David Cawley, Film Auteur

Cinemagic #10 (Summer 1977). Cover painting by Larry Schlecter of mad scientist John Cosentino and his creation "The Zagatile"

Long before he was a rock star living off the royalties of bands like Blue Car, Order Now, The Nu-Beats, The Lumpies, The Bedbugs, Berserk and Garage Sale (only later working in an insurance office out of sheer boredom with all his free time), David Cawley was a film auteur.

Like his doppelganger Jerry Lewis, David Cawley was a film auteur

This was in the late 1970s, back when David was still in high school. Working with his friends and neighbors under the studio aegis of "D.C. Films" (for David Cawley, get it?) in Lutherville, Maryland - the "Hollywood (L)East" of the Mid-Atlantic - he specialized in making 8mm stop-motion movies with his fellow sci-fi and giant monster fans John Runyeon and Andy Dolan. He was even celebrated in the "Press Notices" pages of Cinemagic, local filmmaker-publisher Don Dohler's "fantastic filmmaking" fanzine, which debuted in the winter of 1972.

Following is Dave's film Snipers (a co-creation with Andy Dolan, credited here with the effeminate variant spelling of his first name, "Andie") getting mentioned in Cinemagic issue #10 (Summer 1977). Thankfully, jodyanimator has scanned the entire issue, cover-to-cover, from the original; you can read it here. (The cover is by local artist and musician Larry Schlecter who, this being Smalltimore, is the partner of my wife's friend and former Crabtree & Evelyn co-worker, Lucie Poirier!)

D.C. FILMS of Lutherville, Maryland has completed its first film, SNIPERS, which deals with the conflicts of a futuristic society. Special effects include stop-motion and miniature explosions. Zoa Barnes stars in the 8mm production, which was conceived by Andie Dolan and David Cawley.

The star of Snipers was Zoa Barnes, who is the sister of the film's co-creator, Andy Dolan. She later abandoned acting to pursue a  career in law. Dolan himself went on to international acclaim as the sleeve designer of punk-pop band Berserk's "Giant Robots" single and album.

David and Andy also planned to make a sci-fi epic featuring Star Trek action figures. "Me and Andy were going to make a barroom brawl movie with Kirk and the Gorn action figures but creative differences tore it apart," Dave recalled. "A world weeps at the loss." Indeed, if not for that perhaps Dolan would have become the first-billing D in D.C. Films (the C was for reserved Cawley - get it?).

Kirk and Gorn: The Barroom Brawl that never was!

Perry Hall native Dohler, who passed away in 2006, was known for making low-budget science-fiction and horror films (as chronicled in MICA graduate John Paul Kinhart's 2007 documentary film Blood, Boobs & Beast, which in turn was inspired by Michael Yockel's 2003 City Paper cover feature "Fast, Cheap & Out of This World"), as well as his work in underground comics and independent publishing.

Don Dohler left no bones unturned in his work

Michael Yockel's Don Dohler feature story (City Paper, April 23, 2003)

According to his Wikipedia entry, Dohler was inspired by his 1960s underground "comix" friends to publish a magazine that would feature illustrated step-by-step articles for amateur special effects filmmakers, as well as features by industry professionals. Cinemagic went on for 11 issues before being picked up by Starlog magazine in 1979. It served as the inspiration for a number of young filmmakers who later achieved Hollywood fame, including J.J. Adams, Tom Sullivan, Ernie Farino, Michael Trcic and Al Magliochetti. In fact, J.J. Abrams, who paid homage to his amateur filmmaking days in his own Super 8 (2011), got his first screen credit for scoring the music and sound effects in Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). Talking to the Washington Post's Jen Chaney in 2011, Abrams recalled "...it was such a crazy thrill to be asked to be involved in one of his movies...He was sort of the horror version of John Waters. He made these crazy movies that were made with incredible passion and love of genre. Relatively speaking, you know, shoestring budgets - they couldn't really compare to the production values or casts of mainstream films. But there was a real charm to them. They were kind of like adult versions of the movies that we made when we were kids."

Cinemagic: "This is your magazine"

Or as Cinemagic pitched it: "If you are a young filmmaker with a special interest in science fiction, special effects and the limitless magic of the cinema...this is your magazine."

Don Dohler recording sound in the field

Talking with David recently, he reminisced about Cinemagic magazine and his days in the director's chair, when he dreamed of being the Ishiro Honda of Lutherville. (Like his idol Honda - the filmmaking father of Godzilla - both directors started off with aspirations of being successful artists.) Or the Don Dohler of greater Baltimore County. And he shared the same enthusiasm J. J. Abrams felt at making a movie and getting a shout-out from a fellow film fanatic.

It was always so exciting - the thought of a sci fi movie made in Perry Hall!  I loved that magazine- just looking at pictures from amateur movies and not even seeing them!   Back then it wasn’t easy to see stuff like that except at conventions.  There was a weird guy named Blade Galentine who made these amazing stop motion movies with monsters- like LEGEND OF TERRORDON.  It was so cool- it must have taken him forever to make that movie- it was LONG!!!!!!!!!

I remember John Runyeon was going to make a 2 headed serpent animation model… he made the armature, covered it with wax…. And GAVE UP.

But other collaborations with John Runyeon were more successful. The dynamic duo went on to make the films Lost Island, The Mad Doctor Death, Dr. Death Conquers the World and their lone foray into martial arts, the kung-fooey Man of the Tiger. (Curiously, all are currently unlisted on the Internet Movie Database.)

Clearly, these amateur films were a labor of love, and not all were up to the task. But teen prodigy filmmaker David Cawley went on make stop-motion Godzilla movies during his time as a art student at renowned Baltimore County art school Towson University (whose famous alumni from David's era include Stuart Stein, Kenny Vieth, Jenny McBrian, et al). There he met his fellow art major girlfriend Linda, and instantly his film crew was doubled.

I had a crew of 2 (me and Linda) and after a few days… it was just me!  Too boring for most folks.  But I premiered my Godzilla movie at my parents house!  Had a bunch of people over!  With door prizes!   The invitations were really cool- had a great drawing of Godzilla by Linda.

D.C. Films crew (Andy Dolan, David Cawley, John Runyeon and Jeff Carlson) hobnobbing at the 2017 Cannes Film  Festival

Dave Cawley and set designer Marie Castaway prepare to shoot a scene from the unreleased D.C. Films epic "The Marriage of Ultraman and Barbie."

The solo Cawley's stop-motion fantasy filmography included the unheralded gems War of the Wizards and Battle for the Planet Mondor. Of those cinematic battles, David recalled with a tang of regret, "No Golden Globes were won."

Last year, as if by cosmic fate, lifelong bachelor David Cawley got married to Gina Holten and their wedding photographer was a talented picture-snapper named Greg Dohler. When David found out that Greg was related to Don Dohler, he was elated - and he and Gina were even more elated after seeing the completed wedding photos. "His pictures were GREAT!" Dave enthused. Like father, like son: the Dohlers obviously know their way around a camera.

So there you have it, Cawley Completists! Like Joe Besser, David Cawley was Not Just  a Stooge - nay, he was more than a mere musician, and much more than a just a pal with a paintbrush & palette. He was also an auteur in the director's chair, creating signature miniature masterpieces of stop-motion mimicry. And, like his peer John Waters, another Legendary Luminary Lensman of Lutherville! And that (as the young mini-movie mogul of metropolitan Baltimore would say), is a wrap!

Related Links:
Cinemagic Magazine - Back from the past
Cinemagic Magazine on Internet Archive (archive.org)
Cinemagic #10 (Summer 1977) (jodyanimator)