1939 Brooklyn, New York

Cy Seymour

1929

Brooklyn, New York

Interviewed on February 10, 2025

By Ava Seymour

What is the first movie you remember seeing? 

The first movie I remember seeing… oh boy. Tarzan as a little boy. It was in Africa in the jungles. Tarzan and his wife Jane.

What town and year was this?

I wouldn’t be able to give the year but I lived at that time in Brooklyn and the name of the movie house was Pitkin moviehouse. It was located on Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn.

How old were you (approximately)?

I was a little boy and I guess I might’ve been about 9 or 10 years old. It’s hard to say exactly, but I was young enough that everything still felt big and exciting. I must have been in elementary school at the time, still running around the neighborhood with my friends and getting in trouble.

Who was with you?

I went to see it with my two older sisters. My mom was scared of letting me go alone with them but it was a fun time. 

Did you have a go-to snack?

We always got snacks. I used to love chocolate. It used to be Hooton chocolate. This was back a long time kiddo. They don’t make it anymore, but back then, it was a real treat.

What did you think of the character(s), actor(s), story? What do you remember about the movie?

The movie took place in Africa, it was just a jungle. He had a girlfriend named Jane. He only has to rescue people like superman. That’s his job, to always rescue people. And then there was the movie Dick Tracy, everybody will remember Dick Tracy. He was a detective and had a partner named Pat. He was in the comic books and I’ll tell you one other thing. This is interesting. There was a character named Batman, it was a comic book. My mother’s friend’s brother was the artist for Batman. In the summertime I used to help him do what they call the color overlays for the comic books. That’s interesting. I’m glad you pushed me a little harder. That was a lot of fun. Marc, my son, has original editions of many, many of the comics. 

How often did you go to watch movies at the theater?

Every Saturday. There was nothing else happening but the movies on Saturdays. They gave you dishes. Whoever came to the movie in the afternoon would get free dishes, a whole set. That was a very famous thing, you know dishes that you eat from, like glass. If you went long enough, you would get a setting for two people. You went a little longer, a setting for four people. A lot of people used to collect them and it got people to go to the movies. You paid to go to the movies but it was a gift. 

Relationship: grandfather

Note: I’m assuming the movie poster used it the movie he was talking about. He didn’t remember the name exactly but this was released around the time he mentioned.