For your consideration I submit the story of an exploitation filmmaker named Ron Ormond. Ormond had a lengthy, and varied career as a film producer and director, and some of his later, stranger work, was shot in and around Memphis and Nashville, where Ormond died, in 1981. A handful of these films featured a fire-and-brimstone preacher named Estus Pirkle, and some amazing visions of Heaven and Hell that look like they were shot on location inside one of David Lynch’s nightmares.
Here’s a little taste of Heaven as imagined by Ormond & Pirkle.
And if you thought that was special you can go straight to Hell.
Now for the mystery. At least to me. Ormond allegedly shot commercials for a few Memphis-area businesses including White Rose Dry Cleaners. If any of these have survived they don’t seem to have made it onto the internet.
I’d be interested to know if these commercials do, or ever did exist. I can’t imagine they’re not brilliant, and I’d sure love to share them here.
