1942 San Francisco, California
Dr. Gloria Hom
1940
San Francisco, California
Interviewed on February 8th, 2024
by Paige Lai
I think the first movie I ever went to see in the theaters was Fantasia. I must have been around three or four, I know for sure that my sister was seven. We went to see Fantasia in San Francisco, and it was a huge day, or at least that’s what I remember. Mom took me and my sisters, and in those days people got dressed up to go to the movies. It was a musical, there wasn’t much dialogue (just some). It was more of a fantasy kind of thing. And it was for kids. I can’t even remember the year, but it was my first movie and it was just so exciting.
I remember the theater was in San Francisco, right on Market St. In those days, Market street wasn’t as scuzzy as it is today, and the theater was really nice. There were ushers when you went in, and it was a big deal! We drove up from Palo Alto for the film, and really made a whole day out of it even though the movie itself was only an hour and half. Afterwards, we went to this nice restaurant called Pig and Whistle that my dad really liked.
Of course there was popcorn, but I particularly remember the milk duds that my mom bought me. My sister had a box too, she didn’t eat any of it but of course I ate it all in the first five minutes. Actually, I don’t think I remember popcorn, but I remember milk duds, and that they didn’t have ice cream. They had like those little boxes of ice cream bites coated in chocolate, I don’t think they had drinks probably because they didn’t want us to spill all over the theater.
I thought the movie was very scary, but I think at that age you just think everything is a little scary. There were a lot of animals like Bambi or something, you know it’s a fantasy so something like that. I’m looking at it now– oh it wasn’t released until the end of 41, and by the time it got to theaters I must have actually been around two. Wow, I was actually so young! There were no actors, it was a Walt Disney cartoon with no people(just animations) and some music. I remember the music being very nice, and exciting. I was so young, so it was all just a spectacle and so very theatrical.
I moved to Malaysia when I was six months old, and moved back to Palo Alto when I was two. This whole thing must have been right when I got back to the states, so you can imagine just how spectacular this experience was to me. Coming from Malaysia, where there was nothing of the sort, and driving up into the city and seeing this huge screen and all these animals, it was just amazing.
I can’t even tell you what the movie was about. It was one of those movies you kind of just sit and enjoy, it’s not the storyline as much as the experience of watching it. A lot of the movies at the time were musicals, which I love. I think that’s why Lalaland and Barbie have done so well recently–they just don’t do musicals like that anymore.
After this movie, we went to see a lot of Shirley Temple in the theaters. Oh, I loved Shirley Temple– I think that every little girl loves Shirley Temple. She never made a movie after 15, which I always thought was kind of interesting.
I still love going and watching movies. If you see a good movie, it actually takes you from where you are to another place. You just feel transported. That’s why it’s so important to go to the theater, I just don’t think you get the same experience anymore watching at home on your ipad. Where else do you get that experience, where you’re really and totally immersed, where it’s like being tranquilized, and such a great feeling.
Interviewer notes: Dr. Gloria Hom is my maternal grandmother. She was born in San Francisco in 1940, but spent a majority of her childhood in various Asian countries for her father’s work as an ambassador for the United States.
