Sand & Serve: 1978 Volleyball Film to Debut on the Beach

When Manhattan Beach businessman Terry G. Spragg tried to peddle his movie about competitive beach volleyball in 1978, Hollywood film distributors were less than enthusiastic.

“They said: ‘Who cares?’ ” recalled Spragg, whose career line has ranged from professional football to real estate and entertainment. “In 1978, beach volleyball was a cult the world didn’t know about. But I knew it would take off, so I just bided my time.”

Now, with beach volleyball a televised sport and the subject of a dramatic movie called “Side Out,” Spragg thinks his documentary on the 1978 Manhattan Beach Open Volleyball Tournament can be a winner.

In one of the world’s more unusual movie premieres, Spragg is spending $30,000 to screen his “Just Another California Day” on today at 8 p.m. His theater is the sand next to the Manhattan Beach Pier--where the tournament took place--and admission is free.

“People will sit on the beach with picnic dinners and have a lot of fun,” Spragg said. “It’ll be like a drive-in movie.”

The film will be shown on a 15-by-20-foot screen with a sound system made for outdoor concerts. Spragg has distributed 30,000 fliers in the beach area and hopes the result will be “the largest premiere in history.”

Manhattan Beach gave birth to competitive beach volleyball, and the annual tournament remains the the sport’s equivalent of Wimbledon. But Spragg’s film is a journey back to its less commercial days, according to Jerry Fire, president of the Chamber of Commerce, which is co-sponsoring the screening.

“This was before it became big and commercial. People were playing for peanuts in those days,” he said.

Spragg said the film captures one day in the 1978 tournament, with sportscaster Lynn Shackelford interviewing the players and a crowd of 13,000 watching the play from the sand and the pier.

He calls the free premiere a gift to the city he has lived in for 20 years. “I’d like to make the city proud. This is the oldest and most traditional event,” he said.

And this time around, Spragg--who would like his film to do for beach volleyball what “The Endless Summer” did for surfing--hopes Hollywood shows some interest.