1950 Glendale, California

Audrey Michele Rach

Born 1942

Glendale, California

Interviewed on January 26, 2025

By Arden Yum

Do you remember the first movie that you saw in a theater?

It was a Roy Rogers movie. I don’t remember the name of it. As a younger child it was all cowboys for me, and I was madly in love with Roy Rogers.

Why do you think you liked cowboy movies so much?

I’ve always loved cowboys. I loved western music. I was brought up with cattle ranchers, but we got a ranch later on when I was 12. But even as a little girl, I was in love with cowboy music and cowboys. At school, we would play cowboys and Indians. I know that sounds very terrible now. Most of us wore little dresses with sashes in the back. I would be the horse a lot of the time. I’d run, and my little girlfriends would hang on to the reins behind me, and then the boys were the Indians. It was all very pure and innocent back then.

​​What do you remember about the Roy Rogers movies that you saw?

He was always the good guy. He was always doing the good thing and fighting the Indians. They didn’t make them out to be totally evil. I didn’t hate the Indians at all. They were just different. I never considered the political aspect or the morality of it. But there wasn’t any huge anger against them, and I don’t think was portrayed in the movies that way either.

Do you remember any of any of the other actors and what you thought of them?

I do remember Dale Evans and Roy Rogers. I don’t think Roy Rogers had a sidekick. Nobody was his wife, but I guess it wasn’t the universe wife. Back then, he was more of a girlfriend. His wife, d l Evans played the romantic person next to him, yeah,

Who did you usually go to the movies with? Was it friends or family? 

My parents would take me and my friends. I don’t remember going to the movies with my parents at all. They’d take us, drop us off, and pick us up. 

When you would go to the theater, were there concessions or favorite candies that you remember having?

Jujubes.

What are those?

They’re little candies. One time, some of them fell out, and I ruined a pair of white pants because I sat on them, and they all squished and ruined the pants. They’re little, not soft, but definitely not hard. Chewable. Maybe a little bit like a gummy. Not like a jelly bean. They’re actually pretty yummy. They stopped having them in movie theaters.

Do you remember the name of the theater you used to go to and were there ushers? Or would you just go in and it was empty?

The one in Glendale was the Alex theater, and it still exists by that day’s standard. It was a large theater. Now they do actual theater in it. It’s kind of like a landmark place. 

What year were you going to that theater?

Probably 1950 or 1951.

Micki is the grandmother of my roommate, Grace Aitken.