to someone else.
The trophy didn't matter. The experience did. Alvi Trout was hooked. He asked Billingsly about his Hollywood contacts. Billingsly wasn't surprised.
"I was surprised the kid lasted a year in local markets," Billingsly said.
Alvi Trout and Bobby Marshall quit their jobs and drove across the country to stake their claims in Hollywood.
RIDE BACK one-sheet
(RIDE BACK promotional package)
