- 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
- " "Don't forget to take a flyer," the woman urged. "It tells the whole story of the clock tower." / Marty took the flyer from her hand. / "And here's something for your friend," the woman continued, thrusting yet another flyer at him. / Something nearly snapped in Marty then. For a long moment, he considered taking not only the proffered flyer but as many as he could carry, telling the woman he would distribute them at school. Then he would look for the nearest trash can and dump them. At the last moment, fortunately, he realized the woman, though irritating, really meant no harm. / "Thanks," Marty said, taking the flyer and handing it to Jennifer. / With a curt smile, he grabbed his girlfriend's arm and guided her away from the crusader as fast as he could move without breaking into a run. A few moments later, they were safely around the corner. "
- —From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, pages 21 and 22)
- " Marty repeated the number [of Jennifer's grandma], got two numbers transposed. / "You should have saved one of those flyers," Jennifer said. Then looking at her hand, she saw that it still clutched one of the propaganda pieces. Waving to her father to wait, she took out a pen and wrote something on the back of the paper and thrust it at Marty. Then she hopped in the car and left. Marty waved and watched her until the car was out of sight. / Only then did he look at the paper. On it was written the telephone number and the simple phrase: "I love you." / Marty smiled. / Folding the paper, he put it in his pocket and skateboarded down the street toward home."
- —From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, pages 22 and 23)
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
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
- Back to the Future
- Back to the Future novelization
- Back to the Future: The Story
- Back to the Future: The Card Game