Working in a video shop back then, I remember some films being hugely popular, but some of which you would now, perhaps, be hard pressed to get many people to watch again, if at all.
I remember A FISH CALLED WANDA having 26 copies and they were constantly out on rental, with agitated people phoning or turning up to see if a copy was back in yet.
Ditto WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, HOME ALONE, TITANIC - and of course BATMAN.
In fact, I remember one customer calls Mrs Blades, who I feared would live up to her name when the BATMAN film she had ordered was not yet back, (they were being returned, then instantly going out again to people who had booked them - and, as we reassured her and as it turned out, she just needed to be a little bit patient) when she needed it for her daughter's birthday party. She ranted and raved about our incompetence until a customer walked in a few minutes later. Her anger did not dissipate and she did not even thank the poor guy who looked like a rabbit in headlights. She stomped out of the door with the film, still ranting and perhaps angrier than ever. While completely understanding her impatience, her anger was way off the scale, in a Kathy Bates "MISERY CHASTAIN CANNOT BE DEAD!!!!" sort of way.
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Other memories: a customer theatening to climb over the counter and punch me, because I would not let him join with absolutely no i.d. whatsoever. I wanted to punch me too by the end of that one, coz I was sick of hearing my own soothing, explanatory voice. He gave up in the end.
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Then there was the time I nipped into the back room in the empty shop for what surely was only a few seconds to put the kettle on and returning to find blood spattered over the front of the counter and a trail of blood leading to the shop doorway, which was now open.
I followed the trail to outside but it was too dark and I couldn't see where it led, or anyone in sight. My assumption was that someone had been stabbed and staggered in, seeking help, then finding no one around - but not shouting or anything - had carried on up the road. But I couldn't see anyone anywhere. Being young and dumb, all I could think of to do was ring the manageress who (clearly more concerned with profits) brushed off the matter and told me to clean the blood off the counter with bleach, which I did instead of phoning the police or an ambulance. It bothered me though and I scoured the local paper thereafter for reports of any incidents or even fatalities and there was nothing. But I would lecture myself as a complete and utter smeghead now.
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Another somewhat more charming incident was when, not working alone this time, a returned video suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the counter. One moment it had not been there, then suddenly it was. We were baffled until we realised that it had been returned by none other than Warwick Davies, who was now looking around the shop at other titles. (It seemed he had a girlfriend at the time who lived locally and was returning it on her account.)My comrade - a huge STAR WARS fan - proceeded to have a complete Geek-gasm and harangued the poor guy with gushing, worshipful praise, getting an autograph.
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Yet another bizarre incident was when a man ran in shouting: "THERE'S A LION ESCAPED!! THERE'S A ****ING LION!!!!" as you do.
It was, it turns out, true. The circus was in town and they had clearly decided that one of the lion's needed to stretch it's legs around the local high street. Thankfully it was recaptured, before I could either see it or before it could even join up as a member. (I would have overlooked the lack of i.d. on this occasion.)
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Another time the manageress, who was having a full blown affair behind her husband's back with her assistant manager, decided that going for an elicit night out with her new fella was more important than either of them leaving the keys to shut the shop with me, so come closing time I realised that I could not lock the shop.
Even at that dumb era of my life, something instinctively told me that perhaps not all the locals would respect the mantra of honesty upon finding a shop that you could just walk into, so being unable to get her on the phone I realised that all i could do was stay the whole night in the shop.
Being, even then, a believer that if you get a lemon, make lemonade, I decided to roll with it and had a vhs marathon on the telly, which included my first ever viewing of THE CHASE, which was conveniently in a new DALEK tin that had just come out.
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/the-chase-1965.3421/
