Conway-Knotts
movie opens
statewide
The Prize Fighter, a comedy
starring Tim 'Conway and Don
Knotts, has opened in theatres
throughout the state during late
February and March.
The film is significant since it
shows what an independent pro
duction company can do in a time
when most hit films are produced
by the major film studios.
Variety, the major movie in
dustry publication, said "The
Prize Fighter" was "bucking the
giants" during the recent
November to January holiday
season. Produced by TriStar Pic
tures and distributed by New
World Pictures, the film was the
only independent production
cited in Daily Variety's wrapup
of the top box office grossing
films of the holiday season.
"The Prize Fighter" is the first
time Tim Conway and Don Knotts
have paired for anyone except
Disney. In the film, Don Knotts
manages a beaten and battered
Conway as he attmepts to get into
the ring with the world boxing
champion.
The fight sequences and stunts
were coached , by the same stunt
coordinators who did "Smokey
and the Bandit" and "The Hulk."
The film's director is a veteran of
"Six Million Dollar Man" and
"Bionic Woman."
In addition to Conway and
Knotts, the film gains con
siderable strength from David
Wayne. He portrays the owner of
a boxing gym located on property
the underworld wants. He hopes
to keep the gym so he can support
a youngster whose father died in
the ring.
Conway and Knotts, too, are
moved by the plight of the inno
cent kid, and join in the battle to
save the gym. Unknowingly conn
ed by the underworld, Conway is
victorious over numerous
fighters and eventually finds
himself in the fight for the world
championship in a rigged match.
TriStar Pictures said it wanted
to make people laugh while giv
ing the public a tender story and
actors everyone can identify
with. Its success is another exam
ple of the popularity of the
"underdog makes good" film.
TriStar picked two of the most
hilarious actors ever to appear in
movies or on TV. Conway was a
major hit on the "Carol Burnett
Show," and Knotts remains a TV
draw on "Three's Company."
And when the two get together,
it's hard to keep a straight face
for long.
HELEN'S CARD
& GIFT SHOP
600 Alter Street
Hazelton t Pa:»•
Tel. (717) 455.6013
"The Prize Fighter" is set in
the 19305, and the authentic war
drobe, cars and buildings take
the audience on a fantasy ride to
another time and place. Au
diences have been known to
shout, clap and cheer during
many of Conway's boxing scenes.
TriStar is planning another
Conway-Knotts film for later this
year, set in the 19408.
New World Pictures, headed by
Roger Corman, recently
celebrated its tenth anniversary.
It is distributing this year's
Academy-award nominee "The
Tin Drum." New World and
TriStar plan future joint films.
In addition to being perhaps the
major independent film of the
year, "The Prize Fighter" has
another twist. One of the two pro
ducers is a woman, Wanda Dell,
and the film is a credit to the in
creasing role of women in the na
tion's film industry. The other
producer is Lang Elliott, nephew
of the revered cowboy star, "Wild
Bill" Elliott. This is Elliott's third
film starring Tim Conway.
TIM DON
CONWAY KNOTTS
IN
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A Knockout Comedy!
A Tri Star Pictures Production
0 A New World Pictures Release
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A "Haunting Experience"
in Weatherly
by Jane Bolish
I'm from a small town.
Weatherly has a population of on
ly about 3,000 people. It's a quiet
town, but it's a nice little town. I
was raised there, went to school
there, and I made my friends
there. But as far as excitement
goes, if you're from Weatherly
and looking for a little diversion,
one of the most , exciting things
you can do is to get in your car
and drive someplace, else. So you
can see why I seem a little
disconcerted when I meet a dorm
student or some other type of non-
Weatherly person and they in
variably ask me where I'm from.
I reply, "Oh, you've probably
never heard of the place. I'm
from Weatherly." Usually I get
the expected reaction, "Yeh,
you're right. I haven't." But now
and then I get this, "Weatherly!
Oh, Wow! You're from Weather
ly! Hey, do you know how to get
to the Haunted Cemetery? Wow!
This is really neat!"
Huh.
Well, maybe I am exaggerating
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999 W. 15th St.
459-0670
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3rd & ALTER STREET
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"STATIONERY
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a little, but it is true that when
people find out I'm from
Weatherly, they often bring up
the topic of the Haunted
Cemetery. Well, I have been
there and maybe it is pretty neat,
but I wouldn't get too excited
about it. Let me give you some
background on the subject.
The cemetery, which is well
over 100 years old, belonged to
the very small Roman Catholic
church of St. Joseph's which is on
Buck Mountain near Weatherly.
Several years ago, the church
was burned down by vandals.
How the cemetery ever got to be
haunted, or why it became so
well-known, remains a cloudy
subject. But if you could see it
during a cold, damp, moonlit
night, maybe you'd understand
why so many people think it's
haunted.
The cemetery is situated in a
dark hollow with woods on all
sides. Weeds and vines have
crept through the corroded iron
grating which surrounds the
cemetery. Dingy green tomb
stones, discolored through the
years and decayed with growths
of moss and lichens, are stag
gered throughout. Few remain
upright, most slant toward the
ground, and others have already
sunk to the damp earth below.
The terrain of the cemetery is not
smooth and clean-cut anymore.
Overgrown with weeds and
scrawny bushes, the sunken
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22nd and Church
Hazleton
Mister' Donut is the man to see:'
graves form little hills and
valleys, making walking there on
a dark night uncertain and a bit
treacherous,
If this atmosphere isn't enough
to make you a little jumpy, there
are a few rumors to go along with
it. There is a tombstone in the
cemetery of a man who cursed
himself in life and was subse
quently damned to hell. If you
find his tombstone and put your
hand on it, it will feel warm. If
you go to the cemetery on certain
occasions, particularly ngihts
with a full moon, -the charred
foundation of the old church will
glow. There must be a dozen
rumors like these and when we
residents of Weatherly hear them
from other people, we seem to be
amused. This is not because we
find these rumors uninteresting
ourselves, but because we really
find it amazing that other people
find something in Weatherly, that
is interesting. I'm not sure why,
but it could be that most people
always look to places far away
for better things, and they often
don't realize what they have in
their own backyards. "The, grass
is greener . . .", as they say.
In any case, if you do happen to
go to the Haunted Cemetery, and
really are impressed by it, wait
until you hear about this old stone
bench that's really close to the
cemetery. It's supposed to have a
curse on it, and if you sit
there . . .