1947 Kansas City, Missouri

Janice Swartz

1939

Kansas City, Missouri

Interviewed on February 12, 2022

By Anya van Hoogstraten

The first film I remember seeing is The Wizard of Oz. Which was produced I think the year I was born, 1939, and I don’t remember exactly when I saw it, but it was sometime in between that. We didn’t go to the movies very often. I mean, I can only remember our family going to the movies together, I don’t know, three times? You know, a really small amount. And I was really hoping we could get popcorn, but our parents said they had spent enough money going to the movie and we could not afford popcorn. I remember that. So, Wizard of Oz, yeah. It might have been also because, we were living in Kansas City at the time, so Kansas was very close, so there was that connection, too. When I first saw it, I was maybe 8?

I’m going to say my whole family was with me when I first saw it. Going to the movies with my family was a wonderful occasion. Not that we didn’t do anything, we did. We went to museums and parks and the municipal opera, the MUNY opera, but when we went to the movies, as I said it wasn’t very often, but it was a very pleasant occasion. And in Kansas City where we lived the name of the place was the Byum. B-Y-U-M. Like “buying,” but that was the name of the people who had it. That was a very small, very little movie theater, and I just saved my money, saved my money so I could buy a box of popcorn for 10 cents. Which I of course had to share. But the theaters were jam-packed. I mean, every seat would be taken. They were small, nothing like the gargantuans today, and you’d see a lot of people you knew, which was a little bit unusual. But no big screen I mean, you know, everything was pretty condensed.

We would have driven in our family car to the theater. It was probably 5 miles away. I remember they sold a few candy bars, that was it. I don’t remember any drinks. I never had any candy. It would maybe be one box of popcorn for 5 people, and we’d pass it around…The theater was dark, very dark, and the seats were plush. But a number of them had broken, so we wanted to try to get in a seat that didn’t fall apart. There were no ushers, but there was one man that took our tickets. You bought from the lady who sold the tickets, the ticket teller, in her little box outside, and then you went inside and that’s where the popcorn machine was and that’s where the man would take your ticket. And there was a restroom so sometimes people would go in and out, but not much- you were there and paid attention.

The seats were maroon, maroon, maroon. Almost all theaters were maroon seats. And they were that kind of itchy plush. They weren’t smooth, they were just itchy. And some of them had, if you lifted up the seat, a rack underneath where a man could put his hat.

I remember the music, really strong, and Judy Garland. Goodness, goodness – so remarkable! And that it was too long. And every time that I’ve seen it subsequently, like when I took my children to see it, they also flaked out about the same time. It’s after you’re in the land of Oz, and how many times can you see those Munchkins, you know, how many times can they come around? And you want to know the ending because you want to get her back home. But it’s great. Even though it was based on fantasy, the characters felt very believable and humorous and fun; they were spectaculars. It was beyond what you could imagine. Where did they get all of those tiny people? We loved the music, everything from “Yellow Brick Road” to “we’re not in Kansas anymore.” And we loved the witch. Well, didn’t love her, but loved “I’ll get you my pretty,” and we would go around saying that to each other. And we loved the Scarecrow’s “If I Only Had a Brain.” And Dorothy wearing a pinafore, and clicking your heels. After we saw it, we thought that was great – to click our heel and try to make things happen. And we liked the lollipop kids, too. Our family really did use that phrase quite a bit. Not only my family growing up, but then my kids: “You’re not in Kansas anymore…” like don’t ask for more that we are able to pay for. Our parents would say that if they wanted to make a point about something.

I think I resonated with the fact that it was in Kansas and a tornado is coming. Those of us in the Midwest, I mean, we really prepare for those in May or June of every year. We numerous times went to the southwest corner of the basement- that was where you were supposed to go. They usually came from the southwest, so that was the part of the building that protected you more in case your house fell in. But living in the Midwest, that’s a pretty common scenario. That was the realistic focus that drew us to The Wizard of Ozthat was, quote-on-quote, believable and interesting. I remember once during a tornado a baby was taken up and ended up on top of a water tower. I mean, see how these stories can mesh into The Wizard of Oz? Very fantastical, and the baby was safe and all of that.

Also, seeing a color film was just remarkable, and memorable. I remember just being amazed and like wow, how did they do this? And I remember looking back to see-the theater was so small you could see, you know-the movie projector, and you could see the man up in the little balcony that he was in. And I remember thinking “I wonder if the light coming out looks different when its black and white or with color and how close did you have to get before you could see that.” And it was great as a musical, but also a fantastic presentation. And looking back on it now, it really was quite remarkable, wasn’t it?