1946 The Bronx New York
Joan Fensterstock
Born 1939
The Bronx, New York
Interviewed on February 5, 2026
by Tess Romero
What about the theaters? Did you watch a lot of movies growing up?
We went to the movies all the time. All the time. We went on Saturdays; when you grew up in the Bronx, on Saturdays you went to the movies.
How old were you when you started going to the movies?
About six. In…1946.
Would you go with your family?
(Laughs) No, with my girl friends. Kids growing up in the city, on Saturdays you went to the movies. And you went by yourself, not with your parents.
How would you get there?
We either walked or we took the bus. Another interesting thing is when I would go and take art lessons in the city, I would take the train in. And, Tessie, they had trolley cars when I was little. Can you imagine? And I think after I was five, they changed the trolley cars to buses, but I remember trolley cars. So hysterical!
What is the first movie you remember seeing?
I’m just trying to think of the names of them, I have the pictures in my mind. Betty Grable… in um… I’m just trying to go back that far. You know, it wasn’t like now; one movie came out. Ask grandpa what early movies were. Albie (her husband), what were early movies when we were growing up?…Yeah, there was Charlie Chaplin, but I don’t remember going to Charlie Chaplin movies, do you?…No, I never saw Charlie Chaplin movies silent. I’m not but I’m not that old. They had talking movies by the time I…Grandpa saw Laurel and Hardy movies, but I didn’t really see those.
Who were Laurel and Hardy?
They were a comedy team. Can’t you tell by the name?
Do you remember any movies in particular that you would watch early on? It doesn’t have to be the first one.
The movies I liked were the fancy dancing movies with Betty Grable, and Mitzi Gaynor, and all the Hollywood starlets at the time because I read all the movie magazines, and I wanted to see all my favorite movie stars. It was nothing intellectual at all.
Was there a concession? Did you have a favorite candy?
Sure, absolutely. Next to the movie theater there was this little booth that sold Charlotte Russes. Now, you may not know what a Charlotte Russe is, but Charlotte Russe was like a treat. It was a cake, like a sponge cake, but it was round, and it came in a cup, and it had whipped cream on top of it. And the special treat was, after the movie, you could go and get a Charlotte Russe.
Was going to the movies an all day affair?
We stayed for the movie. But the movies were long when you went. It wasn’t just the movies that would play at the theater. Before the movies you had like an hour of news. We didn’t have television, remember, so you didn’t have news coming to your house. So you went to the movies and you saw the news of the week. And then you saw the coming attractions, probably for your movie theater and the one across the street. But going to the movies wasn’t an hour and a half; going to the movies was a couple hour ordeal.
And you said there was only one movie playing at a time?
Yeah, but if you went across the street to the other theater, you could get two movies for the price of one. But those movies weren’t top of the line. You didn’t get the first rung movies– you got the second rung movies, but you got two of them.
Do you remember the names of the theaters?
One was Loew’s Spooner, and the one across the street– the cheap one– was The Star.
Do you remember any movies at all that stuck with you early on?
The first movie I can remember? I’m gonna say Judy Garland in… and I could be wrong, but I think it was called Take Me Out to The Fair? Or maybe that could’ve been the name of a song in it. But that’s just what came to my head as I was talking to you.
What do you remember about the movie?
Nothing. I remember nothing (laughs).
Did anything about the story or the characters resonate with you? Do you remember how you felt watching it?
Oh, just make it up.
Note: Joan is my maternal grandmother. She currently lives in North Carolina, but she spent most of her life in New York.
