That's Life: Like Everyday Movies
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| Sorry Batman, not everyone's eager to see your film. |
Hmm, I should add a "but" to that sentence, because if my grandson Nicholas, 14, wants to see "The Dark Knight" when he visits me, I will go along and buy two tickets. That's what grandmothers do.
My grandparents died before I was old enough to go to a movie theater. It was my mother who took me to a movie theater for the first time when I was about 5. The movie, "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs," seemed a good choice for a child my age. But, I was frightened whenever evil Queen Elspeth, Snow White's stepmother, appeared on the screen. And that night the Queen haunted my dreams.
"Go away," I screamed, awakening my big sister Gloria. Trying to calm me, she said, "Movies are just make-believe." Then she told me to close my eyes and think of something I liked to do. "Now when you fall asleep, you'll have nice dreams," she added. These many years later, I still follow that advice. As a teenager, I once went alone to a movie theater. Earlier that evening, I had prepared dinner for my parents and my two older sisters, as I did every weekday. But each of them called and said they would not be home for dinner. "I have to work late," " A friend invited me to dinner," were among the excuses they offered.
I was sorely disappointed. After sitting alone in the kitchen, eating my dinner, I decided not to stay home waiting for my family. I left a note, "Gone to the movies."
At the movie theater, I purposely looked for three empty seats, and sat in the one in the middle. I thought that with no one on either side of me, there would be no danger of a person of unsavory character making offensive advances.
About an hour into the movie, I saw my mother walk down the aisle, pausing to peer at people in each row. I did not wait for her to recognize me, but stood up and waved my arms. I was glad to see her as the precaution I had taken to be safe was not enough to satisfy my imagination: I had been picturing a pervert considering me prey and plopping down in a seat next to me.
"Don't ever do that again," my mother said as we walked home. "It was just luck that I looked for you in that moviehouse, first." There were three in our neighborhood.
If memory serves, "It's a Wonderful Life" was the movie I had not stayed to see to the end that evening. But over the years, I have watched it many times.
Once my children were old enough to understand the plot, our family would gather around the TV and watch that movie when it was traditionally presented at Christmastime.
Without fail, my husband, Bill, would become teary eyed and his lips would quiver when George Bailey, the main character portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, cries out, "I want to live." When Bill sensed our eyes were fixed on him, he would struggle to look nonchalant.I am the one who cries when the ill-fated young lovers in "West Side Story" are parted by death. "Wuthering Heights," is one of my favorite films, though it is a "two-hanky" movie for me. I guess I am a softy when it comes to romance.
I so wanted Heathcliff and his beloved Cathy to know the joy of being together during their lifetime, but it was not until they met in the hereafter, Healthcliff running to Cathy as she stood in the heather on the moors, that they knew happiness. I suppose "Wuthering Heights" is a good date movie, the fellow putting his arm around his girl to comfort her as she cries.
When Bill and I were dating, the first movie he took me to see was "Barabas." Many scenes were so gory, I shut my eyes. Finally, I pretended I needed to use the restroom. It's a good thing I was already sweet on Bill or it might have been our last date.
When we were married and I was pregnant with our first child, we vacationed on Cape Cod. On our first evening there, we found out that it was the final night "Lawrence of Arabia" was playing in a local theater. It had received glowing reviews, so after eating dinner at a restaurant, we made the last show.
During the movie, Bill began suffering stomach pains. Perhaps the clams he had eaten for dinner had not been fresh, or perhaps his ulcer was acting up, or perhaps he was experiencing sympathy pregnancy symptoms. At any rate, we left the theater while Lawrence was roaming the desert. Bill recovered the next day, but, by then, Lawrence had folded up his tent, departed from the theater, and we never again saw him. As for Bill's ulcer, I helped cure it, using recipes from a book titled "Good Food for Bad Stomachs."
In my younger years, I went to the movies at least once a week and as much as three times a week. I have found that, all in all, movies take us to a magical world where we escape from harsh reality, sail the seven seas, solve mysteries, explore intriguing places. And when a movie hero achieves a lofty goal, we are inspired to pursue our own dreams.
