#tobehooper

Who was the creator of the apparatus that was used in filming the famous meat hook scene? That would be Dottie Pearl and Bob Burns. Together, the night before we were to film, as I recall, they stayed up into the wee hours getting IT ready, but how did they do it?

how did they do it? I remember standing inside the kitchen. I don't have the call-sheets, but I'd bet it was after we'd finished shooting Pam's freezer scene, when she pops out of the freezer. I knew we were to shoot her meat hook scenes the following day. Smiling, Tobe asked me, "Teri, you know we're going to be shooting the meat hook scenes tomorrow, have you thought about that and what you might do?" I responded that indeed I had thought about it, and my thought was that IF she was impaled in a part of her back that didn't affect her spine, she might try, struggle to get off the hook. He listened, liked the idea, and immediately responded with a smile, a chuckle, and a puff on his stogie, probably followed by a gulp of a cold DP. Thinking back, it seems almost surreal that that was the extent of our discussion, but that really was IT. Fortunately, that worked out for us.

Imagine if you will, a bikini bottom made of Parachute strapping. Now imagine needing to conceal the bikini gadgetry under some red corduroy short-shorts and backless bathing suit. Now imagine you need the girl wearing the apparatus to be hanging, dangling from a meat hook, that must hold her weight of 110 pounds, and simultaneously making sure no meat hook actually touches her bare back.

The idea was that the audience sees that meat hook coming ominously close to her back, how do we accomplish this safely? You add another piece of parachute strapping about 9-10 inches, sewn with great care to the top back of the parachute strapping in the back of the bikini. The strap was hidden underneath until The Scene of the drop shot. It had to be hidden inside, out of site until the actual drop by Leatherface as he struggles to hold on to the screaming, writhing, hysterical young woman, who’s trying with all her might to escape this impending terrifying disaster.

Next challenge: You need something on the end of the attached strap, something incredibly strong. They decided a large steel parachute ring, that could be guided by someone crouched below, spotting her, as Leatherface waits for his cue to drop her, would be perfect. The steel ring Must Go over the hook and hold her weight. No room for mistakes.

Another clever part of Pam’s meat hook apparatus was Dottie sewing in the twisted legs of panty hose that had great strength and could be pinned underneath the front edges of Pam’s tiny backless bathing suit top, hidden underneath, which helped to keep the apparatus and suit together, long enough to get the shot.

Yes, they used pantyhose, which btw, only became the rage in the early seventies. Fact. It was for all women, freedom… from garter belts. Yes, we actually wore hose, individually attached to garter belts up until then! A little history: In 1974, actress Julie Newmar successfully filed a patent for “Pantyhose with shaping band for cheeky derriere relief”, a garment innovation made famous through the costume she designed in the 1960s for her role as Catwoman in the TV show Batman.

So, when Pam is hanging on the meat hook, held up only by the strapping and stainless steel loop, what happens? Right, that’s when they added lots of foam cushioning, where 100% of the weight inevitably goes. 😬 My sincere thanks for that!

I vividly remember, Tobe calling cut, and looking out to a line of cast and crew, mouths aghast at what they’d just witnessed. You could hear a pin drop. It seems there was a deep collective sigh. We did it. We got the shot that I later heard some one refer to it as “the money shot”, which at the time went right over my head. What’s a money-shot? For me, that was the moment when it crossed my mind, “Hey, maybe we have something here.”

We began filming that scene around 9 AM and finished in time to enjoy our caterer, Sally Nicholaou’s, delicious lunch. It was fast. The awful part? The blood they used was karo syrup based. There are 3 seconds of blood dripping into the bucket below Pam’s dangling feet, maybe only 2 seconds. I Hope It Was Worth It!! Think Texas heat, Karo-syrup, and flies, plenty of flies. UGH. Pre-planned earlier that morning, Dottie and I ran outside together. We landed at the windmill, me ripping off everything as Dottie took the water hose and sprayed me forever, until I was finally free of all remnants of sticky-icky karo-syrup, parachute strapping, shorts, bathing suit, et-al. LUNCH!!! ♥️🪝