The Exorcist and the "Mystery Poster" on a Giant Wall for Chinatown in 1974

Some trivia:

(Please use the movie poster on this page to review.)

In the summer of 1974, Chinatown was set to debut at a flagship theater in Westwood(West LA) called the National Theater. This was a huge stand-alone, one-screen-only theater, all black on the outside in the shape of a "futuristic whale." Very modern, very BIG movie theater.

From December of 1973 through much of the first half of 1974, the National showed "The Exorcist" to very, very, VERY long lines of people, but eventually The Exorcist played out and Chinatown was next up(with maybe one or two quick "filler" movies playing for a week or two in between, I can't remember.)

The National Theater had one big wall that overlooked a parking lot and a main traffic boulevard. When "The Exorcist" played there, a window with a curtain(blown continually in the air) was built up on the wall that overlooked the crowds and traffic -- to suggest "Reagan's window" in The Exorcist.

Eventually, the "Exorcist" window was removed from the wall, and -- perhaps while some "filler" movie played in between -- a big yellow blank square was painted on the side o the National instead.

About a week later, something was "added" to that big yellow blank square -- in the upper left corner of the square: female eyes, spaced far apart, looking out. Just the eyes.

A few days later, the eyes had more added and we could make out: that's Faye Dunaway.

A few days later, a wave of water was added to the poster.

A few days later -- Jack Nicholson in profile, bottom left.

And a few days later, everything else was filled in, including the flamboyantly curlicued title "Chinatown."

And everybody was primed to see THAT movie when it opened. Maybe not at the same level of long lines as with The Exorcist, but enough.

That's how they did it in 1974.