1947 Manhattan, New York

Evelyn Katz 

1942

Manhattan, NY

Interviewed on February 11th, 2023

by Aidan Kluger

Song of the South was the first movie I ever saw. It was a Disney film and it followed the adventure of Br’er rabbit. And the song “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” came out of there which I sang to all of you [referring to her grandchildren]. I remember most Uncle Remus, who was the narrator, the storyteller. He really was, you know, the uncle. He looked very old to me; I think he had white hair, a thick beard, and he seemed like such a beloved character. You couldn’t help but love him. The southern accents didn’t strike me; it didn’t even strike me that Uncle Remus was black. The film was animated, but Uncle Remus was real. I remember enjoying all the bright colors, it was really very colorful. But I really don’t remember what it was about. It was just the music and the bright colors. That was what I remembered. 

It was a special day because we went uptown from Brooklyn, where I lived, to the Roxy Theater in Manhattan, which was a very big, ornate theater. When you went to the movies in those years, all the theaters were beautiful. They weren’t stark or sleek; they had a lot of gold decorations around them, and velvet, and you really felt like you were going into a special, special place. And this place wasn’t considered your neighborhood theater. It was more of a special theater. We went on a Saturday. A ticket at the Roxy would go for 25 cents, I think that’s what we paid. 

I must’ve been about five or six. The movie came out in 1946. Every once in a while my dad would take the bus to Pittsburgh to visit family. I think this was one of those times, and my mother decided she was going to take us to the movies. Uncle Jerry wasn’t born yet. But Uncle Kenny must’ve been two, that would’ve been really young to take him. I’m sure he must’ve been there. Singin’ in the Rain, I remembered better. I was about 10 for that. I was really little, but it struck me as such a wonderful thing to do, to go into the movies, and to this day I feel that way. It’s just you and the movie. Don’t talk and don’t comment and that’s why I like the movies more than watching something on television.

I don’t remember eating anything. But I do remember at Singin’ in the Rain, we ate what we used to call poly seeds. You crack ‘em open, they’re very small, little green nuts, not cashews. You chew on them and spit the shells out on the floor of the movie theater. 

In those years, you always had a double feature. You had the A movie and the B movie. The A movie was the one you came to see, and in between the two was a newsreel. The B movie would be a mystery of some kind; a lesser movie. I don’t remember The Song of the South being paired, but Singin’ in the Rain definitely was. Song of the South probably wasn’t paired there because I don’t think our mother would’ve expected us to sit through two movies. Not that I was bored; for me, it could’ve gone on forever. It couldn’t have been that long, because if Uncle Kenny was there, how patient could he be? We went to see that film specifically because it was animated.

There were always ushers walking up and down. As I got older, the matrons were the ones that always told us to be quiet. We didn’t like them; we used to think they were like a prison guard or something as we spit the poly seeds on the floor. But that was later, that was when I was closer to 10. I remember that specifically when I went to see Singin’ in the Rain.

It was just beautiful and the surroundings were beautiful and the music was beautiful. I remember “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” and birds would be flying all over. I remember the bluebird perched on Uncle Remus’ shoulder. It was just beautiful, and even at that age I felt like I was transported into another world. 

[Me: I remember the Splash Mountain roller coaster ride as one of my (and Dad’s) favorite rides at Disney World. That ride is based on Song of the South; they even sing “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” at the end. But recently, that ride’s been canceled for the film’s use of racist stereotypes and its idealization of plantation life. Did you catch these racist undertones?]

Who would even think that it would become racist? It was so benign! Why did they think it was racist? Then again, I was four or five. I just thought it was beautiful. And I really didn’t even register that Uncle Remus was black. It was just a wonderful guy just imparting all these wonderful stories. It was a simpler time; I don’t think anybody then would’ve called it racist. I mean, listen: it certainly wasn’t Gone with the Wind. It certainly wasn’t that. It was a man imparting a tale, a story. I mean, are you not allowed to sing “Zip A Dee Doo Dah” anymore? I sang that to Drew, and Ari, and you, and Jordie. I watched the movie with the innocence of the child and just thought it was wonderful, and that Uncle Remus was enchanting: it wasn’t until adults started deciphering the whole thing that they decided it was racist, and you know, it just goes to show: is this movie something you have to be taught to hate?