The 1995 sci-fi marathon was held the weekend of April 8-9, from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday. The followup article below originally appeared in the April 10, 1995 issue of Ohio State's student newspaper, the Lantern.
Sci-fi movie marathon may have run last mile
Drexel North closing marks end of an era
By J. Allen Morris
Lantern arts writerMost people who attended the ninth annual Drexel North science fiction marathon knew it would have an atomic flavor, but they weren't expecting the bomb that was dropped near its end.
Drexel Theatres owner Jeff Frank announced that this year's "It Came From The Drexel North" marathon would be the theater's last.
The Drexel North, host to one of the few sci-fi marathons in the country, has been sold, Jeff Frank said. The building will be closed in a few months and will become a Revco drugstore, he said. The other Drexel theaters will remain open.
Marathon designer and host Bruce Bartoo reassured the audience that the film festival would continue if a suitable site could be found.
"Keep the faith and we'll put something together," Bartoo said. "But we can't promise you when it will be."
Bartoo's mission will be harder than just finding a theater big enough to hold the 600 to 700 people who come to see science fiction classics, world premieres, film shorts and movie trailers.
Marathon organizers need to find a theater that is also willing to let audience members bring in food, pillows, blankets, and all the other comforts needed for the 24-hour event, Bartoo said.
Finding a place that will let marathoners be marathoners is important to preserving the atmosphere that makes "It Came From The Drexel North" a different kind of movie experience, he said.
"It's as much about the audience as it is about the films," Bartoo said. "Sometimes a really terrible film might actually turn out to be fun because of the audience reaction."
Marathon organizers work hard to give the audience a taste of what movie-going was like in "the old days when going to the movies was an event," Frank said.
"When you grew up in the 50's, you went to see the monster movies every weekend," he said. "You'd get all your friends and enough money to buy popcorn, and you'd be there the whole afternoon."
The sci-fi marathon is a continuation of that tradition, only bigger, Frank said.
"We try to have events that they can't do at a multiplex theater," he said. "The impact of seeing a film with 700 people that are reacting to it is tremendous."
This year's film festival fare routinely drew outbursts of applause, heckling and wisecracks. No film was immune, although some endured more than others.
During "The Shadow", for example, audience members jeered the screen with chants of "Jump! Jump!" during a scene in which the villain uses mind powers to force a hapless victim to leap from the Empire State Building.
"We don't just show the five or six best films each year," Frank said. "We hope the audience likes what we pick, but it's always a challenge."
Some of the most well-received material came in the form of film shorts parodying Cold War era informational movies, including the cult classic "The Atomic Cafe", a compilation of 1950s nuclear paranoia.
The audience howled with laughter during a short called "Gravity", about a little girl's frustrating search to find out why the sun sets. To describe it any more would not do its pure satire.
Also popular were trailers for old and soon-to-be-released sci-fi films, a few having their worldwide debut during the festival, and contests that filled intermissions.
Contest prizes were given out for best sci-fi costume, best impersonation of a character from "Dr. Strangelove", and, in keeping with the festival spirit, just for being there at all. ...
A lot of time, effort and money is put into booking all the films that appear eventually on the marathon's marquee, Frank said.
"It takes me a couple of hundred phone calls to get them all lined up," he said.
The selection of films might not be as important as the genre they represent, said Steve Schwartz, director of the MARCON science fiction convention held in Columbus every year. "It's real important to these people," Schwartz said. "Science fiction gives a glimpse of the future. It sparks the imagination."
Reprinted with permission.
The 600+ marathon participants, equipped with blankets, pillows, and
junk food in mass quantities, making themselves comfortable in the Drexel
North's spacious auditorium.
Classic sci-fi action figures filled a display case in the lobby.
Bruce Bartoo, the marathon's "host organism", leading the costume
contest.
Some of the costume contest participants.
The leaning tower of pizza boxes, evidence that pizza is indeed the
breakfast (and lunch, and dinner) of champion marathon participants.
On the right, a crashed marathonoid attempts to recover enough energy
to survive the full 24-hour event.
Nearly 23 miles of film were run through the projectors during the marathon.
Most of the films were prepared earlier in the week and run from 6000' reels.
Other films arrived just hours before showtime and were built during
the marathon.
As the marathon progressed, a pile of film cans to be shipped out piled up
outside the projection booth.
As the marathon came to a close and weary marathonoids straggled out
of the theater, the massive cleanup effort began.
Go back to The Demise of the Drexel North