All sorts of fun stuff here! From production to goofs (there aren’t many), to fun facts and cool trivia, scroll down to see our finds!
Remember the infamous toy truck robbery?
“Roy’s Toys?” On “Dalton Ave???” The name and address were an homage to producers “Roy” Krost and Richard F. “Dalton!” I see what you did there!
An email from stunt coordinator David Neil Trifunovich:
I used an air tube to shoot a glass marble that broke the mirror. I only used about 80 psi so I knew it was not a violent hit. Everyone around the camera and near by were aware of the possibility of potential danger and were prepared. If you look carefully at the photo you can see that I punched a whole through the back of the mirror ahead of time so from the camera angle after the mirror broke, you would see the bullet hole out the other side. I also remember that Justin Henry had a science project to do and his mother came and asked me if I would help him. He had to make some sort of model of a cell or some thing. We made a mold and cast it in clear acrylic with a little squiggly thing inside. It cured overnight and the next day he presented it to his teacher and got top marks. I know it was not an interesting story but it was part of the making of Martin’s Day.
Also from David:
I remember when the police car crashed through the house! I think we shot that in Bolton, Ontario which is only about an hour north of Toronto. I did not put the cable on the car on correctly (I was just learning back then) to stop it once it hit the house! David Rigby, the stunt guy took off way too fast and hit the house full speed. The car shot up over the porch and the cable broke and the car went smashing all the way into the house! The furniture stacked up and almost pushed the back wall out! The camera few back and hit the camera operator in the eye and almost fell over! A story I should not tell you but hey, it is interesting and I guess I can laugh about it now!
Another email from David:
I was just about to fall asleep last night… and I recalled a scene in Martin’s Day where he lights the exploding cigar! I remember how hard it was to make a cigar that he could light and smoke and then have it explode on cue! It took days for me to perfect the way it worked and I made about five of them for the shoot. Mr. Harris was really cooperative and listened careful to my instructions so he would be safe. It was a little awkward but it did work in the end the sequence made it into the movie!
UPDATE March 28th, 2020…I have news! So scary how time has flown. I have not touched this website for over ten years, but have appreciated all the emails I have received, many from folks who witnessed the movie being made, with lots of answers to my questions.
For example, I was delighted to hear from a man whose house was used by the scene with Karen Black; when Martin paid his ex-girlfriend a surprise visit. I now have the actual address to this house, and what a thrill it was to look up on Google maps. The house I speak of is located in the town of Stouffville; Stoufville’s Main Street was also used for scene where young Martin stops into the Rexall Drugstore to buy Cokes…I was so happy to have that particular mystery solved, as there were so many proper names (storefronts, etc.) during that scene, but I’d hit nothing but dead ends in my detective work. I even heard from a man who sold his canoe to the motion picture company…now that is incredible!
I also found out that Don Jail–which I visited during my trip to Ontario–now offers tours inside the jail! That means I actually might be able to see Steckert’s cell…incredible! You better believe a return to Ontario is in my future.
I also recently tracked down a few actors from the film, including Michael Millar, who plays one of the cops that discover Steckert right before he kidnaps Martin…Michael’s a great dude and was happy to talk about the movie.
I’m awaiting a reply from Frank Adamson, who played the man in the scene right after Martin runs away into the big red barn. And I found Dwayne McLean who played “Youngman”–Steckert’s second celly after Brewer left–but no response from him yet.
Probably my favorite discovery–and a miracle–was tracking down one of the two writers of Martin’s Day, Allan Scott. He was hard to find because that’s not his real name. His legal name is Allan Shiach and I was able to find him after I stumbled upon an article about a restaurant in Santa Barbara owned by his son. One thing led to another, and before you know it, I’m pouring out my heart to Mr. Shiach with a very long email. I thanked him profusely for his “gift” of Martin’s Day and asked a million questions. If and when he responds, I’ll post the answers on this website.
Please make sure to join our official Martin’s Day Movie Fan Club Facebook group. You can find it HERE. Please join and contribute, even if it’s just saying hi!
Finally, the biggest and best news of all. Holy crap, Martin’s Day was released on DVD!!! I could not believe it. Like, how in the world??!!! Still feels like I’m dreaming. I never in a million years would guess our little treasure would make it to DVD. That’s big news. I believe it’s only available in the European PAL format, but I was able to play it on my computer. You can buy a copy of the DVD HERE.
Please stay tuned for more…get the DVD and say hello on our new Facebook group!
Check back on this page soon, as I will be uploading so many awesome fun facts!
