Empire Strikes Back: Christmas Toys from 1981

Shown above is page 496 from the 1981 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog (click on the image to see at full size), as you can see it was a great year to be a Star Wars fanboy! What people forget today is that prior to this film that sci fi themed sequels had a pretty bad reputation as a being a low budget way to cash in on the first film. The Empire Strikes Back blew us all away as the quality of the film and story was as good as the original Star Wars. I also hate to admit it, but I also believe that the success of the Empire Strikes Back gave Paramount the courage to bankroll the the second Star Trek film the Wrath of Khan in 1982. So in a strange way Star Wars may have saved Star Trek…

Found via Wishbook.