1935 Trenton, New Jersey

Virginia Forcina

1929

Capital Theater, Trenton New Jersey 

Interviewed on02/07/2022

By Marcos Ortiz 

My grandmother who I call Nana was born in 1929. The first movie she remembers seeing was Shirley Temple’s ‘The Little Colonel’ which came out in 1935. The movie centers around col. Lloyd who becomes estranged from his daughter Elizabeth, played by Evelyn Venable. Elizabeth elopes with a northerner Jack Sherman (John Lodge). Years later Elizabeth comes back with her daughter (Shirley Temple). The colonel and Lloyd have a tumultuous meeting but eventually become friends. When Jack comes back into the picture the relationships of the film become strained. Nana’s mother Baba used to take her downtown on Saturdays to see the Shirly Temple movies whenever they would come out and this was the first Nana recalls seeing. 

Without a car, Baba would take little Virginia on the bus into downtown Trenton New Jersey to the Capital Theater on Broadstreet. Nana said that she and Baba felt a special connection to the Capital Theater. Before it showed films, and during Baba’s childhood, the Capital Theater used to have live traveling theater performances. The stages of the Capital were graced by the presence of many famous live performers such as Eva Langalian, who would need a place to stay during their time in Trenton. Low and behold, down the block Baba’s mother ran a boarding house where these actors would stay. Nana recalls, “When Baba was a little girl she would sometimes play with the children of the actors that would come traveling with their parents, or even the famous childhood actors themselves. One time Baba and a young starlet went out and played in the field and the little actress got poison Ivy all over her legs. The mother had to put makeup all over the girl’s legs so that she could perform. “

During the early and mid-1930s, Nana and Baba would take the trip to the theater every Saturday when a new Shirley Temple film was released. Nana’s sharp memory recalls ushers, a 12 cent entrance fee for children, and even the Goldenburg peanut chew, as staples of her first memorable visit. Nana mentioned that before each movie she saw at the Capitol Theater, there would be a short Vaudville performance of singing and dancing on the stage. My grandmother noted that during that time, in the midst of the Great Depression, going to the movies was a welcome form of escapism.

Nana was particularly fond of the Shirley Temple movies as she related with Shirley. Shirley was supposedly born in 1929 as was Nana, had reddish hair, as with Nana. My great-grandmother would buy Nana Shirley Temple dresses and memorabilia as gifts for various holidays. In interviewing Nana, she promptly broke into a song of which she still could clearly remember the lyrics, “On The Good Ship Lollipop, It’s a night trip, in to bed you hop, And dream away, OnTheGoodShipLollipop.” Before I hung up Nana left me with a little bit of gossip… She said that her mother Baba knew someone who knew someone who claimed that Shirley was NOT in fact born in 1929, but instead in the year 1928. According to the rumor, Shirley’s parents lied about her age to make her seem younger and more appealing to the talent industry.