The first full-length film made in Austin, Texas.
Long considered lost, Eggshells was rediscovered, restored, and and re-released in the late 2000's. The restoration then debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in 2009 with Tobe Hooper in attendance. Austin Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Louis Black spearheaded the hunt, executive-produced the restoration, and wrote about it in "Found Film."
In this film, Kim Henkel plays a writer. He would later co-write The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, with this film's writer/director, Tobe Hooper.
Eggshells had a handful of screenings, but made no money. At that point, Tobe Hooper became worried he would never have a career in film. Then a friend suggested he see a low-budget horror film called Night of the Living Dead (1968). He did and when he came out he said, "I can do that." Hooper and friend Kim Henkle put their heads together and wrote Hooper's next feature The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
Although many sources incorrectly list this as a 1969 release, "Eggshells" was shot mostly in 1970 and not completed until 1971 when it was blown up to 35mm for theatrical release. The film was screened in June 1971 at the fourth edition of the Atlanta International Film Festival under the title "An American Freak Illumination", where it won a "Gold Medal" award for best editing. It was submitted to the MPAA and received an R rating in 1972.
Hooper claimed "It's possible I started shooting Eggshells in '68. I say that because pretty much at the beginning of the film you see a Texas license plate that says 1970. Then later in the film on the car with the bubble on top it says 1969. The reason it could have been '68 is that I remember you got the next year's license plate and you bought it somewhere in the middle of the year. [...] I saw that license plate and I have the memory of saying "'Well, by the time the films comes out it will be 1970'. Shooting took place over a period of months. It may well have been like seven, eight or nine months."
However, according to Ronald Perryman (who worked on the film and wrote about it in the August 1971 issue of American Cinematographer), Tobe Hooper was first offered the chance to make the film by producer David Ford only in March 1970.
Hooper claimed "It's possible I started shooting Eggshells in '68. I say that because pretty much at the beginning of the film you see a Texas license plate that says 1970. Then later in the film on the car with the bubble on top it says 1969. The reason it could have been '68 is that I remember you got the next year's license plate and you bought it somewhere in the middle of the year. [...] I saw that license plate and I have the memory of saying "'Well, by the time the films comes out it will be 1970'. Shooting took place over a period of months. It may well have been like seven, eight or nine months."
However, according to Ronald Perryman (who worked on the film and wrote about it in the August 1971 issue of American Cinematographer), Tobe Hooper was first offered the chance to make the film by producer David Ford only in March 1970.