1941 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Virginia Sendek

1936

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Interviewed on February 12, 2021

by Emma Osborne

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was five. We did eventually see a lot of those kinds of movies, me and my Mummy and Daddy. Those were the only kinds of movies they wanted to see– nice, cute movies.

When I was movie-watching age, it was the Second World War. That changed everything. Everything, everything, everything. Many people went to watch the newsreels about the war.

But I went to see Snow White. For a little kid, which is what I was, it was a just wonderful experience. When I think about that movie, it just makes me happy. Makes me want to hug myself. So much fun.

Me and your Grandad were talking about how we went to see movies on Saturdays, all day, for ten cents. I wasn’t allowed to spend any money at the movies. I spent some on the movie, but Mummy said I couldn’t spend any more!

At that time, there was no such thing as AMC movies. It was very primitive. I went to the Enright Theater. It was in a neighborhood, a pretty large neighborhood. A big, big theater for the time. They had concerts and such in this theater, too. And on Saturdays, it was devoted to kids.

I still remember [Snow White] because it was adorable. Adorable. They’re just so cute– the dwarfs! (laughs). They had so much personality, and they were just too too too too cute. I enjoyed it a whole lot, and obviously I never forgot it.

I liked a lot of the dwarfs. I liked Sneezy, and I liked Sleepy. And Doc. I’m not going to say I disliked any of them because I thought they were all great fun. That was the beginning of Disney. Prior to Disney, there were no good movies! Not kid-related movies, anyway. And after Disney movies started, there was one, after another, after another, after another. I remember Bambi (Bambi was adorable too).

There were also lots of westerns. Boys liked them. Lots of movies oriented for boys. That’s why Grandad liked the movies! I didn’t relate to the boys’ movies very much. And I told you about the newsreels for the war… I didn’t relate to those too much either.

Until they had a collection of decent movies, and that took well into the thirties, there was nothing much to look at. Black and white. Then Snow White was there… and Fantasia!

Gone with the Wind was really the first of the sophisticated movies. It was in color. That was a big deal. And it was long. There was an intermission in the middle. You left the theater, bought an orange juice, drank it, and then went back in.

I was three years old when that came out. Eeeeverybody was talking about it. “Did you see Gone with the Wind?” “Did you see Gone with the Wind?” I was three years old, and I remember that! Grandma and Grandpap went to see Gone with the Wind. Big deal. Everybody had to go and see it. It was unusual… a novelty… and people wanted to get in on the new trend.

Grandma and Grandpap went to go see it by themselves (I stayed home with Nanny and Puppy). And I’m three years old, so who cares! It’s not a kid movie.

I didn’t see Gone with the Wind until I was twenty years old. At the time, it lived up to the hype. Still does.