Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Tingler seating equipment

This is topic The Tingler seating equipment in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Farr-Nash (Member # 4233) on 07-04-2007, 08:41 PM:

Do any of you learned gents know how the seats were wired for The Tingler? I've heard everything from a joy buzzer-like device (mechanical noise and vibration) to actual electrical current that zapped a few folks (highly unlikely). I'd love to get a print of this and wire up my seats, just for the fun of it. Maybe, though, a newer and better system of making the vibro-buzz would be helpful. I'm open to suggestions...

Mark

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 07-05-2007, 12:18 PM:

I have heard that is was a vibrating motor of some sort. Film director John Waters, in an interview, mentioned that when Tingler opened in the 50's, he checked under the seats until he found one that was wired and that was where he sat. (Not all the seats were wired for cost considerations.)
One should be able to use more modern equipment for the effect, I would think. I don't think today's seat pans are too thick for this... [Confused]

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 07-05-2007, 04:02 PM:

Mark,

do you know that fine book on movie gimmicks, BEYOND BALLYHOO?
It covers most of the William Castle installations.
IIRC, they used electric motors with an excenter weight to vibrate the seats.

Maybe easier to recreate the miracle of EMERGO (flying skeleton on a wire flying from the screen side to the projection room). [Wink]

Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 07-05-2007, 05:07 PM:

Heaven knows, I've been to enough $1 second-run houses where the Smell-O-Vision still works. That must be what's happening there, right?

Posted by Edwin Schwing (Member # 1270) on 07-05-2007, 10:25 PM:

You could always go down to your local "Adult Bookstore" and get some "Tingler seating equipment". [Big Grin]

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 07-07-2007, 03:44 PM:

When I was working the booth at the Heights
Theatre in Houston way back in the 50's we
ran The Tingler for a week. The vibrators
were a simple device to rock Hell out the
seat they were attached to. The power supply
in the booth was a 12 volt car battery that
powered the whole array. Cues were provided
by cues on the screen. Simple system, but,
a good drawing card. [Wink]

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-07-2007, 04:50 PM:

Of course, you can now buy "Butt-Kickers" to vibrate your seat...rather than hooking them up to a car battery...you can feed them just like a speaker.

Posted by Mark Farr-Nash (Member # 4233) on 07-14-2007, 07:35 PM:

Thanks, Christian, for the book recommendation. I'm a fan of old movies like this, but that particular book got by me. I'm rectifying it now.

If I come up with an acceptable "Tinger" gimmick, I'll be sure to share it with you folks.

Mark

Posted by Michael Wilkinson (Member # 2389) on 08-20-2007, 12:13 AM:

A friend of mine once took an electric fence charger and somehow connected it to armrests which were wrapped in aluminum foil. Low current of course and only some select seats were wired while the others were dummied. All of the audience had to sign release of liability which they readily did.
Sounds crazy but apparently it went well.

Personally I like the vibrating idea because it is probably a little less risky.