I’m really tired of saying, “When I was growing up years ago...” but the thought just keeps surfacing every time I turn around! Now I’m thinking of my passion for movies. I have always loved the movies. I can’t say I was there every Saturday. As I recall, we had movies at two theaters on Saturday and Sunday. It seems like Saturday’s movies were for the young and Sunday’s were for the adults. In my own experience I can only remember going to one movie theater in town. The Fox, I believe, which is now the Kossa Dancers' theater. The parents would drop us off and we’d stay there until the one or two movies were over and then we’d be picked up. All the movies were for children and had no sex, violence, etc. and I can’t remember one of them. I do remember that when I’d ventured to see a horror movie, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that I was truly horrified and decided I was not a horror movie fan. Still am not, though I’ve seen a few having a husband and two sons that enjoyed them.
I wasn’t a big western fan either. I do remember that one day when I was eleven or twelve Mother took me with her to a movie on the adult day. I can’t quite recall the name, but I’ll never forget that sex was mentioned in some way that embarrassed her and I could feel it.
I don’t remember going to the movies again with her until “Hawaii” was playing in Lake Charles and I was 13. She brought me and a boyfriend. We sat in a different spot. But when the baby birthing scene came on I could feel her embarrassment from where we sat. We were a bit uncomfortable ourselves. And I don’t remember any more movie trips with my mother after that.
I do remember going to the Charles Cinema in Lake Charles when I was fifteen or so with both my parents to watch “Fiddler on the Roof.” Musicals were definitely safe places without any embarrassment. Good family values. The parent codes were coming in by that time and “no one under 17 without the accompaniment of an adult” meant I was out of luck. None of my adults would bring me to movies I wanted to see. And then I was hesitant myself. I missed a lot of great movies that I didn’t experience until I was in my twenties.
At home there were movies on the television that I would watch when I came in from school. I really saw most of my movies on the television. The musicals, the Elvis movies, the Disney movies with Annette, the classics. I was able to keep up with all the movies. I never thought there were too many--it was more like there weren’t enough. The movies came out in a reasonable flow from Hollywood and I knew every actor and actress. It was so simple.
I was able to keep up with the movies through the seventies and probably most of the eighties. Then something happened in Hollywood. One year, I don’t know when, there was some type of movie explosion. Gradually, there were more actors and actresses than I could know and the movies were coming out faster than I could possibly watch.
Video stores were fantastic as was HBO and the others on the television cable. But I couldn’t see all the movies in the categories I’d developed as my preferred genre. And I started grabbing some movies that were really BAD. B and C movies would trick me with their promotions.
So I adapted. I found I could rely on the actors and actresses--I’d see who was starring in the movie. If I knew they were good, the movie would be good.
That lasted for maybe 10 years. Now it’s a free for all in movie-land. I don’t know many of the actors and actresses. There must be way too many. I’d love to see the stats on how many were in the industry in 1960 and how many list their profession as such today. And I can’t rely on the award winning actors and actresses to be in good movies. Sometimes I watch one with a big name and wonder what’s happened in their lives that they would stoop to the quality of that film.
Reviews aren’t reliable. Siskel and Ebert used to keep me up to date, but now no one even tries. I don’t think they have time to watch the flood of films coming into the stores and theaters themselves. What to do?
I guess I’ll go with the academy award winners for a while. At least they are reliable. I may not see them when they’re new, but at least I’ll be watching movies of some quality during my movie time. New releases. I’ll gamble with them when the outcry is so astounding that all age groups are saying, “Great movie!” “Avatar” may bring me out to the theater. But I may be giving up the best-ever 3D effects and watching it next year at home.
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I’m really tired of saying, “When I was growing up years ago...” but the thought just keeps surfacing every time I turn around! Now I’m thinking of my passion for movies. I have always loved the movies. I can’t say I was there every Saturday. As I recall, we had movies at two theaters on Saturday and Sunday. It seems like Saturday’s movies were for the young and Sunday’s were for the adults. In my own experience I can only remember going to one movie theater in town. The Fox, I believe, which is now the Kossa Dancers' theater. The parents would drop us off and we’d stay there until the one or two movies were over and then we’d be picked up. All the movies were for children and had no sex, violence, etc. and I can’t remember one of them. I do remember that when I’d ventured to see a horror movie, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that I was truly horrified and decided I was not a horror movie fan. Still am not, though I’ve seen a few having a husband and two sons that enjoyed them.
I wasn’t a big western fan either. I do remember that one day when I was eleven or twelve Mother took me with her to a movie on the adult day. I can’t quite recall the name, but I’ll never forget that sex was mentioned in some way that embarrassed her and I could feel it.
I don’t remember going to the movies again with her until “Hawaii” was playing in Lake Charles and I was 13. She brought me and a boyfriend. We sat in a different spot. But when the baby birthing scene came on I could feel her embarrassment from where we sat. We were a bit uncomfortable ourselves. And I don’t remember any more movie trips with my mother after that.
I do remember going to the Charles Cinema in Lake Charles when I was fifteen or so with both my parents to watch “Fiddler on the Roof.” Musicals were definitely safe places without any embarrassment. Good family values. The parent codes were coming in by that time and “no one under 17 without the accompaniment of an adult” meant I was out of luck. None of my adults would bring me to movies I wanted to see. And then I was hesitant myself. I missed a lot of great movies that I didn’t experience until I was in my twenties.
At home there were movies on the television that I would watch when I came in from school. I really saw most of my movies on the television. The musicals, the Elvis movies, the Disney movies with Annette, the classics. I was able to keep up with all the movies. I never thought there were too many--it was more like there weren’t enough. The movies came out in a reasonable flow from Hollywood and I knew every actor and actress. It was so simple.
I was able to keep up with the movies through the seventies and probably most of the eighties. Then something happened in Hollywood. One year, I don’t know when, there was some type of movie explosion. Gradually, there were more actors and actresses than I could know and the movies were coming out faster than I could possibly watch.
Video stores were fantastic as was HBO and the others on the television cable. But I couldn’t see all the movies in the categories I’d developed as my preferred genre. And I started grabbing some movies that were really BAD. B and C movies would trick me with their promotions.
So I adapted. I found I could rely on the actors and actresses--I’d see who was starring in the movie. If I knew they were good, the movie would be good.
That lasted for maybe 10 years. Now it’s a free for all in movie-land. I don’t know many of the actors and actresses. There must be way too many. I’d love to see the stats on how many were in the industry in 1960 and how many list their profession as such today. And I can’t rely on the award winning actors and actresses to be in good movies. Sometimes I watch one with a big name and wonder what’s happened in their lives that they would stoop to the quality of that film.
Reviews aren’t reliable. Siskel and Ebert used to keep me up to date, but now no one even tries. I don’t think they have time to watch the flood of films coming into the stores and theaters themselves. What to do?
I guess I’ll go with the academy award winners for a while. At least they are reliable. I may not see them when they’re new, but at least I’ll be watching movies of some quality during my movie time. New releases. I’ll gamble with them when the outcry is so astounding that all age groups are saying, “Great movie!” “Avatar” may bring me out to the theater. But I may be giving up the best-ever 3D effects and watching it next year at home.
