1955 Middlesbrough, England
Patricia List
7 October 1943
Middleborough, England
Interviewed on September 21st
By Alexander Julicher
The first movie I remember seeing was Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly. Gosh, now you’re really working my memory. I must have been about 13 or 14 and it was the first time I had ever been to the cinema in my life. Much older than you were when me and grandad took you to all those kiddies movies. It was in Middlesbrough and it must have been about 1954 or 1955. I think it came out in 1952 but these things took a while to reach us from Hollywood. When I was little, we didn’t have enough money to go see many films so when we went for the first time, I was so excited. It was a treat. I remember going with my mother and father and I suppose my brother must have been there, but I can’t remember.
The cinema was quite far away, it was the one on the way down to Redcar. The Majestic Theatre it was called. We must have gotten there in our Rolls Royce. No no, I’m just kidding! We all took the bus from South Field road in Middlesbrough. I remember there was an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ movie. The ‘A’ movie had all the big stars and the tickets cost more. The ‘B’ movies had all the up-and-coming stars and they were cheaper. Sometimes the ‘B’ movies were better. Singing in the Rain was definitely an ‘A’ movie. It was the most beautiful movie ever. There was nothing I didn’t like. The singing and dancing were just lovely, and Debbie Reynolds could really sing. They were all the top dancers and it was just a wonderful experience. I wonder if it was raining that day. I remember we were sitting on the balcony and we had to go downstairs to get snacks. In those days there were people standing at the front by the screen with ice cream, tubs of wafers and nuts and some drinks. I went down and stood in the queue in the aisle and got an ice cream.
When we went to the movies in those days, they would play the film in a continuous loop and anyone who bought a ticket could go in at any time. You could start by seeing the ending and then stay for the beginning of the next showing. You could just stay and watch it twice if you wanted. You used to get good value at the cinema, not like today. They wouldn’t just show the movie straight away. First there was a bit of news, it was called “Pathé News”. After the news they would show a bit of cartoon comedy, just a quick little cartoon but it was so funny. Next there would be adverts. Well, just one advert actually not a whole flippin’ train them like they have now. The ads were always for the new sewing machine or the new hoover, that sort of thing. They never used to show trailers for the next movies coming out like they do nowadays. We had no idea what the movie was about until we saw it. It probably would have kept us all coming back for more although I have loved movies since I saw Singing in the Rain.The only clues were the name and the poster. It was exciting really cause you might be in for a wonderful time, now everyone reads reviews and knows exactly what’s coming which is great but ruins the fun a bit
The first movie they ever showed that you could only start watching from the beginning was Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. It was the first movie I ever saw with your grandad and it was one of our first dates. I think that came out in 1960 so I must have been about 16 or 17 and I remember us both being terrified. Your grandad didn’t even try to act brave. We were jumping on each other’s laps every time there was a scary moment. Your grandad and I have always loved movies, that’s why we used to love taking you and your brother. It wasn’t about the movies; I mean they were cartoons for kids, but we loved how much you both loved it.
