Since today is the anniversary of the first drive-in movie theater opening in New Jersey in 1933, Gretchen and I thought it would be fun to write about going to the movies.
To me, there is something magical about sitting in a dark theater waiting for a movie to start. My earliest movie memories are of two movies, and both were released in 1977, so I’m not sure which movie I saw first. I do know exactly where I saw them; the small town where I grew up didn’t have a movie theater, so we had to drive down the interstate a couple of towns away to the movie theater in Paxton. Dad probably bought Jujube candy for himself and caramels for my sister and me to eat during the movie.
One of the movies featured droids and aliens, the other movie was about mice. One movie has had several successful sequels made, and the other movie had one sequel that just wasn’t quite as good. The first movie, of course, was Star Wars. The second movie, based on one of my favorite children’s books by Margery Sharp, was The Rescuers.
You know about Luke, Leia, and Han Solo, but do you know about Miss Bianca? She is an elegant little white mouse who is mightier than she looks. She sets out on a rescue mission and chooses a companion, Bernard, who is an ordinary mouse and not elegant at all. Bernard’s voice is Bob Newhart, and his voice is perfect for Bernard.
They are rescuing Penny, an orphan, from an evil Duchess who is cruel and uses Penny as a maid. It’s almost a Cinderella story without a prince, but with Miss Bianca instead. Miss Bianca may be a mouse, but she is a Mama Bear when she sets out to save Penny.
I couldn’t find my copy of the book; which must have disappeared long ago, and I haven’t shown Lily and Emmy the movie yet, although I’ve tried. Seeing a movie when I was little was very different than it is now. After a movie was released in the theaters, we saw it once. We were lucky if it was the Sunday night movie on TV a couple of years later.
Since it’s so easy to watch movies now, whether it’s on a DVD, streamed online or downloaded on a device, it seems like going to the movies must be less magical. When I take Lily and Emmy to the theater, however, they are really excited. I think it is just as magical for them as it was for me when I was a little girl. After all, we don’t go to the movie theater that often, and when we do, it’s not a drive-in theater.
The first movie I didn’t see was actually at a drive-in theater. (Confusing, isn’t it?) My parents wanted to see Romeo and Juliet, but it was not appropriate for children. My sister and I sat in the back seat, and my parent tried to get us to go to sleep while they watched the movie. It must not have been a very enjoyable experience for my parents, but my sister and I thought it was fun trying to see the movie when we weren’t supposed to be watching!
Do you remember the first movie you saw?
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