This is my first “found item” post to the RPF. The item may well have been posted here before, but I figure that it will still be new for a lot of members (as it is for me), so here goes.
I first saw Silent Running during its original theatrical run in 1972. I saw it at a drive-in with my dad, which (apart from the virtues of the film itself) is one reason that the picture has always had a special place in my memories.
A couple of months ago, I saw the DVD on the shelf in a local video store and bought it on impulse.
IÂ’ve watched it several times since then. Having it on DVD has allowed me to pore over the film as never before. IÂ’m sure you all know what IÂ’m talking about.
Anyway, there’s a montage, set to the song Silent Running sung by Joan Baez, right after the scene in which Lowell teaches Huey and Dewey to plant a tree. At one point in this montage, we see Lowell in his cabin, looking wistfully at the “Conservation Pledge” taped to the wall beside his bunk. He reaches out his fingertips to touch the Pledge.
[attachmentid=7145]
Later in the same montage we see him in his bunk sewing a Saturn patch to his robe, with the Conservation Pledge on the wall in the background of the shot.
[attachmentid=7146]
Anybody who knows the film will remember the Conservation Pledge as a pretty good summary not only of what makes Freeman LowellÂ’s character tick, but also of the film's theme in general.
Inspired by the great “free paper prop” thread that has been going strong on the RPF for weeks, I wondered if I might be able to come up with an accurate version of the Conservation Pledge to post here. I froze the DVD frame on a close shot of the Pledge and got my first really good look at it. When I noticed Smokey the Bear in the lower left corner, I realized that the Conservation Pledge was very likely a found item.
One eBay auction and several days later, this arrived in the mail:
[attachmentid=7147]
Strictly speaking, this is not an exact duplicate of the screen-used Pledge, because the copyright notice on mine says “1982,” which was ten years after Silent Running was released. But, of course, the copyright date never appears onscreen. For all practical purposes, this looks to me like an identical and authentic copy of the Conservation Pledge used in the film. Framed together with a screen cap or two, I think it would make a nice display.
As a bonus, the flipside of the Conservation Pledge has the music and lyrics to “Smokey the Bear,” by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. There’s a scene in the film in which, lonely and bored, Lowell amuses himself by singing into an oscilloscope: “You can take a tip from Smokey that there’s nothing like a tree...”
[attachmentid=7148]
Yup, that song is “Smokey the Bear.”
[attachmentid=7149]
I plan to scan this item (have to come up with a scanner first :$) and post it to the free paper props thread within a few days. In the meantime, if you want one, rather than printing one up, you might do as well or better to look for an authentic one off of eBay. If your timing is right, you can get a real one for 99 cents plus postage, and there seems to be no shortage of supply.
Many thanks to phase pistol for the screen caps.
{EDIT} PDF files posted for reference.
Conservation Pledge (front)
Conservation Pledge (back)
Thanks to FMC for hosting. :thumbsup
I first saw Silent Running during its original theatrical run in 1972. I saw it at a drive-in with my dad, which (apart from the virtues of the film itself) is one reason that the picture has always had a special place in my memories.
A couple of months ago, I saw the DVD on the shelf in a local video store and bought it on impulse.
IÂ’ve watched it several times since then. Having it on DVD has allowed me to pore over the film as never before. IÂ’m sure you all know what IÂ’m talking about.
Anyway, there’s a montage, set to the song Silent Running sung by Joan Baez, right after the scene in which Lowell teaches Huey and Dewey to plant a tree. At one point in this montage, we see Lowell in his cabin, looking wistfully at the “Conservation Pledge” taped to the wall beside his bunk. He reaches out his fingertips to touch the Pledge.
[attachmentid=7145]
Later in the same montage we see him in his bunk sewing a Saturn patch to his robe, with the Conservation Pledge on the wall in the background of the shot.
[attachmentid=7146]
Anybody who knows the film will remember the Conservation Pledge as a pretty good summary not only of what makes Freeman LowellÂ’s character tick, but also of the film's theme in general.
Inspired by the great “free paper prop” thread that has been going strong on the RPF for weeks, I wondered if I might be able to come up with an accurate version of the Conservation Pledge to post here. I froze the DVD frame on a close shot of the Pledge and got my first really good look at it. When I noticed Smokey the Bear in the lower left corner, I realized that the Conservation Pledge was very likely a found item.
One eBay auction and several days later, this arrived in the mail:
[attachmentid=7147]
Strictly speaking, this is not an exact duplicate of the screen-used Pledge, because the copyright notice on mine says “1982,” which was ten years after Silent Running was released. But, of course, the copyright date never appears onscreen. For all practical purposes, this looks to me like an identical and authentic copy of the Conservation Pledge used in the film. Framed together with a screen cap or two, I think it would make a nice display.
As a bonus, the flipside of the Conservation Pledge has the music and lyrics to “Smokey the Bear,” by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. There’s a scene in the film in which, lonely and bored, Lowell amuses himself by singing into an oscilloscope: “You can take a tip from Smokey that there’s nothing like a tree...”
[attachmentid=7148]
Yup, that song is “Smokey the Bear.”
[attachmentid=7149]
I plan to scan this item (have to come up with a scanner first :$) and post it to the free paper props thread within a few days. In the meantime, if you want one, rather than printing one up, you might do as well or better to look for an authentic one off of eBay. If your timing is right, you can get a real one for 99 cents plus postage, and there seems to be no shortage of supply.
Many thanks to phase pistol for the screen caps.
{EDIT} PDF files posted for reference.
Conservation Pledge (front)
Conservation Pledge (back)
Thanks to FMC for hosting. :thumbsup
