1988 Hostess Hot Summer Flicks might not be big in size but the trading cards make up for it in star power.
Issued in bags of potato chips in Canada, the 40-card set highlights a dozen movies that hit theatres in 1988. Some came out with a whimper while others are regarded as modern classics. Big, The Great Outdoors, License to Drive and Funny Farm are among the featured films. There are also a couple of sequels in A Nightmare on Elm Street IV and Short Circuit II.
Each card, which doubles as a sticker is a small 1 1/4″ x 1 3/4″. This makes them comparable to other Hostess releases over the years including the popular 1987 and 1988 WWF sets. They came pre-wrapped in cellophane, keeping the cards safe from oil and chip dust.
Given that it’s a food-issue release — and a Canadian one at that — 1988 Hostess Hot Summer Flicks is a somewhat obscure set that not a lot of collectors know about. But as the popularity of tracking down celebrity first appearances continues to grow, there’s a lot to consider here. The set has the first Tom Hanks cards. Barring other obscure releases, John Candy, Chevy Chase and Heather Graham are among the others potentially making their trading card debuts in the set.
1988 Hostess Hot Summer Flicks Checklist
40 cards.
Buy on eBay:
1 The Great Outdoors – Dan Aykroyd
2 The Great Outdoors – Dan Aykroyd
3 The Great Outdoors – John Candy
4 The Great Outdoors – Dan Aykroyd
5 Vibes – Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum
6 Vibes – Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk
7 Vibes – Cyndi Lauper
8 Vibes – Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum
9 Funny Farm – Chevy Chase
10 Funny Farm – Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith
11 Funny Farm – Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith
12 Funny Farm – Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith
13 Big – Tom Hanks
14 Big – Tom Hanks
15 Big – David Moscow
16 Big – Tom Hanks
17 License to Drive – Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Heather Graham
18 License to Drive – Heather Graham
19 License to Drive – Corey Haim
20 License to Drive – Corey Feldman
21 Running on Empty – River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton
22 Running on Empty – River Phoenix
23 Running on Empty – River Phoenix
24 Running on Empty – Martha Plimpton
25 The Rescue – Kevin Dillon, Christina Harnos
26 The Rescue – Marc Price
27 The Rescue – Kevin Dillon
28 The Rescue – Kevin Dillon
29 The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking – Tami Erin
30 The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking – Tami Erin
31 Short Circuit II – Number 5
32 Short Circuit II – Number 5
33 Fright Night Part II – Ghoul
34 Fright Night Part II – Demon
35 Fright Night Part II – William Ragsdale, Traci Lin
36 Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master – Freddy Krueger
37 Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Master – Freddy Krueger
38 My New Car – Kimberly Foster
39 My New Car – George Newbern
40 My New Car – Kimberly Foster
That certainly is an oddball set! I think I only ever saw two of those films–Big is of course a classic, and Running On Empty was very, very good as well IIRC.