Chronologically, this was the third segment shot for our film, which was scripted by Glen Kessler to be a four episode serial. The interior scenes were filmed in the storage room of Roy's Memory Shop (--where Houston fandom congregated regularly in the 1970s--) and the brief exterior shots were at the University of Houston. That wonderful warehouse-looking building -- which looked like it actually came came out of a Republic serial -- has long since given way to a more modern structure of steel and concrete.
The storage room at Roy's was compact, to say the least. Fortunately, it had a roll-up garage door that opened into the alleyway behind, which gave us enough space to position the lights and shoot into the room. As usual, we were on a tight budget. We had three rolls of black and white Super 8mm film and had to get all of the shots before we ran out of film!! Though the room looks like it;'s full of huge boxes, Being a college student at the time, I could only afford to dress the set with six or seven boxes, so we moved the same boxes when we changed camera angles giving the illusion that the place was packed with dozens of them.
Roy's Memory Shop, owned by Roy Bonario, opened in 1970 and was Houston's very first comic book/nostalgia specialy shop. Glenn Kessler and I helped build the fixtures and first sign for the store and local collectors Marc Schooley, Dan Lubbock and Billy Ryan invested in it. Actually, we all wanted a place to hang out surrounded by comic books, movie posters, rock 'n roll records and other artifacts from the not too long ago. Sort of a public version of a "man cave". If you look over Cap's shoulder as he enters the room, you can see a brief glimpse of movie posters hanging on the wall in Roy's "office".
In its day, Roy's was internationally recognized as a prime source for quality collectible materials. Roy's selection of classic rock 'n roll records was second to none in Texas and it was commonplace to see rock 'n roll stars of the day stop the tour bus at Roy's to scour his records racks for rare R&B and rock and roll 45s and LPs.
Ditto with comic book and poster collectors. Outside established dealers in New York and California, few could equal the quality and quantity of vintage posters and comics to be had at Roy's. Collectors the world over bought from Roy and his little shop on Bissonet Street in Houston. I recently purchased a large collection of prime, vintage posters from a prominent collector's estate and fully half the posters carried either a Roy's Memory Shop rubber stamp or had Roy's handwritten prices inpencil on the back.
In the years before cable television and DVDs, Roy ran westerns and serials in the back room for eager fans of all ages to once again enjoy some semblance of a Saturday matinee. And there were cards games and months each year devoted to Strat-O-Matic Baseball games in the legendary Kreegah League.
Now Roy's Memory Shop is simply a memory. If you go to the location to today, you'll see art gallery where Roy's door once beckoned those seeking a pleasant visit to the past to come in. There are many who can recall buying their first comic book or movie poster at Roy's. Perhaps, that's a fitting tribute. After all, "memory" was its middle name.
