Are you a movie fan who was on the scene in the 60s? Your input is needed for a study on the films and the times.

I began my writing career as a movie and theatre critic for the Bruin circa 1968. My reviews indirectly led to my being hired by Roger Corman to work on low-budget genre films, including the immortal "Death Race 2000." Currently I'm under contract with the University of California Press for my third book, which has the working title "When Doctor Dolittle Met Mrs. Robinson: The Movies, the Sixties, and the Dividing of America." In a nutshell, I'm focusing on the pivotal year 1967, when films like "Bonnie and Clyde," "In the Heat of the Night," "Cool Hand Luke," and "The Graduate" reflected (and often -- I believe -- helped shape) the dramatic changes that were taking place on the American scene.

Naturally I hope to talk to the major filmmakers of the day, as well as those who in 1967 were just starting out in the industry. By the same token, because I'm less interested in the making of the big 1967 films than in their impact on the moviegoers of that era, I'm looking for people with long memories. I'd particularly like to find some movie fans who remember watching the 1968 Oscar ceremony, which honored the best films of 1967. It was held six days after the assassination of Martin Luther King (the Oscar ceremony was actually postponed two days until after the King funeral), and emotions ran high. There was, unforgettably, a tension between the solemn words of Academy president Gregory Peck, who paid tribute to King, and the goofy antics of Bob Hope, whose gags about the effects of the postponement on the nominees really skirted the grotesque. And of course the fact that youth favorites like "The Graduate" and "Bonnie and Clyde" were vying against old-guard movies like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" heightened the stakes even further.

I invite anyone who remembers going to the movies in 1967 to contact me directly. Of course all participants in my research will be gratefully acknowledged in my book.

And if you're really into the history of the era, see the related forum topic and help clear up some dates.

Can you remember...