Don Post had the droids everyone was look for . The job was he did n’t have closely enough of them .
In the fountain of 1977 , Post , a commercial mask maker and owner of Don Post Studios , obtain the license for a extroverted 20th Century Fox release titledStar Wars . The designs of the aliens , golem , and villains of George Lucas ’s space opera were idealistic for Post , who made high-pitched - caliber rubber costume masks . But while Post figured the license would be worthwhile , he had no idea it would become the most successful film in history up to that point — or thatHalloween1977 would be aStar Warsbonanza .
“ We ca n’t keep up with the demand , ” an exasperated PosttoldThe St. Louis Post - Dispatchin October 1977 . “ I ca n’t make most of my Halloween deliveries . In fact , I ’m sold out now through Christmas , but most of the merchandiser say they ’ll take theStar Warsmasks no matter when I hand over them . ”
It was n’t just Post . Owing to unforeseen demand and low inventory , there was a life-threatening shortage of all thingsStar Warsthat Halloween . But kids and adults would n’t be discourage so easily , even if dress as their favorite Jedi or Sith would require some creative answer .
Space Race
The tortuous output chronicle ofStar Warsis well - traveled movie traditional knowledge . To reach his goal of create a serial adventure , Lucas assemble result artists at his fresh - founded Industrial Light and Magic , draft John Williams for the musical score , and convinced twentieth Century Fox his aspiration would eventually make sense . In the remainder , he was proven right . Star Warsand its sequels became modern mythology , rewriting the rule for both blockbusters and licensing tie-up - in opportunities .
Before the motion picture ’s liberation , however , few citizenry deal Lucas ’s ebullience . While Kenner agreed to make natural process figures , they were in no rushing to have them quick for the holiday 1977 season and wind up sell anempty boxwith a voucher for toy to come .
The panorama at Halloween was hardly any good . Fans looking for costume so they could raiment as Luke Skywalker , Darth Vader , Chewbacca , Princess Leia , C-3PO , or R2 - D2 were given a straightaway reality hitch . For one , costume were and still aretypically orderedby retail merchant months in progression , and retailer mostly deposit with testify properties like Batman and Dracula . Second , onlytwo major licenseeshad been recruited : Don Post and economy costume manufacturerBen Cooper , which made just three costume — Darth Vader , Luke Skywalker , and C-3PO — available that year .
The Ben Cooper offer was standardized across all their licence , from superheroes to extraterrestrial being . Inside a cardboard box with a pliant window was a toilsome charge card mask secured to the head with a string and a piano credit card costume the consistency of a drivel bag . The mask ’s sharp edges ofttimes dug into the wearer ’s brass . But at $ 4 or less , a Cooper offering was better than nothing . Unfortunately , nothing is what most kids got .
“ We ’re getting an awful lot of requests forStar Warscostumes , ” costume storage owner Philip MorristoldNorth Carolina’sThe Charlotte News . “ I ’d say we ’ve probably had , counting phone call , about 600 citizenry call aboutStar Warscostumes . I would say the Stormtrooper is a very hot character . Darth Vader is in all probability next , then Chewbacca . ” ( The latter character the report depict as a “ furry half - man , half - brute . ” )
Despite the CooperStar Warscostumes being $ 1 more than other licenses , storessold outof them in early October .
The Don Post masks were a bad headache . In addition to a modest production running game , the masque makerlimitedtheir Chewbacca offering even more , producing just 500 of them because Post was unhappy with the Wookiee ’s open - mouthed expression . ( That first twelvemonth , Post made four masks full , including Darth Vader , a Stormtrooper , and C-3PO . )
If a memory board was n’t sold out of costumes , it was probably because they had never irritate to stock them to begin with . A Charlotte - area J.C. Penney manager told theNewsthat “ four out of five ” requests for costumes were aboutStar Warsbut the store never get at ordering any .
For some , the requirement get tiresome . “ I ’m so sick of answering that we do n’t have any moreStar Warsoutfits , ” Santa Cruz costume lease shop possessor Carol FlemmingtoldThe Californian .
Evasive Action
With more fans than costumes , anyone who wanted to dress as aStar Warscharacter had to get originative . One depot in New Jersey envision an uptick inthe sales event of pitch-dark capes , the better to approximate Darth Vader , while a generic , angular dim mask was used for his respirator . There was also a flush on braids , which could be incorporated into a Princess Leia corps de ballet . silver medal and gold greasepaint were used to make for a modest droid costume ; one costumer trade a Don Post werewolf mask “ because it search a little like Chewbacca . ”
In St. Petersburg , Florida , the McKenzie familylamentedthe “ stupidity ” of costume makers give out to anticipate requirement and opted to cobblestone together their own . Darth Vader was made with a Ben Cooper masquerade party and a flashlight with red wrapping report covering the bulb to craft a lightsaber ; a Frisbee doubled as a breastplate for C-3PO ; Chewbacca boast the pelt “ used to decorate the inside of van . ” The hubby ’s mother - in - practice of law , it was adjudicate , would be one of the devil .
If a store did get some Post masks , they opted to use the scarcity to their reward . At the Virginia Ascher Costume Company in St. Louis , their Darth Vader mask was used as part of an elaborate $ 50 costume letting .
Licensees never ingeminate the mistakes of that Halloween , and from 1978 onward , there were plenty ofStar Warscostumes to be had . But the missed chance of ’ 77 was something Don Post felt . At $ 45 per mask , he was looking at a manna from heaven .
“ If I had 100,000Star Warsmasks in this way now , I could trade them all , ” Post tell . “ How could I sleep with the flick would take off like this ? ”
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