Sandy Becker - THE CHARIOT RACE GAME (RCA, 1959)

 

"Mommy! Daddy! Take me to see SOLOMON AND SHEBA, with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida, please, pleeeeeease! I'll be good, PLEASE!" 

Those were the words spoken by exactly ZERO children in 1959, when this 7-inch record came out.  But what we are looking at isn't a kids' record, right? The back of the sleeve gives you your answer:

Oh.

None of this matters, anyway, because what we have here is another "magic record," or as RCA specifically called them, "Secret Spiral Records," records cut with multiple grooves that give you a surprise outcome when you drop the stylus!

We have looked at a couple of these before (here is a fun Hanna-Barbera one), and there have been quite a few over the years, from one that enabled you to play Bingo (where seemingly random numbers were called), to even one that was a Roulette wheel (were you supposed to gamble with these things?).  

Here, though, we have an exciting chariot race on side 2, where each one of four differently-colored chariots can be the winner! The first side gives you some instructions, and then sets the scene in the context of the movie...then it's on to Side 2, to play the game!

Speaking of the movie (which is regarded as a clunker--making it killed Tyrone Power, even), a keyword search of its lengthy plot on Wikipedia does not even contain the word "chariot." Is it any coincidence that BEN HUR came out right at the same time? I think not.

I can only imagine some fist-fights, drinking games, or at least small bets that were lost, involving this record.  It's always tough to convert these types of records, because invariably there's that last groove that you are trying to randomly hit, and it just won't come up! But fear not, I have provided them all here for you.  Listening to these digitally may not be as fun or random, though, but I'm sure there's a way!

LINK:  Sandy Becker - The Chariot Race Game (1959)

Godzilla Wristwatch (Nelsonic, 1995)

 

We have covered the rare "Godzilla Attacks Los Angeles" watch, which contained a tiny Godzilla figure in a "transforming head" playset, but here is a stylish, more grown-up Godzilla watch, from the same year and the same manufacturer!

This cool wristwatch is very unique, and it features a 3-D effect, with the logo and cityscape printed on the glass, and Godzilla and the rest of the scene on the actual face of the watch.  The outside of the casing bears the numbers, rather than putting them on top and cluttering the scene.  Not to mention the leather band, which is actually scaly (and green, but what are you gonna do).

Here is the back--note that the plastic protective film is still in place, which is causing a bit of a glare. 

What I haven't yet unearthed is how this timepiece was sold, exactly.  In the case of the kids' watches made by Nelsonic, they were sold at retail stores in a blister pack, like this:

(Apologies for the 1998 Hollywood GINO item there, but it illustrates the point.) This 1995 watch, however, came in a velvet pouch thing, and is a little higher-end in build.  It even includes instructions with information on how to send the watch back to Nelsonic to have the battery changed....and kid watches certainly never did that, as they were plastic and made to be pretty much disposable.

It's possible it was a special order/mail order type of thing, from magazines or catalogs.  It's such a scarce item that it's been impossible for me to find any information on, anywhere.  I do remember as a kid seeing branded, mid-price watches like this in the glass cases of department stores, so it's likely it was sold that way too (I miss Service Merchandise, by the way).  

If you had this watch, chime in and let me know where you got it! Meanwhile, I will add it to the guide to Vintage American Godzilla Collectibles.

GODZILLA vs. MEGALON 1-inch Type C TV Station Library Master Tape

 

And now, at last, here is something that's been in the works for two or three years now: the one-inch television master tape for GODZILLA vs. MEGALON!

Straight from a TV station library (dated April 3, 1990), this one-inch "type C" format offers more lines of resolution than that of VHS.  This is a good thing, and it gets even better, because the production house that transferred this for me had recently re-built their equipment to include a component that cleaned the tape immediately before the conversion, ensuring the best transfer possible.  

As a result, the film looks better than any home video release up to the time! What's more, there is also an added bonus:

In addition to the film, I was saving this Super 8 conversion that the same company did for me a couple of years ago, to use as bonus material.  This is the U.S. MEGALON theatrical trailer, which was actually released by Steel Valley Film Services--probably via mail order--for the princely sum of $9.95.  While this is the same trailer you've probably seen before (that can be found on YouTube), here it serves as a great example of how much quality Super 8 can actually reproduce.  This widescreen trailer looks and sounds great.

As you can see from the artwork, the film runs 79 minutes, 19 seconds, so a thorough comparison with other released versions, especially the many VHS releases of the day, would be in order (MEGALON famously has some discrepancies, such as the opening credits for example...it always cracks me up how they pan-and-scan their way out of the nude pinups in the truck).  For now though, here it is, at long last! Enjoy!

LINK(includes film, trailer, & artwork):  

GODZILLA vs. MEGALON TV Master Tape