#william vail

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) [35mm scan]

Pam, The O'riginal Chainsaw Gal

Bit o'trivia ** I see this set-shot of Jim and Marilyn in the back of the gas station was shot on 8/15/73, three days before we shot the cemetery scenes, on Saturday, August 18, my 22nd birthday.

Phil: "Any thoughts you can share on working with Jim Siedow? His scenes with you were brilliantly frightening."

Me:

I wish I had worked directly with Jim! I was there, not really in the same scene with the boys in the van. The only time I got to work with Jim was at the gas station. Marilyn and I were getting our Cokes, fishing for our change purses, digging for change, etc., never interacting with Jim and Robert, his sidekick.

Jim's particular brand of psychopathy was incredibly nuanced. One minute, you think he's a square dude, and the next, there's a little flicker in his eye, or some glance, as he seems to go in and out of rational behavior, to giggling about torture. Between him and Ed, later, when Jim arrives back at the Sawyer house with Sally, they really play off one another beautifully, yet they're distinctly different psychos. Ed's all-out loony-tune hardcore psycho versus Jim's is great to watch. Here, Old Man Sawyer kidnaps this gorgeous blonde and is dragging her into the house, and what annoys the Old Man? Leatherface has sawed up the front door. "Look what your brother did to that door!!!" Credit to Kim Henkle for coming up with that great line!

Cut to 2014, Austin, Texas, Philip Anselmo's wonderful TCSM celebration, Housecore Horror Film Festival, our cinematographer, by now 'award-winning cinematographer' Daniel Pearl, joined us for the first time since Bill, and I'd 'come out' (after 35 years in '08) to appear and do a Q&A with us. Danny shared tons of behind-the-scenes TCSM stories none of us had ever heard. During filming, the cast was mainly hanging out together, and the crew had done the same. Here I was always worried about Daniel perched under the swing with his camera, and me worrying about protecting my assets. It turns out that when Sally and I are digging for change, getting our Cokes, Tobe is talking to us, keeping us distracted as Daniel is simultaneously crouched down, scooting around by the Coke machine, following us, shooting our assets from below. Tobe kept chit-chatting away with us, yakety-yak. Teamwork.

This had to have been before we did the infamous Dolly shot of Pam walking up to the Sawyer house. Until Danny told us that little tidbit that day at Housecore in September 2014, I'd never known what they were up to. Now, of course, IDC at all, not one little bit. In fact, now I think, "Oh, yeah, good job."

That's the difference in being 22 and 74.

xoxo,

Pam