The image you see up there at the top of this entry is a poster I remember well from my younger days, when I was working at that infamous movie theater I’ve mentioned many times before. You see, back in the late ’80s, THX sound was still quite the novelty, at least in these parts, and my theater — the first in Utah to boast a THX-certified auditorium — used to heavily promote the system. This item, which the manager would occasionally throw up in one of the one-sheet cases when he didn’t have any interesting new movie posters to display, attempted to explain to average movie-goers why sound is a critical part of their viewing experience, and how a THX-certified system enhances that experience.

I was always weirdly fond of this poster. I was proud of that whole “first in Utah” thing and thrilled to be a booster for both my employer and a division of Lucasfilm, a company that at that time could do no wrong in my eyes. And of course it amused my inner fanboy that the little cartoon audience on the poster is watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

I don’t know what happened to that poster. A lot of one-sheets from the theater found their way into the hands of me and my co-workers, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that one of my buddies ended up with it, but if that’s the case, I don’t know about it. Whatever happened, it eventually stopped appearing in the one-sheet cases, and then I eventually left that job and now damn near 20 years have passed. I probably haven’t seen this particular poster since 1991 or thereabouts.

This morning, I happened to run across a source that is selling them. Not reproductions, but actual vintage posters. I was immediately tempted to pull out the credit card, but… it’s been a long time since I impulse-bought any collectible stuff with no practical value, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or something I’d come to regret. Lately I’ve been thinking again that I ought to be liquidating some (most) of the crap down in the Bennion Archive (a.k.a., my basement), not adding to it. Unsure of what to do, I called The Girlfriend for advice. I told her what the item was and why it tempted me (i.e., it’s both a sentimental relic from my theater days and an Indiana Jones collectible). Here’s how our conversation went:

Her: So how much is it?

 

Me: Fifty bucks, including shipping.

 

Her: Oh, hell, I thought you were going to tell me it was a couple hundred or something.

 

Me: No, only fifty. Which isn’t really out of line for a one-sheet from this general time period. So what do you think?

 

Her: I think you should buy it.

 

Me: You don’t think it’s dumb?

 

Her: I just said, I think you should buy it.

 

Me: Why? Help me rationalize here…

 

Her: You’ve got a personal connection to it, it’s an Indy item, and it’s only fifty bucks. Just buy it.

 

Me: Really?

 

Her: Will you buy the damn thing already? We’ll eat in this weekend…

And that, my friends, is why I love this girl…

(For the record, the poster is on its way to me even as I type this…)