Flicklives


Movies

The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters
March 16, 1982

This is the second movie Shep made for PBS Funded by: Corporation for Public Broadcasting (The Program Fund) Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) Jean Shepherd as the Narrator "Ballad of Ludlow Kissel" Sung by Leigh Brown Shep's dog Daphne appears in the movie This movie was comprised of many of the stories which first appeared in Playboy Magazine and were told in various forms over the years on the radio. In the movie, during the 'blind date' scene, Shep and his blind date Pamela, Schwartz and his date Clara Mae, are watching the movie "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing". Clara Mae says to Schwartz "This is so romantic. It's just like us." In the movie William Holden and Jennifer Jones fall in love and Holden goes off to war and never returns. In real life Schwartz goes off to war and never returns. The music at the end of the movie is "Blue Hawaii" as sung by Bing Crosby. The opening sequence had Shep at Pedro's South of the Boarder going through the fireworks.
Story Lines: Sears Radio Scragging Sack races at the picnic

Production Information:
Studio / Network:
Director:	Richard Bartlett
Asst Director:
Producer:	Olivia Tappan
Executive Producer:	Fred Barzyk
Running Time:	95 Minutes

Related Plots / Story Lines and Other References Used

Time	Category	Date	Title	Comments
•	People		Carl, Uncle
•	Plots / Story Lines		Dish Night
•	Plots / Story Lines		Orpheum Theatre
•	Plots / Story Lines		Magic / Electric Baton
•	Plots / Story Lines		Blind Date
•	Plots / Story Lines		Fire at Roosevelt High - Fireworks
•	Plots / Story Lines		Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb
•	Plots / Story Lines		Friendly Fred
•	Plots / Story Lines		Dish Rag Chain Letter
•	Plots / Story Lines		John's Lunch
•	Plots / Story Lines		Bluebird Tavern
•	Short Stories and Columns by Shep	March 1982	Laughing All The Way To The Bank

Where Shep Makes Reference To This Subject:

Time	Date	Category	Title
•		Plots / Story Lines	Magic / Electric Baton
•	July 4, 1963	Radio	Lagos; The Old Man's Fireworks Stand
•	July 4, 1967	Radio	Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb
•	July 4, 1973	Radio	Ludlow Kissell and the Dago Bomb
• 08:32	March 5, 1975	Radio	Washrag Story
•	July 4, 1975	Radio	Ludlow Kissel and the Dago Bomb
•	August 24, 1962	Radio	Marching Band (Early Duckworth)
•	March 1982	Short Stories and Columns by Shep	Laughing All The Way To The Bank
•	March 13, 1982	Short Stories and Columns by Shep	He Got 'A Case of the Giggles'
•	March 10, 1982	Television	Late Night With David Letterman

Related Articles / Reviews:

Date	Publication	Title
March 16, 1982	Newark Star Ledger	TV: Jean Shepherd Rolls Along I-95 John J O'Conner
1982	Journal of Popular Culture	Humor, Cultural History and Jean Shepherd James F. Smith

Photos: