EVERY POSTCARD FROM THE OPENING TITLES OF NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION

I just got back from my summer vacation and I have sooo much to do. (Blogging about the trip is certainly on the list.) Regardless of this, I couldn't resist the urge to watch National Lampoon's Vacation within hours of my return. My geekiness prompted me to turn on the director's commentary, and that's how I learned that the vintage postcards in the wonderful title sequence were contributed by John Margolies, a name that shows up on a half dozen books on my bookshelf. He's spent decades documenting roadside America in books such as Roadside America.

Roadside America by John Margolies

Signs of Our Time by John Margolies

In fact, many of the images used in the film appear within his bibliography. Vacation director Harold Ramis explains that a number of the postcards were actually "invented" by taking John's photographs and fashioning them into postcard format.

This new-found connection between one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite authors got me so excited that I threw my schedule to the wind and took screenshots of every postcard. They appear onscreen in frustratingly short intervals but now you can take a leisurely look at this magnificent collection. (Click any to enlarge)...



















































As you may recall, this last card featuring the Chicago skyline seamlessly transitions into the first shot of the film. I can't imagine a more appropriate or effective introduction to the quintessential vacation movie.

KING KONG OVER BRANSON

As if you needed another reason to visit Branson, Missouri, this season marks the debut of a giant King Kong appearing atop the Hollywood Wax Museum. I, for one, welcome our new primate overlord. Thanks to the traffic-choked highway 76 passerbys have the opportunity to study the sculpture from all angles for at least ten minutes at at time.

But if you long for a taste of "Silver Age" Branson (1995-2005) you can venture to the neighborhood directly behind the museum to find the back porch that houses the former "have your photo taken in King Kong's hand" prop. But don't despair, the Kong photo-op has been updated to appeal to today's more sophisticated novelty photo connoisseurs.

McMURAL

The McDonald's of my childhood is nearly thirty years old and each time I return I'm glad to see that their custom wall mural is still intact, even though today it serves as a graveyard for bygone McDonaldland mascots. After intending to for years, I finally brought in my camera and captured it for the ages. Exactly one week after doing this I learned that a new location is on the horizon and this building is about to be demolished, or as the Hamburglar would say: ruble ruble. (Yes, I know he really says robble, but wasn't that a good one?)

I'm betting the mural will go down with the 1980s-style country crafts decor. So as long as Blogger, the internet, and civilization as we know it remains, the painting will be available right here...

(click to enlarge)

The artwork is probably twenty feet long and was commissioned when the restaurant was built. The artist, Cecil Savage, was widely considered "the" town artist. He taught many of my little friends the proper way to paint trees and how to make flying birds out of letter M's. What makes the piece unique is that the cast of characters are frolicking in a local park.


I like that modern children are left to ponder why a man of science is pointing to a pirate standing in a fountain, seemingly directing attention away from the crime taking place in the background. Meanwhile all the government employees have hamburgers for heads.


I've never understood the high turnover rate among McDonaldland residents until I read the Wikipedia page. I knew they were heavily "inspired" by H.R. Pufnstuf but I didn't know McDonald's was successfully sued for ripping off Sid and Marty Krofft.


Stolen or not, this senseless cast of characters was certainly enough to captivate me as a kid. I was thrilled to find their likenesses on an eraser or a McWrist wallet. Remember McWrist wallets?


Yeah, I thought so.