Tucson Teenage Movie Makers




Downtown Tucson on Location
 for the 
"Battle of the Bootleg Barons"

Starring KTKT Radio Host 
Frank Kalil
and
Nick DeGrazia
Son of famous Tucson Artist
Ted DeGrazia

Thanks to the:
Tucson Antique Car Club
and the Historic
Southern Pacific Train Station
plus the
The Blind Pig Club
and
Tucson Costume Shop
and the Tucson Police Department
for helping our club on the streets of Tucson to make this movie.

___________

Looks like Big Trouble Ahead! 

The word was out that a new Big Boss was coming to take over the mob in Tucson.



Nick was NOT happy with what he just heard.

The cops also had their own tip off and headed out the meet the train.

Also, the new janitor, Scrubbs was at the station wanted to make a good impression on his first day on the job.

Here comes Detective Topps and his men. 
They wanted to meet the arriving train just in from Chicago.

Sweep, Sweep swing

Smack!

Swing back and Smack

Offff, Crunch

Daah, what happened???

Oh my, I'm so sorry!

CUT!  Director Ray Zukowski wants to try to get a little more emotion and umph ...OK people lets do it again...

TAKE 2

Ray, standing next to the cameraman Lane Wipf calls for a wrap on the days shooting. 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WAIT WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

It was not until June 24th 2022 when I read this question on Facebook...what was your favorite radio station growing up?

Darlene Edwards from Tucson Arizona posted... KTKT.

That was also my favorite Radio Station and especially when Frank Kalil was on.  Boy did that open the door to my High School years.

Back in 1958, the year after I graduated Catalina High School I enrolled at the University of AZ and came up short.  Had I taken Algebra and made better grades in English I would have been admitted. I was told if I retook those classes I would be accepted at the university for the next year.  So back to High School I went in 1958. No problem I already had many friends who were now seniors. 

During that time I met Lane Wipf (sp?)who had already started a teenage film production company. My hobby at that time was shooting short 8mm films but meeting Lane was a big boost in what I really enjoyed doing.

At this moment in time I flashed back 64 years and recalled the fun I had working with my High School friends.  But thanks to my recent move from Salt Lake City and clearing out (not just moving boxes again) but organizing and scanning every picture, document, floppy discs, journals, 8mm movies, VHS tapes, DVD's and audio tapes onto a 5 Terabyte hard drive that I remembered finding a pack of pictures of Frank Kalil and that day of our filming in Tucson.  

Do any of you reading this today recognized any of the teenagers in these pictures?  Most of them today would be in their 80's.  Maybe you might know someone who attended Catalina High School of any past year, please share this link with them. Or anyone who grew up in Tucson and listened to KTKT Radio.

More assorted production pictures below.  The only name I can remember was Lane Wipf (spelling?) who was the cameraman and founder of Lone Star Productions.

The pictures you see had a development date of Aug 1961. I did not shoot or processed them. I don't even remember how I got them.  I believe we did the filming work in 1958. This movie was never finished and I can't remember any of the reasons why.

I was drafted into the Army in November 1961 and was away from Tucson for the next 15 years. I never had the opportunity to hear if our Bootleg Baron movie was ever finished. I could not find anyone who knew.

But let me finish showing you the rest of the Catalina students who were in the movie we shot in Tucson. Maybe you know one of them. Grandma, Grandpa?


 













I don't even know if Frank Kalil is still alive?










Blind Pig Club Band
Mike Moore was the artist who created the cartoon work at the start of this story.  His acting was perfect as he sat at this small table. Mike was also one of the three guys I shared a rental house with in 1960-61.

My hope in publishing this story will lead others into sharing their way back memories with their family and friends.  Just like I did today with my grandsons Lincoln and Cole Tayler who will be starting High School in 2022 in Salt Lake City.  Have fun guys, dream big.


Again, thanks for any help you can offer to find some of these old Lone Star Productions club members.


1964 was my last year serving in the Army as a Photo Lab Technician, I had the opportunity to meet up with the Fort Bragg Drama group.  It didn't take long before I had a team ready to make a weekend movie called IMPULSE.  It was filmed on the back roads of the base not far from Fayetteville North Carolina.

Bye for now,
 
Ray Zukowski  850 865-4045
rlzukowski@gmail.com