30 Facts about American Graffiti

[@mrjimbobtx]

One of my all time favorite movies. I love that the 55 Chevy was also in Two-Lane Blacktop!

[@tomeighty]

Yeah, as I was watching the movie I was trying to think was Two Lane Blacktop before or after American Graffiti. I had to just look it up and it was released in 1971 and Graffiti was 1973.

[@David-j1x]

My favorite car of all time.

[@PCgonerogue820]

The American Graffiti is one of my favorites . I ran out of fingers and toes on how many times I've seen.

[@tomeighty]

That's awesome, I've only seen it twice before this last weekend. But it was perfect timing to see it again because it seemed almost like a movie I have never seen before. So glad I went to see it on the big screen.

[@PCgonerogue820]

A lot of the facts I didn't know, but I did know about Mel's Drive In, the restaurant wasn't good at time, after the movie the restaurant got busy.

[@PCgonerogue820]

​@tomeighty , as always Thank You Tom For The History Lesson

[@Mike-Olds-1]

Great job 👍I’ve watched that movie at least a dozen times. It’s a true classic 👍🇺🇸

[@tomeighty]

Thank you! I think I only watched it twice before I saw it this last weekend. My memory was totally wrong about how it ended, I thought Harrison Ford died in the crash and I thought the movie ended at the crash scene. I don't remember the airplane scene at the end but I do remember there was future updates on what happened to the cast members in the story line. Great movie, even my 19 year old son loved it.

[@richardlewis4288]

One of my favorite movies. I loved More American too. Great video!

[@tomeighty]

Awesome! I have not seen the "More American Graffiti" yet. I will have to get on that soon and check it out. Thanks for watching!

[@stevekotenberg133]

American Graffiti is my all-time favorite. I wish I could have made it for the 50th anniversary. showing with you Tom. I'm also a big fan of More American Graffiti, some don't like it for whatever reason, but I really like it.

[@tomeighty]

Thanks for watching Steve! Yeah you missed a really good time, but I understand making lasting memories with the kids and Grand kids is way more important in the long run. I have not actually seen the "More American Graffiti" yet, I will have to watch it and let you know what I think.

[@danmyers9372]

@@tomeighty- You should definitely watch More American Graffiti Tom. It’s based primarily on John Milner’s drag racing and features a lot of really cool scenes at a drag strip.

[@danmyers9372]

Thanks Tom. FYI, Petaluma is pronounced phonetically. It’s pronounced ‘pet-a-looma’. Interesting fact 31: this subscriber was born in Modesto, CA and lives right down the 99 Freeway in Fresno, CA!

[@tomeighty]

Thanks buddy, I figured I kind of butchered the name. Sorry about that! Very cool that you were born in Modesto! I would like to really check out those small towns in California sometime, the buildings and the cruising scene looks exactly like my small town in Wisconsin that I live in. But we can only cruise in the Summer time, lots of snow here in the Winters. ha ha. Thanks for watching Dan!

[@janawalczuk833]

I caught this too. Bad bad bad

[@vietvet6670]

Snoopy lived in Petaluma Too.

[@bruceburkett7670]

@@tomeightyit’s snowed in Modesto, way back in 62.

[@JoshJarrell-t9t]

I always thought it took place in Modesto, next to my hometown Oakdale. I guess I was wrong!!

[@davesracingchannel9261]

Such a great film! A very Iconic car film!

[@tomeighty]

Thanks for watching Dave. You should check and see if they are playing it at a theatre near you? Well worth seeing it on the big screen.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

🙂I love this movie, great vid really enjoyed!!!!!👍

[@tomeighty]

Thank you!

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

@@tomeighty 👍👍

[@sorshiaemms5959]

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES AND LOVE THE CARS AND CRUZING SHOWING HOW LIFE WAS SIMPLER AND MORE RELAXED

[@phbhf]

Some of this movie was filmed in my hometown of Petaluma, far away from the Central California town of Modesto.

[@doughartley3513]

An ad in the Marin journal asking for the owners of vintage era cars to show up at Zim’s at local restaurant near Corte Medra in Marin county was all that was needed to get those great cars.

[@ericb592]

The final race scene took place on Frades Road in Petaluma, and one fine day in the late '90's I did a long burnout in my Supercharged T-Bird in the exact spot where the race started. Felt pretty good, since this is my favorite movie of all time. My older Brother and I saw it in the theater when I was a mere lad of 10 years old, and I've probably seen the movie at least 50 times since then.

[@tomeighty]

That's awesome, thanks for the story. I would love to someday check that road out and some of the filming locations.

[@kimmer6]

We go the back way from Sonoma to Petaluma and catch 101 North. It's amazing how that area on Frates Road grew in throughout the years.

[@bruceburkett7670]

@@ericb592 you oughta try cruising 9th street in Modesto.

[@gregbolt4863]

Favorite movie and a great soundtrack 😊

[@daledickerson-r9u]

I still have and love listening to the Sound Track on CD. One note I made in another You Tube concerning the music: the producers wanted the movie set before the British invasion by the Beatles. They felt that before the Beatles it was a more innocent time era.

[@tomjones2348]

I actually saw it in the theater when it first came out. Loved it, and still do.

[@kevinwest3689]

This film had a major impact on me. I remember riding around in my 55 chevy Pick up 327 Four speed, then my Wimbleton white 66 390 fairlane, wearing white t shirts with my Cigarettes rolled up in the sleave, Listening to 50/60 rock. I kind of stood out, because this was in the 80's I used to wonder if I was reincarnated or something. Lol 😏

[@ztwntyn8]

I’ve searched so many times this has to be great 🤘🏻

[@walterfechter8080]

This movie is something else - great performances, great cars AND sound. "Something Else" (Eddie Cochran)

[@FraserMitchell-k4j]

Was Happy Days initially an episode of Love American Style? I do remember it with several members of the show, that appeared as a stand alone show

[@henrybucki7813]

i remember going to see it at the theatre one of the best back then .everyone was talking about it

[@patrickr.452]

I stood on a few street corners in Petaluma just this last weekend where the movie was filmed, very cool. Classic move!

[@metaldetectingwithrocky1901]

Great info on that iconic movie!

[@philbetthauser9547]

Very cool behind the scenes information

[@tomeighty]

Thanks Phil. I learned a bunch off of that myself.

[@Cris_carman]

My dad as a teenager doing car restorations in Vancouver island BC Canada during the 80's driven & worked on the exact T bird that is in American graffiti

[@r52euphoria]

My uncle owned a ford dealership in Edmonton and bought the car for my aunt, I got to take it to the A&W a few times. I think she had it for about 3yrs, 1975-1978 rings a bell.

[@Dld1985]

I grew up doing most all the same things this movie is based on. Before American Graffiti I had gone to many hot rod movies only to be disappointed about how corny they were and nothing like what we knew cruising the street in our street hot rods looking for someone to race and girls. We had our local drive in restaurant and every Friday and Saturday night we were there. My time of doing it was the mid 60’s so a little later than the years this movie was based on. But , so much of this movie was so close to being exactly the way it was for us. Despite I lived in Texas I guess the cruising and hot rod street scene was pretty much the same all over the country. After I watched it the first time by myself figuring it would be another bust I would walk out on I couldn’t wait to tell my friends. Truly a classic for anyone from the era. I think because George Lucas lived the lifestyle is why it was so much like it really was and not some goofy director making a movie about the way they thought it was. I went on to professional racing and engine building and retired but two more generations of my family are well known professional engine builders and racers now in our families 60th year and it all started doing basically what you see in this movie. I honestly have no idea how many times I’ve watched it. Absolutely more times than any other movie and as recent as a few weeks ago KZbin showed it for free. Never gets old. I never got into George Lucas Star Wars films but I’m thankful for this one.

I saw this movie in the summer of '78, four years after it was initially released. Part of the plot concerned the two boys who must decide whether or not to go away to college. That summer I had to decide whether or not to go away to college, which was a lonely feeling and was the reason I saw it twice on two consecutive weekends. I had been accepted to Ohio University, but decided to stay put and attend a local college. A year later I transferred to Iowa State where I majored in architecture (I did not graduate). Ohio University had unfortunately dropped its architecture department, but I wanted to go there anyway so I could take a writing course with Flower's for Algernon author Daniel Keyes, who taught there. To this day I wonder what would have happened if I had chosen differently.

[@rustincohle2135]

2:13 One of the alternate titles for _American Graffiti_ was _Rock Around the Clock_ (in reference to the opening song). Not _Rock Around the Block._ But what does "American Graffiti" mean anyway? I've never been able to find a definitive explanation for the title. My interpretation was that graffiti means artwork, specifically "street art". And since the film is so visual in the way that it captures this time period in American culture with the stylistic cars, the neon lights, the clothing and hair styles, the music, the mid-century style buildings, the whole "jukebox look" of the movie as Lucas put it-- those iconic visuals that you think of in your head when you think of 1950s America is the "street art" of that time, the GRAFFITI and how uniquely American it was, hence the title "American Graffiti". That's my best guess but I don't think that's what it means. My meaning is probably too surface level.

[@jons.6216]

Great details! A few more are that in an interview, Makenzie Phillips said that when Carol was supposed to get mad when the water balloon hit her face she actually started laughing and George Lucas decided to leave that take in the movie. Also during the filming of the sequel, Ron Howard was sporting a mustache for it and when he returned to Happy Days briefly I believe TV mom Marion Cunningham expressed her dislike for it on the show! Haha!

[@tomeighty]

Thank you! It is so neat watching this movie and knowing the cast didn't have a clue how good of a movie it was going to be. And also that this movie funded the initial Star Wars movie.

[@splender88]

This was a really great movie. It's funny I never see it shown on TV.

[@floridian7143]

Enjoyed, thanks!

[@tomeighty]

Thank you!

[@8avexp]

Great, great film. I saw the original version when it first came out, minus the three scenes that were put back in when it was re-edited in 1978.

[@ScarlettFire341]

I really like Candy Clark (Debbie) - she was a dream come true for adolescents ! Best part of the movie is it's Fast from scene to scene - so well edited ! The Constant Real Pop Music was a game changer back then

[@RichadTheLionHeat]

Absolutely excellent! Greatly appreciate your dedication, time and production. Truly enjoyed it. Shared with many others. Well worth watching. We have subscribed to your channel. 👍🏻😎🛞⛽️🏎️🚓🙏🏻✝️🇺🇸

[@tomeighty]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it.

[@markoliver630]

I watch this wonderful movie every year on labor day. It is an end of the Summer ritual for me.

[@kimmer6]

Pedalium California. Where is that? Anywhere near Pet-A-Luma?

[@petehealy9819]

Yeah, excellent video except for that crazy mistake. It should have been edited and redubbed.

[@doughartley3513]

About 20 minutes north of San Rafael

[@kimmer6]

@@doughartley3513 Been there many times. Just making fun of the way he says it.

[@jeffk3759]

Besides the mentioning of THX as a reference to the movie THX 1138, it's no coincidence that THX appears as the sound system in current movies.

[@Nomadcreations]

Thanx, & That was My Nostalgia Of Being Alive & In the "Cruzin" "Scene".' ... & Back Then The Hang out was a Grocery Store (National Tea Grocers/Willmar Mn, ) Parking Lot where a Lot Of "Antics" Transpired. Which presumably The People Who Were There Back Then, Wouldn't Even Remember. ............... = Social Amnesia.

[@carolcraig6053]

Do any of my school mates remember scooping the loop in Brownwood,Texas in 1963 ? I wonder how many years they did this? Wonderful time for me. Carol and my sister Judy Byars .🥰. I also worked at the Dairy Maid and Dairy Queen

[@mikefriedman593]

An all time favorite of mine and I love the 58 Impala toad had in the film.

[@tomeighty]

I never really like the 58 Impala until I watched this movie. Pretty special car actually.

[@badron9245]

It wasn't his, he was just going to care for it while the owner was gone.

[@erwinmurray556]

One of my friends has a 58 Chevy and had it painted exactly like the one in the movie. He still has it today.

[@timeomyside]

George Lucas cruised in the San Joaquin Valley, specifically Modesto CA and not the San Fernando Valley. Otherwise, very informative!

[@leonardodalongisland]

"John Milner" is Paul Le Mat (whom I worked with a few years later in The Hanoi Hilton).

[@SundraTanakoh]

Pet-ah-lu-ma Petaluma

[@doughartley3513]

Much of the film was made in San Rafael. About 25 minutes south of Petaluma.

[@leethorp2164]

I never realized until recently how many of the actors (and actresses) in this movie went on to become big stars.

[@utuBrV1oI]

John Bracci, the gas station attendant, had a bigger part in the very X rated comedy movie, "the Cheerleaders" playing the part of Vinnie - that movie was also released in 1973. I have since never seen a movie like that, which was also controversial. Ck out why on IMDB. It was shown at my almost all male college theater back then.

[@rebelsnappingturtle]

Every two years. Classic. #2. So so. Lucas couldn't see Milner's potential. Probably jealous.

[@ervinmichalak1012]

I remember watching American Graffiti on a small blk/ what tv back in the day . I was like this is cool all about these rot rods and then all of the relationships between the characters. It got me in to going to car shows and I found a show where celebrities come sign autographs .So I have Cindy Williams and Paul LeMat 😁 I wish could of got more put I am happy with what I have. 😄

[@guineapiglady2841]

1:55 He looks like Eddie Rabbit.

[@artvandelay8954]

Paul Le Matt (Milner) went on to marry Suzzane de Passe who became president of Motown Productions. If it wasn't for her, the TV series Lonesome Dove would not have happened. She bought the TV rights and the following week the book won a Pulitzer Prize. There are many folks that think it is the finest western ever made.

[@stevetucker9181]

7:00 Most plane crashes occur on the plane’s final flight.

[@jeffchristie-od5gu]

Harrison Ford never mentioned being part Jewish in his lifetime, prior to trying to break into "The Industry"

[@robertgassaway6925]

I love this movie my favorite of all movies I lived this life back in the day a lot of street racing with my 1969 z 2/8 and good looking girls yeah man.

[@garyszewc3339]

It's Z/28. Are you sure you had one?

[@alpiekaar]

best fim ever

[@paulfrederick8902]

IMHO, the greatest movie ever made!!

[@drasticg]

Hi tom how are you? I tried contacting you via email but had no response, are you ok?

[@tomeighty]

Doing great, I actually sent you a message on Telegram last week.

[@drasticg]

@tomeighty hi mate, I'm glad you're doing great. I will try and get your number off my old phone. Loving the fact videos, very interesting 👍

[@artvandelay8954]

Not San Fernando Valley. Lucus grew up in the real valley. The San Joaquin Valley, Modesto.

[@mutantryeff]

Pet-a-luma (try looking up pronunciations)

[@tomeighty]

Fair enough, I knew I was going to get blasted on that one. ha ha. Thanks for watching, I really appreciate it!

[@koneill1771]

The AI bot voice sure didn't like "Petaluma" :)

[@runedharma22]

I met his daughter Heidi Weissmueller in Novato. Pet a looma.

[@frankieC1023]

Happy Days started in Jan. 1974,less than a year after American Graffiti which was 1973.(not TWO years like the narrator claimed)

[@jamesotisjr2322]

A Military Intelligence analysts observation about American Graffiti: All of the major male players projected their personality onto Wolfman Jack, except sensible Ron Howard, who drove to the radio studio, but not really. He drove to the transmitter site, which would be unmanned.

[@SodaAnt7]

It was Richard Dreyfus’s character, Curt, who drove to the radio station.

[@bruceweidner2571]

Great movie but you always watch the great movies they have a great soundtrack The Big Chill Forrest Gump all the movies that tell a story have great soundtracks

[@joemuncie9187]

Yeah, More American Grafitti and Grease IN were let downs.

[@Mark-p8h1c]

Funny that this movie was made in 74 (or something like that ) lol. And showing the 1950s. Late 50s at that. So,theres not a big gap there(15 or so years. ) lol. Yet it came off so nostalgic lol. Itf be like a movie made now in 2025 about the year 2010 ......i dont think wed feel as nostalgic lol

[@diegoandresruiz2980]

Esto es de la época de Elvis Presley y la ruta 66😊❤

[@dennislink7957]

Petaluma is pronounced Pet uh loo ma!

[@tomeighty]

Thank you, and I really butchered that one. Should have taken 2 seconds and learned the pronunciation. Thanks for watching though!

[@edmundgonzalez8731]

On her TV show, Suzanne Somers related a funny story about doing this movie. She just knew she was going to make it big and here she was with a bunch of relatively unknown people, George Lucas, Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford... and she thought to herself 'what a bunch of losers'.

[@garyszewc3339]

Ron Howard was already a star.

[@rogerhankins6905]

Here's one they switched the 55 Chevy when they rolled it

[@Obeijin]

Petta-luma ..

[@USCG.Brennan]

Penalium California?? No, it's pronounced "Pet-a-luma" California

[@malthechal]

The reason more american graffiti wasn't as good because it contradicted the original in their whereabouts John Milner was killed in 1964 and Terry Toads Field was MIA in 1965

[@metal--babble346]

American Graffiti 2 was a stinky movie. It's considered a Top 10 worst Hollywood sequels.

[@rplace8737]

Petalia? How about "pet-a-loom-a"

[@crlguitar1]

It was filmed in a town....NOT Modesto.....but it's pronounced Petta-Luma pal.....

[@kevinmaloy1628]

Pedaliam California ??????? PET A LUMA !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lawrencelewis2592]

How does an 18 year old afford a four year old car? Did he have a job? It does not seem so.

[@garyszewc3339]

Cars were considered junk at 4 years old, or 50,000 miles back then. A friend of mine has a 4 year old 'Cuda, right out of high school. In high school, I bought a 6 year old '68 Roadrunner, for $325.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@garyszewc3339 That is something to think about. I recall when our 67 Pontiac( first new car in the family) reached 50K and how it was considered a big deal. In the film I thought that a 58 Impala must have cost a fair bit of money.

[@Howrider65]

Ron Howard did not act it was like him in real life lol. I thought he was a bad actor.

[@boudreaux1]

pet uh looma you mulyk.

[@Anon54387]

He's from Wisconsin, I bet there are towns in Wisconsin that you'd mispronounce. No need to call names.

[@jimmac9557]

Nothing new here to any true fan...just compiled common facts...

[@dougcmelik2442]

Pet-a-lUma

[@leonardodalongisland]

(Pretty) good job on this video...but you gotta work on your "California/Spanish" pronunciation: look up how to say, "Petaluma."

[@Anon54387]

You are making a mountain out of a molehill. I bet there are towns in Wisconsin that you'd mispronounce. Get over it.

[@leonardodalongisland]

@@Anon54387 I guess you never heard of "learning." Nor did you (apparently) attended school-where students are taught the correct ways of saying and doing things-or at home with parents taught you how to say and do things...And, (obviously) you never had anyone ever correct you on anything you said or did wrong? You must be a Super Human....FYI, where I live, there are many "Native" names which out of towners always mispronounce and we locals "help them out." No one ever complains. They actually thank us-just like I did when I lived in LA and (, like ever new person in town and tourist say)completely botched "Sepulveda Boulevard" (which I'll bet $1,000 you get wrong) and was corrected. I said, "Thanks."

[@SAM-dm5qg]

🇺🇸

[@LisaRichards_123]

The sequel was horrible

[@garyszewc3339]

You need to see it more than once, due to the time jumps.

[@teksal13]

What 'facts'? This doesn't tell you anything about what is happening! Waste of time.

[@NoPrivateProperty]

silly boomer generation

[@patrickcoughlin-qj9uk]

Ya got something against boomers ? Mister .

[@garyszewc3339]

Unlike the current generation, who just play video games, and have zero social skills.

[@artvandelay8954]

The Graffiti USA Classic Car Museum is under construction in Modesto CA. One of the Pharaohs is on the board that is raising funds. The location is near "JC"..... Modesto Junior College

[@robertsr.249]

⁠@@patrickcoughlin-qj9uk They’re too dumb to have a good time , 1956 here .