1949 Belfast, Ireland

Maureen Theresa Muldoon
Born 1942
First movie memories in Belfast Ireland Interviewed on 1/21/19
by Liam Muldoon

Going to the cinema was always a big occasion back when I was a child. I had six other brothers and sisters, but as the youngest of the bunch, my dad used to take me alone to watch films with him. It was our special thing. My mum would stay home, and my siblings would get jealous.

We would go to the pictures on Saturday afternoons. The cinema was right by my house so my dad and I would walk there together. Even though it was an occasion when we went out, we wore our normal clothes. I used to wear a blue jumper and my sister’s trousers. We couldn’t afford lots of clothes, like dresses. Good thing I didn’t really like dresses.

We used to go to the Forum Cinema on Crumlin Road here in Belfast. It smelled like licorice. The roof had “Forum” written in big letters when you walked in, and it made me think of how fancy the cinema was. It didn’t really matter what time you got there, because you could stay for reruns right after the first showing finished–but I always told my dad to go on time. Before each showing, a man would play the organ and sing, and the audience would join in too. It was very lively!

I was about seven when I saw my first film. Our favorite films were westerns. The earliest one I remember seeing was probably ​She Wore a Yellow Ribbon​ with John Wayne–I guess that was in the late ’40s or early ’50s. I can’t remember how much it cost to go. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen these films but I remember it was about Indian attacks, and John Wayne always found a way to stop them. He was everyone’s hero. All the girls fancied him and all the boys wanted to be as good of a cowboy as he was.

I loved the action in western films and the scenery they used for them. The deserts were just so different to Ireland that I felt I was in a different world when I watched them. We would shout when the characters fought and cry out when John Wayne got into trouble. The Indians were the “baddies” and I used to be so anxious if they hurt any of the main characters. The fight scenes were so real that everyone would scream. I used to think the films were live performances because the audience was so energetic!

Beside the films, I loved the chocolate we could get at the Forum. My dad used to buy me Cadbury Blend Chocolate and Walkers Caramels because he knew I had a sweet tooth. In the summer, a girl with a big tray strapped to her neck would walk down the aisles at the beginning of the films with ice cream. There was also one usher who would stay for the film. He didn’t really shush anybody because the westerns we saw were so loud anyway!

I enjoyed going to the pictures because I could spend time with my dad and see what America was like. It’s sad they closed the Forum in the ’60s because I had a lot of fun memories there.