08:21 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 5, 2005

By PHILIP WUNTCH / The Dallas Morning News

It Came From Dallas!, a tribute to B movies filmed and largely financed in Dallas, should rekindle old memories while starting new ones.

Thursday night at the Studio Movie Grill in Addison, the event will feature a montage of such Dallas-filmed flicks as Juke Joint (1947), Rock Baby: Rock It ('57), The Killer Shrews ('59), The Giant Gila Monster ('59), High Yellow ('64), The Eye Creature ('68), Zontar: Thing From Venus ('68), Mars Needs Women ('68) and Don't Look in the Basement ('74).

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) movie critic Gary Cogill and film historian Gordon K. Smith will host the evening, which includes a tribute to the late B-movie director Larry Buchanan. Aside from film clips, the evening will include a panel discussion and interviews with participants in the films.

The event also offers some of those involved in the films a chance to reflect. Among those with strong memories of Dallas filmmaking is local actor Bill McGhee, whose movie credits include High Yellow and Don't Look in the Basement.

"I was the most active black actor in Dallas back then," he says. "Directors knew me because I did stage work at Theatre Three and other regional groups. Writers wrote special parts in their movies for me."

He recalls that Frisco was used for much of the High Yellow shoot and that TV's Dallas used some of the same sets.

Most of the evening's films played drive-in circuits.

"Back then, drive-ins were very big," Mr. McGhee says. "There was a whole drive-in-movie scene all to itself. Teenagers just loved going to the drive-in."

Kay Wheeler, star of Rock Baby: Rock It, is now a real estate agent in San Jose, Calif. She grew up in Dallas during the '50s and made her movie debut here.

"I played an older woman in Rock Baby: Rock It," says the Highland Park High School alum, laughing. "By that I mean I played a girl of 16 or 17.

"I still get fan mail from England and Finland, particularly since the DVD. And Russia loves it. At first it wasn't released in Communist countries. But when the Russian kids finally got to see it, they considered it part of history."

Before Rock Baby: Rock It, she was something of a local celebrity, being founder and president of the first Elvis Presley fan club.

"I reviewed his first movie, Love Me Tender, for the Dallas Times Herald. Modern Screen did a story on me. They called it 'I Flipped Over Elvis.' "

Yvonne Craig, known to Batman aficionados as the television series' Batgirl, also has an Elvis connection. She dated him and co-starred with him in Kissin' Cousins and It Happened at the World's Fair.

But Ms. Craig's connection to Dallas filmmaking is in playing a Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist in Mars Needs Women. Although it led to a Hollywood contract, she was initially hesitant to take the role.

"I hate science fiction," says Ms. Craig, who attended Sunset High School. "But after I read the script, I decided to do it for two reasons: It would bring me back to Dallas, and I thought it would be great to play the smartest person in the movie."

Brains may not be in abundance in any of the It Came From Dallas! cavalcade. But campy fun and nostalgia should flourish.

E-mail pwuntch@dallasnews.com

It Came From Dallas! is presented by the Dallas Producers Association. 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Studio Movie Grill, 5405 Belt Line Road in Addison. Suggested donation $10.

Hey, not every Dallas-made movie played only at drive-ins. Here's a mere sampling of other Big D entrees:

State Fair (1962) – Filmed at the titular fun-fest in 1961, its cast excited all the local teens. It starred Pat Boone and Bobby Darin and a new kid on the block named Ann-Margret. Nevertheless the film itself laid an egg that could have won any state-fair competition.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) – This was one of the movies that brought about the great American film resurgence of the late '60s and early '70s. No one suspected it would spur such celebrity, since Warren Beatty hadn't had a hit since 1961's Splendor in the Grass and Faye Dunaway was practically unknown. Cast and crew enjoyed burgers at Rose's Bluebonnet Grill on Greenville Avenue.

Semi-Tough (1977) – The shooting of Dan Jenkins' Texas classic brought legions of onlookers to the Cotton Bowl in the cold, cold winter of 1977. Burt Reynolds was at his most popular, and Kris Kristofferson, fresh off Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born, brought even more gawkers than Burt. But when the movie came out, Mr. Jenkins' fans were disappointed.

Places in the Heart (1984) – This Robert Benton film resulted in Sally Field's much-spoofed "You really, really like me!" acceptance speech. But none of the cast liked suffering through unexpected cold fronts and snowfalls when the film was shot in Dallas and Waxahachie during winter months.

JFK (1991) – Oliver Stone had good luck shooting Born on the Fourth of July in Dallas and returned to shoot this Kevin Costner starrer. The Dallas Morning News started a KevinWatch to record sightings of the star. Mr. Costner was not amused.

Philip Wuntch