15 Fun Facts: Back to the Future Part III

I now conclude my look at the Back to the Future trilogy by posting fun facts about the final movie in the series. This movie is very different from the others, taking place in the 19th century, rather than the 20th or 21st like the others. But I still enjoyed it for its light-hearted approach to western tropes. It also had some good character development for Marty, as he learned there are better ways to stand up for yourself than picking fights whenever someone calls you a coward. But did you know the following?

1. Mary Steenburgen  (Clara Clayton) actually starred in a time-travel movie called Time After Time, alongside Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as none other than HG Wells, writer of The Time Machine. The movie had Jack the Ripper steal Wells’s Time Machine from the book and use it to cause terror in 1970’s era San Fransisco. It’s a pretty good movie, and I recommend it.
2. Although the trilogy ended with this movie, there was a spin-off cartoon series in which Doc Brown’s children, Jules and Verne, had time-travelling adventures of their own.
3. Thomas F. Wilson based his performance as Mad Dog Tannen on the villain in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
4. The writers got Clint Eastwood’s permission to use his name as an alias for Marty. He saw the humor in it and was honored.
5. When “Mad Dog” tried to lynch Marty,Michael J. Fox was accidentally hanged, rendering him unconscious for a short time. He records this in his autobiography Lucky Man.
6. The movie 1000 Ways to Die in the West has a cameo appearance by Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown. A character accidentally enters a barn which just happens to be where Doc Brown was hiding out, complete with the DeLorean.
7. Marty happens upon a Frisbee pie tin. He throws it at Buford when Buford tries to shoot Doc Brown. This is supposedly how the Frisbee came to be.
8. There’s a scene where Marty tries out a shooting gallery and tells the man selling Colt .45’s that he learned to shoot at the 7-11. In some international versions of the movie, 7-11 is changed to Disneyland because 7-11 is not as famous outside of the US.

1. There is a stagecoach company that shares a name with the car dealership in 1980’s and 1950’s era Hill Valley.
2. This is the only film in the trilogy where Marty and Doc Brown exchange catchphrases. Marty says “Great Scott!” and Doc Brown replies “Yeah, this is heavy” while talking about the tombstone photo.
3. Not only did ZZ Top record the song “Doubleback” for the movie, they also play it during the hoedown scene. You can tell it’s them by their beards. They even twirl their instruments like they did in the videos for the singles from the Eliminator album.
4. The three old timers in the saloon were played by Dub Taylor, Pat Buttram, and Harry Carey Jr. who played sidekicks, town drunks, and colorful townsfolk in hundreds of westerns and television shows.
5. The embroidery on Marty’s western costume is the symbol for atomic Energy.
6. This was the first movie to use Universal Pictures’ 75th Anniversary logo, which was used until 1997.
7. The embroidery on Marty’s western costume is the symbol for atomic Energy.

 

 

While this movie is different from the others, I actually enjoy it just as much as I enjoy the rest of the trilogy and I always watch all three movies.  I hope these trivia facts will help you to enjoy the movie as much as I do.

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