Changes: Clock Tower flyer

Revision as of 12:31, 6 March 2015

Doc flyer — Marty shows Doc the Clock Tower Flyer.

Marty McFly: "Here you go, lady. There's a quarter."

Clock Tower Lady: "Thank you. Don't forget to take a flyer!"

— Marty and the Clock Tower lady

The Clock Tower flyer was a photocopied sheet of paper distributed by the Hill Valley Preservation Society in 1985 as part of an effort to curtail Mayor Goldie Wilson's initiative to replace the inactive clock tower atop the Hill Valley Courthouse.

The flyer was xeroxed on one side of a sheet of blue paper. The words "SAVE THE CLOCK TOWER" adorned the top of the page, and below that was a reproduction of the November 13, 1955 edition of the Hill Valley Telegraph chronicling the Clock Tower's fate. The bottom of the page featured text asking for donations.

One copy was given to Marty McFly by the Clock Tower Lady on the afternoon of October 25, 1985. Jennifer Parker wrote her grandmother's telephone number and a personal message (namely, I love you) on the back of the flyer, and Marty placed it in his pocket for later use.

Ultimately, the flyer would benefit Marty in more ways than one. After finding himself stranded in 1955 without the necessary plutonium to return to 1985, he handed the flyer to Doc after being told that a bolt of lightning could also generate the necessary 1.21 jigowatts for another temporal displacement. Doc used the flyer to predict the bolt's location during the thunderstorm later that week.

Other copies

The Clock Tower Lady's table was decorated with yellow, white, and blue copies of her flyer, and a poster-sized copy was displayed on a stand behind it.

Behind the scenes

Newspaper11131955 — Copy of the full flyer prop, not seen on-screen.

The flyer is often cited among continuity errors in the film. As the image shows, the picture of the clock tower includes the broken ledge. The flyer was handed to Marty in the original timeline, where the ledge was intact. Because of multiple takes of different scenes, Jennifer's note on the back of the flyer is visible when Marty takes the paper, before she has written it; and is not seen when Doc is reading the flyer, after she has signed it.
There are two known flyer props, with different photos of the clock tower.
As with other Hill Valley Telegraph props, the text begins "The facts regarding the situation remain the same, state the authorities. Details concerning the action have been given a preliminary investigation, but it is felt that only by a more detailed study will the true facts become known."

Appearances

External links

Free printable copies of the genuine prop flyers

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 The flyer was [[xerox]]ed on one side of a sheet of blue paper. The words "SAVE THE CLOCK TOWER" adorned the top of the page, and below that was a reproduction of the [[November 13]], [[1955]] edition of the ''[[Hill Valley Telegraph]]'' chronicling the [[Clock]] Tower's fate. The bottom of the page featured text asking for donations.
-One copy was given to Marty McFly by the [[Clock Tower Lady]] on the afternoon of [[October 25]], 1985. [[Jennifer Parker]] wrote her grandmother's phone number and a personal message on the back of the flyer, and Marty placed it in his pocket for later use.
+One copy was given to Marty McFly by the [[Clock Tower Lady]] on the afternoon of [[October 25]], 1985. [[Jennifer Parker]] wrote her grandmother's telephone number and a personal message (namely, ''I love you'') on the back of the flyer, and Marty placed it in his pocket for later use.
 Ultimately, the flyer would benefit Marty in more ways than one. After finding himself stranded in 1955 without the necessary [[plutonium]] to return to 1985, he handed the flyer to [[Doc]] after being told that a bolt of [[lightning]] could also generate the necessary 1.21 [[jigowatt]]s for another [[temporal displacement]]. Doc used the flyer to predict the bolt's location during the [[Hill Valley Thunderstorm|thunderstorm]] later that week.