Following his 1973 teen hit "American Graffiti," writer-director George Lucas conceived a mythical tale set on other worlds, filled with bizarre creatures, robots, spaceships and a young man yearning for adventure. "The Star Wars," as it was originally called, would recreate the excitement the young Lucas experienced from Buck Rogers serials, Westerns and Japanese samurai films.
By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan
Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.