Queues for glasses to watch gorilla

Press, 26 January 1988, Page 4

Queues for glasses to watch gorilla

Gorilla was the flavour of the day at Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets throughout Christchurch yesterday. Queues were evident for much of the day as people lined up to buy special 3-D glasses for last evening’s TV2 screening of “Gorilla at Large,” the first stereoscopic movie to be shown on television in New Zealand. The rush continued well after 9 p.m., when the movie started. One patron reported having to join a queue of about 50 people, and waiting 15 minutes for her pair of the cardboard spectacles at the Riccarton Kentucky Fried Chicken store at 9.30 p.m. At that stage, even telephoning the outlets

was difficult — most were continually engaged. “The phones have been running hot ail day with inquiries about the glasses. Put it down — it rings, put it down — it rings,” said the manager of the Linwood store, when “The Press” finally got through. The manager, who asked not to be named, said that at 9.40 p.m. there were still people wanting to buy the glasses.

He said that the store had sold 3000 to 4000 pairs yesterday.

“There have been queues outside the shop just about all day.” The special 3-D glasses without which the movie was watchable, but without the

stereoscopic effect, and with a peculiar red/blue ghosting, were sold for $1.99 a pair in a special promotion between Kentucky Fried Chicken and Mirimax 3-D Project, the New York film distribution company which arranged the screening. Barnados New Zealand was expected to receive about $25,000 in a share of the proceeds.

And was “Gorilla at Large,” a 1954 murder thriller, worth all the trouble?

A receptionist at TVNZ’s Christchurch studios confirmed last evening that there had been many calls about it, but declined to say whether the reaction was good or bad.