Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Part I The inside story of Manos, The Hands of Fate.

Hello all,
If you know Manos, The Hands of Fate, you know me.  I was Debbie, the little girl who became a wife of The Master in the end.  For any of you that I just gave the ending away to...Sorry, but really, it's not that great a film to begin with.  As fans know, it's the total experience of sitting through it that counts.  Certainly not the plot.
     Manos was truly a family film.  For me personally...not the poor hapless audience.  My father Tom Neyman played the role of The Master (He still quite hale and hearty, by the way).  The Master's demon dog was played by our family dog, Shanka.  My mom made the costumes for the Master and the wives.  She also made the dress I was wearing but that came from my own closet.  My mom made all my clothes back then.  The convertible car that carried the Micheal, Maggie, Debbie family was the Neyman family car.  Torgo's coverall, jacket and hat all came from my father's closet.   That's just a piece of our involvement.  My dad, Tom is an amazingly talented artist and had been in his "hand" phase for several years when Hal Warren asked him to help make the film.  Initially, the film was to be titled, "Finger's of Fate" but in a production meeting, my dad suggested the new title of "Manos, The Hands of Fate"  He reasoned that since he had been asked to not only star in the film but to provided sets, costumes, and artwork (all on a promise of future payment), that he could better put his time to work if he could use some of the art he already had.  Hands, lot's of them.  I haven't actually counted the pieces in the film but all the art, the sculptures and the Master's painting were created by his hand.  Sadly, some of those item's were never returned to my dad.  But hey, I got paid something.  I received a shiny red bicycle with training wheels and my dog, Shanka got a 50 lb. bag of dog food.
     That's it for now.  Thanks for reading and come back soon.  I've got lots to say about Manos, The Hands of Fate

22 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff Jackey! Now I need to know more!

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    1. Thank you. I'm excited about getting this going. Been talking to people for many years about Manos but this will be a great forum for sharing more.

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  2. It sounds like your dad made all the cool parts of the film.

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    1. I have to agree with you there. But of course, I'm somewhat biased.

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    2. Of course I'm biased, because these are my stories. I can't presume to tell anyone else's. If you want your stories told, Joe, then just start your own blog, like I did.

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    3. Hey Jackey,
      How fabulous that you have started a blog to share "YOUR" fun experience that you and your dad had on our beloved "worst movie ever made". Life is supposed to be a fun adventure and clearly you have embraced that. Film-making is about sharing our vision and perspective regardless of what people think. Film-making is also a collaborative process, its about sharing and creating together for all to experience and enjoy. Who is this "cry baby" Joe who's complaining about "MY DADS BETTER THAN YOUR DAD AND DID MORE THAN YOUR DAD...Seriously! Joe...honey...get off your poor me, pitty party potty. How about loving and embracing the ideas that everyone is Sharing 'THEIR" EXPERIENCE ON THIS FILM.....NOT JUST JOE'S!!! It doesn't matter who did what, it matters that people are wanting to talk about and share together, their opinion of a part of history.
      I for one am all for wonderful people sharing their ideas and perspectives.
      Jackey, I applaud you and your gumption to follow your heart, regardless of the "Negative Normans out there. I will follow your fun adventures and sharing thru this all.

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  3. Great read, Jackey. What a wonderful idea. Thank you, and I look forward to reading more!

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  4. Can't wait to read more. Thanks for doing this!

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  5. I guess it's fair to say that your Dad had a "hand" in everything.

    Is it true that he also dubbed Torgo's voice?

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    1. I just clarified the Torgo dubbing question with my dad a couple weeks ago. Fan's will be relieved to hear that John Reynolds did his own voice. Interestingly, most of the men did their own voices but all the women (including mine) were done by one voice actress. Several people have said they are sure they hear more than one female voice but my dad doesn't remember anyone else being there.

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    2. Thanks Jackey. There's a lot of unreliable info about the voice overs, so I will take the word of someone who was actually there. If it is a single woman that did the female voices, she did a good job on all except for your part.

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  6. I'm so excited about this. :) I love behind-the-scenes insights!

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  7. Thanks for starting this blog, Debbie.

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  8. Thanks for starting this blog and the insight!

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  9. The Master will be pleased :-) Thanks for giving us the inside scoop.

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  10. Thanks for the great feedback and if you're on Facebook, please join me there too.

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  11. Thank you so much Debbie..this is great to read. I love love this movie and have watched it many times. Everyone was great! Any little stories about John Reynolds? He was priceless and we all miss him. As Michael said, the Master will be pleased!

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    1. Yes. I do have some good stories on John Reynolds made all that more clear in recent chats with my dad. John was a very sweet gentle man and everyone was just devastated when he committed suicide just weeks before the Manos premire. Believe me when I say I have enough Manos material to keep this blog interesting for a long time. Thanks for your input. I promise to say a lot about John.

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  12. It's wonderful to hear your stories!

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