1954 Rutherford New Jersey

Anthony (Tony) Tumminello
1948
Rutherford
Interviewed on Feb 2, 2026
by Ivan Sun

*The original content of this interview has been transcribed, organized, and edited for the purposes of this project*

What is the first movie you remember watching?

The first movie I ever watched, I think, was called The Buccaneer. I think it was about a general in the War of 1812, but the one I really remember is The Wizard of Oz.

I saw this movie in my hometown of Rutherford, New Jersey—at the local theatre when I was living there. It was called the Rivoli Theatre; I think it’s called the Williams Center for the Arts now. I was with my mother and I think my cousin. We used to do a lot of things together because of how similar our ages were. I was probably six or seven years old when I saw The Wizard of Oz, so I honestly don’t know how much I can remember.

*laughter*

What do you remember most vividly about this movie? What was striking about it?

I remember that at the point where the flying monkeys were chasing [the characters], I got so scared that I looked away from the screen and just stared down at the floor for the entire scene because it was so upsetting. I just couldn’t take it when the flying monkeys were going after Dorothy. I didn’t want to see what was going on… yeah, It was the flying monkeys that did it. Because of that scene, the biggest thing that I remember from the movies is that the flying monkeys were so frightening.

Other than the monkeys, of course, I remember Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow—the scarecrow was my favourite character. He was the smartest and, to a degree, the bravest. They were all accomplished actors; looking back, [Judy] Garland was a superstar, and the acting in the whole movie was well done. I loved the ensemble scenes with the munchkins and I loved how wickedly the Wicked Witch was portrayed.

With the movie being a musical, in terms of the singing I remember the music “Munchkinland”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, which was just beautiful, and “Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead”. These songs seemed to fit magically well with the story and I think that’s why the movie took the world by storm, and that’s why it’s still so relevant generations and generations later.

What was the emotional impact of the movie, if any? Of watching movies in general?

I was just happy I was away from the flying monkeys after the movie. But seeing a movie for the first time, it was a thrilling experience; it was a treat. And it was really special because, as I got older, I got to walk to the theatre more frequently (by myself and with friends), and I got really into Godzilla, Japanese horror, and monster movies. You’d hear about all these movies from kids at school and you had to see them.

Back then, it was still something special to go see a movie. It wasn’t just something you did. It was definitely a treat, especially because there weren’t that many movies on TV.

What do you remember about the theatre?

I imagine my mom drove me there. It was maybe close enough to walk, I mean, it’s a small town and I remember walking to the theatre when I was a little older, but I don’t think at that age I would have walked there by myself. It was just a small, local theatre; it had a ticket booth outside selling paper tickets and there was a concession stand there. It was a small stand with just popcorn and probably candy. I’m not sure about then, but my favourite snack later would be popcorn and raisinets.

There was a lobby and, in the lobby, there was one usher who would lead you to the auditorium—there was only one auditorium. There weren’t multiple screens or anything, so definitely much different than what we have today. I remember the floor having a carpet, a red, patterned carpet, and there was what seemed to me a little bit of a slope as you came in. It wasn’t flat; you had to walk up to get into the theater and then the seats in the theater sloped down so you could see the movie. The seats in the theatre were upholstered, and for Oz I must’ve been sitting on the aisle because I was looking down the aisle. There was a center aisle and seats on both sides, no balcony. It was just a very small theatre with maybe rows of five seats in each section. The overall mood of the venue was dark, a bit mysterious; that’s part of the reason I got so scared from the flying monkeys, and the sort of ominous whirring of the projector didn’t help all that much. But usually, when the movie started, you would get so absorbed into the film that you would block out the sound of the projector, which was possible even though the sound was just… understandable. It was mono and just all came from out of the screen. Let’s just say you were able to follow the story, but it wasn’t groundbreaking or anything.

The kids would sit with just the adults, and there were also cartoons and things before the actual movie, but no live instrumental or anything like that. Regardless of how grand the experience might seem, going to the movies was definitely a treat.

*Tony finds images online of the theatre around the time he visited*

Oh, it’s a lot bigger than I thought. It’s very ornate. Wow, it’s got a big chandelier with a marble facade. Apparently it had 2,200 seats, I guess. For being this fancy I never dressed up to go to the movies—we just wore regular clothes.

*laughs*

Do you have any particular story from the Rivoli Theatre you would like to share?

I remember one incident with my brother. My brother, who was four years younger than me, was making noise for some reason and they took him out of the theater and made him stand in the lobby until the movie was over. My mother got very mad about that, and when she came to pick us up, she said:

“Why didn’t you call me and tell me”.

I said I don’t know what to do but I kept going out to check on him every once in a while during the movie. I had no phone. You know, we didn’t have cell phones in those days so it’s not like I could’ve called my mom or anything.

__

Tony: “Memory does fade, doesn’t it?”

Ivan: “Goes to show how impactful what you do remember must’ve been.”

Tony: “The monkeys… the monkeys HAHA.”

Anthony (Tony) Tumminello is the grandfather of Aiden Tumminello, a friend of interviewer Ivan Sun. Tony has since moved from his childhood borough to Phoenix, Arizona where he loves watching movies and motorsport.