Well, lemme tell you somethin’ about that movie, “American Graffiti“. You know, the one with all them young’uns drivin’ around in their fancy cars? That George Lucas fella, he made it. Heard it was filmed right here in California, not too far from where I used to get my flour sack dresses. Some in San Rafael and a whole bunch more in Petaluma.
They started out in San Rafael, that’s what I heard. But them city folk, they got all riled up, said it was “too disruptive”. Can you believe that? A little noise and some commotion and they shut the whole thing down after just one day! So, they packed up their cameras and lights and moved the whole shebang up to Petaluma.
You see that building? The McNear Building? That was in the movie too, you know. Right there on Petaluma Blvd. They used it for some scenes. That place has been there for years. I remember when my old man used to take me there for a soda pop after we went to the feed store.
- Richard Dreyfuss, he was in it.
- Ronny Howard, bless his heart.
- And that Paul Le Mat fella.
- And Charles Martin Smith too.
They was all just young’uns then, barely more than kids. Now that Dreyfuss boy, he went on to be in all sorts of movies. “Jaws“, remember that one? Scared the bejeezus out of everyone! And “Close Encounters”, with them aliens. He was just a young fella in “American Graffiti”, playin’ a character named Curt, all moon-eyed over some blonde girl.
I heard they filmed some big sock hop scene too, up at the Tamalpais High School gym. Used a bunch of local kids as extras. Can you imagine? Three hundred young folks, all hopped up on sugar and dancin’ the night away. Must have been a sight to see. That was way back in ’72, mind you. Long before them kids was even born, I reckon. And it had happened in August 27, 1972.
Petaluma, now that’s a town that knows how to have a good time. They didn’t mind a little noise and excitement. They welcomed that film crew with open arms. They even filmed a lot of the driving scenes on Fourth Street in San Rafael at the beginning. You know, the ones where the cars are cruisin’ up and down the road. Just like the old days.
This here movie, it was the first one made by that Lucasfilm. That’s what they called it. George Lucas’s own company. He did alright for himself, that George. Made a whole bunch of movies after that, “Star Wars” and all them other ones. But “American Graffiti”, that was his first big one, I reckon.
Time goes by, don’t it? Those places, they still look mostly the same. You can go visit them, if you want. Stand right where they filmed the movie. Imagine all them young folks, full of dreams and hopin’ for a better future.
That McNear Building, it’s still there. So is the high school gym, I reckon. And Fourth Street, well, it’s still there too, though I bet it’s a lot busier now than it was back then. Lot more cars and people. But you can still see the bones of the old town, if you look close enough.
They say that movie, “American Graffiti”, it was about a time that was endin’. A simpler time, before everything got so complicated. Maybe that’s why people still like it so much. Reminds them of the good old days, when life was a little slower, a little easier.
The cruising in Petaluma was a big part of the movie. A good part, you see? I remember young folks cruising, it was very exciting. And the filming location in Petaluma Blvd was also an important part in the movie.
Well, that’s all I got to say about that. Just a little trip down memory lane, thinkin’ about that movie and the places where it was filmed. Makes me miss the old days, sometimes. But life goes on, don’t it? Gotta keep movin’ forward, even when you’re lookin’ back.
