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floor, stools up on the bar, when in walks eddie Wilson. There’s a sign just above
the front doors that reads, “Through these doors walk the most beautiful girls in
the world”.
eddie, in his leather jacket, arm around his girl—the lead singer, played by Helen
Schneider—leads the rest of the band into the club and announces, “Tell Tony
eddie & the Cruisers are here.”
Tony Mart’s son Carmen, who plays a bartender in the film, said that if any band
actually did that, his father would have fired them before they ever played a note,
because Anthony Marotta was treated with respect and didn’t take anything from
anybody, especially some young punks in a band who wanted him to give them
a job. Tony fired a band a week and his deep gravelly voice saying “Get atta here
you bums!” was often heard. Tony wasn’t a character in the movie, though maybe
he should have been.
eddie’s love interest, the vivacious singer Helen Schneider, is actually a singer
and recording artist popular in europe, especially Germany, where eddie and the
Cruisers has a cult following.
Berringer went on to make Looking for Mr. Goodbar, The Big Chill, Platoon and
most recently The Hatfields and McCoys.
Pare went on to do The Philadelphia experiment, Village of the Damned and a
dozen other movies, including eddie and the Cruisers II - eddie Lives! in 1989.
Joe “Joey Pants” Pantoliano (featured in The Boardwalk Journal June 2012) is now
better known for his roles in Risky Business, The Fugitive, U.S. Marshalls and The
Sopranos while ellen Barkin stars in The Big easy and is in the soon to be released
Very Good Girls.
Michael “Tunes” Antunes, the sax man of The Beaver Brown band, plays Wendell
Newton in the movie, but is killed off in a drug overdose, and is replaced in the
movie by the late Philadelphia jazz bagpipe player and Saxman Rufus Harley.
With 50s style cars and people dressed in the style of the early 60s, Bay Avenue
became a throwback in time, and for those who missed the era, and never made
it to Tony Marts, it’s all captured pretty accurately on celluloid— crowded bar, the
dance floor, the twirling mirrors—skip the lights fandango—and the music.
For the music, Davidson turned to a real garage band—John Cafferty and the
Beaver Brown Band of Providence, Rhode Island—who had a collection of really
good, original songs that seemed like a mix of Dion and the Belmonts, the Doors,
and Bruce Springsteen.
They set up a tent in the parking lot to feed the extras while the stars ate in the
local restaurants and patronized the bars–Gregorys, Charlies, DiOrio’s and the
Anchorage.
Then everybody waited for the movie to come out. It was supposed to be released
in the summer of 1983, but was delayed. When it was released, in September
1983, its target audience was back in school.
“It was a public relations disaster,” said Don Hurley, a friend of Tony who watched
them make some of the movie. “It was supposed to be released during the
summer—it’s a summer movie, but got delayed, and it missed its target audience.”
Carmen Marotta and his wife Nancy went to a local premier with a half dozen
others, some of whom were extras in the movie who wanted to see if they made
the cut. There are some memorable scenes, including those of the Ocean City
beach and the band practicing on the roof, with Dolfin Dock and the Clam Bar
visible across Bay Avenue.
But as a movie, eddie and the Cruisers was not well received by critics, as Roger
ebert gave the film two out of four stars and said, “the ending is so frustrating, so
dumb, so unsatisfactory, that it gives a bad reputation to the whole movie”.
A week after the movie came out it was gone and everybody seemed to have
forgotten about it, but then, nearly a year later, the movie’s soundtrack and three
songs from the film suddenly made the pop charts. Three songs—Wild Summer
Nights, On the Darkside, and Tender Years—were rising quickly.
The movie that
bombed at the box
office was now on
cable TV and a new
audience of twenty
and thirty year olds
were just discovering
the film, liking the
music and buying the
album soundtrack.
The band that almost
made it but fell short
and the movie that didn’t make it, suddenly had it made. Michael Pare was given
the opportunity to make eddie II, which despite not having Berenger in the mix,
actually turned out pretty well.
But the story doesn’t end there. Carmen Marotta has continued to promote the
music, bringing in bands to play Tony Mart reunions and summer gigs on the
Somers Point beach, Kennedy Plaza, on the Atlantic City Boardwalk and the Ocean
City Music Pier. Carmen’s favorite group today is the Billy Walton Band, which
features Walton, Southside Johnny’s lead guitarist. According to Marotta, Billy
Walton is the real eddie Wilson.
Don Hurley, who watched them make some of the movie, is also excited about
the 30 th anniversary of the film and has interviewed most of the stars of the
film for a show he is putting together. Hurley also hopes to put the movie eddie
and the Cruisers back up on the big screen sometime this summer, as it will be a
new experience for those who have only seen it on TV. At the same time, Hurley
wants to present a concert by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, a double
feature of the movie and the music.
Carmen recalled that, “When they were making the movie, I was thinking how
someday Tony Marts is going to be gone and the only thing left will be this movie
and our memories.” And now, that’s the way it is.
Image by Constance McNelis
WHAT ARe you looKin AT?
This peaceful sanctuary of a park lies just
behind the hustle and bustle of a busy
boardwalk, providing the perfect respite
for runners and bikers or for anyone who
wants to sit, enjoy the sun and view the
sea. Landscaped with beautiful flowers and
walkways, it’s a year round treasure.
To find the answer,
go to BoardwalkJournal.com
The Boardwalk Journal | April 2013 | 59