Long before the internet, cable television, videogames (the new reason people wait in line all night), homevideo, there was the movie. And when a movie was released, it was shown, sometimes for months, in a select few theaters, to maximize word of mouth and test whether it should be followed-up with a large or small release to secondary screens, in an age prior to the multiplex. Even stranger, before Jaws, no major studio films were released in the summer months, when waiting on lines might be a little easier on the consumer, 'market research' led the studio chiefs to believe summer was for sunbathing, not moviegoing. Despite its rejection by reviewers, The Exorcist caused an unexpected audience reaction, they were shocked and they wanted to ride again. William Hurt makes his debut in this NYT article.