Credits

Stage Crew:
Alan Barclay
Bill Harrington
J.L. Housman
Paul Hof
Kenny Lyon
Davey Moire
Gregory Mulgrew
Thomas Nordegg
Leon Rodriguez
Alan Santos
Earl Charles
Earl Matthews
Tex Abel

The Premiere

December 21, 1979
Victoria Theater, NYC, NY

From IMDb

The film had particular trouble finding a distributor. Frank Zappa tried to interest Untied Artists, the company that released 200 Motels (1971). Fearing that they were about to be embroiled in the Heaven's Gate (1980) fiasco, they turned him down. Other studios followed in United Artists' footsteps, fearing that Zappa's trademark cinematic style had lost considerable appeal in post-'70s pop culture. Several European distributors told Zappa that there might be interest if it were cut from its original 168-minute running time. The film was cut to 90 minutes and still there were no takers. Even after Bruce Bickford (I)'s sequences won first prize at a French animated film competition, there was no interest. Eventually Zappa took it upon himself to distribute the film independently via his own Intercontinental Absurdities production company. The film ran 24 hours a day at the Victoria Theater in New York City and made a handsome profit.

From: Ben Watson

Billed as 'a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal', the film Baby Snakes was premiered on Dec 21 1979 at the Victoria Theater, New York. Although it received the Premier Grand prix for musical film in Paris in 1981, it was not a success and rarely shown.

From: Ebay seller "sdfgh88541"

When it was first released, it ran 24 hours a day and achieved box office gross receipts (on a theater to theater basis) which exceeded all other major studio releases in the metropolitan area.

From: Lewis Saul

It ran 24 hours a day at the Victoria Theatre around Christmas 1979.

Plot-line:

Police yell, "come out with your hands up!"
Band plays music.
Clay people kissing turn into hamburgers.
Police yell, "come out with your hands up!"

From: Jeff

I saw the world premiere of Baby Snakes on Frank's birthday—Frank was in the lobby handing out slices of birthday cake shaped like a snake, a nice touch, and I think wearing a chef's hat. A few minutes later, Frank stood off to the side with a microphone and introduced the movie. From where I was sitting I could pretty much see him—and he seemed unusually happy and excited, almost like a proud kid. The way I was able to get into the premiere was easy—I faked out The Wartoke Concern by calling them and telling them that I'm a reviewer and need tickets. In good conscience I made it a point to "review" the movie by describing it to a friend.

FZ quoted by Michael Bloom, "Interview with the Composer," Trouser Press #47, February, 1980

So far it's just playing New York, because I'm paying for everything and don't have a distribution deal yet. If the lines form around the block I'll have a deal, and then go out to the world at large.

FZ interviewed by Kelly Lange (March 16, 1980)

It's called Baby Snakes, and it'll be coming out in June.

Other Screenings

Mark Lundahl, "Frank Zappa Remembers San Ber'dino," The Sun, Baltimore, April 7, 1980

Other recent Zappa developments include his new movie, Baby Snakes, which will be released in June. The onstage documentary, which also features clay animation work by Bruce Bickford, has been well received in showings in New York and Paris.

George Tirebiter, "Frankly Speaking," Upbeat, December, 1980

Zappa's latest movie is called Baby Snakes, "a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal." He refused to comment on the plot, but added that it received favorable response when shown at Cannes at the [Midem] Convention. However, since it is without a distribution arrangement, Snakes has been shelved at the moment—a situation Zappa is trying to change.

FZ, interviewed by Co de Kloet, May 16, 1982

CDK: What happened to the film BABY SNAKES?

FZ: It's gonna be a while before it comes out. Probably it won't come out in theatres in Europe. I made two television shows out of it. They are being offered for sale now.

CDK: So in the USA it's in the cinemas.

FZ: No, not yet, because I have no more money to work on it.

CDK: I thought the version I saw was the final version.

FZ: Yes, but there is one problem in the USA. If you make a film and somebody in a scene whistles a tune and it is not your song you have to pay money to the person who wrote that song. In BABY SNAKES there are 30 songs by other people . . . maybe 2 SECONDS each of somebody whistling or humming it . . . you have to pay each of those composers which I did . . . except for this one guy who wrote one song that is in ONE scene who refuses to give permission to have it used . . . a song called SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES, an old song . . . and the copyright owner demands that it will be removed from the film, otherwise he'll sue me . . . But in order to take that one song out of the film which lasts about 3 SECONDS it will cost me $50.000 to $100.000 to chop the movie up . . . so that's a problem in the USA.

FZ, Exploratorium, San Francisco, May 20, 1984

The problem with Baby Snakes is simply this: a lot of people have said, "Sure, give me this film! We'll just sort of take it and distribute it," but nobody wants to give me any money. And since I spent all my own money to make this film, I take a very dim view of people doing me those kinds of favours.

The Production

FZ quoted on Rock et Folk, June, 1980 (translation by A. Murkin)

I paid for it all out of my own pocket. I got in touch with Polytel, they saw about 20 minutes, were delighted with it, wanted to finance it, but demanded in return the rights to my records throughout the whole world. That was quite possible, I hadn't yet signed to CBS (outside the American continent). But they didn't offer enough, and I didn't want to put my musical career in jeopardy for the film. So I've done more concerts to finance it. It's cost me $500,000.

Bruce Bickford

David Fricke, "Mechanic of 'Joe's Garage' father of 'Baby Snakes'—Zappa Lives!," Circus, February 19, 1980

Zappa explains that there was one eight-month period when he gave Bickford, on Zappa's payroll since the early '70s, a storyboard to complete while he was on tour. When Zappa returned, he found Bickford hadn't done any of the assignment, but instead spent the time making little clay scientists with lab smocks and slide rules as well as little girls in period costumes. "He hadn't done any of the job, but he'd accumulated all these boxes of people and people parts."

"Sure, Frank's a real dictator," says Bickford, admitting Frank was somewhat tee-ed off that the storyboard wasn't done. "But sometimes with me, he gets something much better than what he asks for," as in the cheeseburger sequence. "So sometimes it's to his advantage to ease off and get something else."

The Concept

FZ, interviewed by Michael Branton, Collage, December, 1977

"I started another movie, called Baby Snakes," says Frank, "which we ought to have out by summertime. A bunch of really famous people are in it. You have these baby snakes, see, and you have the universe, and they relate to each other."

General Notes

From: JWB

The live material on Baby Snakes was recorded on October 30 & 31, 1977. The recording studio footage is from Summer 1977 (Lather link track and claymation soundtrack sessions) and Summer 1978 (Sheik Yerbouti overdub sessions).

The interview and shopping footage was filmed in Munich, Germany in September 1978. (Zappa edited the large amount of unused material into a German TV special called "We Don't Mess Around".)

And the claymation is either from Summer 1977 or Summer 1978.

From: "G.D. Pratt"

Baby Snakes also exists as an edited down version, running 90 mins or so.

From: Patrick Neve

By now you probably know that Janet The Planet married Denny Walley.

From: Bill

There was one (Zappa's Universe) show at Lincoln Center in Feb 93. I sat 2 seats away from Janet the Planet who was sitting next to her husband Denny Walley. Did I talk to them? Nah ... I may have said hello or nodded my head in greeting.

From: Patrick Neve

I believe Brian Rivera is a musician of some sort and may actually have an album called "Tragedy At Hand." Nice fingernails, Brian. Was that his tragedy? :)

From: Dan R. Priebe

Bruce Bickford's outlandish clay animation is beyond belief with zooms, morphings, etc. And actually, it doesn't even look like clay, it looks like meat.

The Short Version

Following the timing code from the DVD release, the 90 min. version of the movie went something like this:

• 0:00:00-0:02:10 [Baby Snakes Rehearsal/Kerry McNabb]
• 0:07:47-0:16:25 [Warren/Baby Snakes/Bruce Bickford/"Disco Outfreakage"]
• 1:01:05-1:11:29 [Disco Boy/"Give People Somewhere To Xscape Thru"]
• 1:35:07-2:08:55 [Titties 'N' Beer/"Audience Participation"/The Black
  Page #2 & "The Dance Contest"/Jones Crusher/Broken Hearts Are For Assholes/Punky's Whips]
• 1:29:34-1:34:15 [John Smothers/I'm So Cute]
• 2:10:35-2:37:08 [Dinah-Moe Humm/Camarillo Brillo/Muffin Man//San Ber'dino/Black Napkins]
• 1:34:15-1:35:07 ["Entertainment All The Way"]
• 2:39:18-2:40:40 [Credits]
• 2:43:47-2:44:10 [End]

The Video

October 28, 1987
Honker Home Video/MPI, #MP 4000

Video was packaged with Honker "No-D" Glasses (source: Kier)
Running time: 183 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for Language
Formats: US NTSC and international PAL.

From: Richard Fox

A 3 1/2 hour feature based around the Halloween concert in 1977 in NYC. There is about 1 1/2 hours of concert footage and the rest is composed of the typical Zappa wierdness, noise, crowd scenes, backstage scenes, claymation scenes and a look at Barking Pumpkin's warehouse.