1960 Athens, Greece

Katerini Giannisi
1936
Athens, Greece
Interviewed on January 27, 2022
by Argyris Giannisis Manes

(Translated from Greek)

The first movie I remember watching is “Midnight Lace”- I must have been in my early twenties at the time. I recall it very vividly; the female lead is a wealthy woman living in London, and receives threats from a mystery man who says he’s going to kill her. The police don’t believe her, and claim that she’s going insane.  At the end of the film, it’s revealed that this was a scheme organized by the woman’s husband and his lover, who then try to kill her. The woman’s finally saved, but the movie is overall really scary- I was frightened the entire time. Having my first film be a thriller was quite an intense experience. We really weren’t used to the thrill and strong emotions that movies create at the time- maybe I would have found it milder if I watched it again now. But I recall empathizing with the female protagonist, while also being very scared of the double-dealing of her husband!

I went to the theater with Chrysa, my best woman, and Vagelio, her friend. Going to the movies at the time was considered to be an expensive type of entertainment, and we were a poor family, so this was quite the occasion! I remember it was a Saturday night, and I had worn the new manto coat I had knitted, it was very impressive. I’m pretty sure we walked from Metaxourgio, the neighborhood in Athens that we lived in at the time, to the “Pallas” theater- it’s really not that far away. “Pallas” is one of the oldest, most well-known theaters in Athens- it was built in the 1930s, and still exists. I remember it being full of people! The building, as well as the movie theater itself, were really impressive- I remember being in awe when I walked in. There was a period later on in my life when I’d go to the theater every other weekend, I’ve been to “Pallas” many times!

“Pallas” Theater in Athens, Greece

That night was actually quite memorable, not only for the movie itself, but also because at some point a stranger sitting next to me groped my breast- I was very attractive when I was young. Chrysa stood up and started yelling at him, “You should be ashamed, you scoundrel!”.  The people sitting next to us quickly realized what was happening and started yelling at him as well. The stranger started running away, while being chased down by an usher! These were different times, and stuff like that was not a rare occasion- but still frowned upon, of course.

As far as concessions go, they didn’t have any of the classic popcorn and Doritos that they have nowadays. I think you could get pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or pistachios to eat; but I doubt I had any that night. In Greece, we also had summer cinemas in the summertime, which were outdoor cinemas. They were a great place to spend your summer nights; we would often go after spending the day swimming in the sea. I believe they had a greater variety of concessions, and you could also bring your own snacks to the movies!

The movie experience was generally quite different at the time. Before the movie, they would show a series of short clips with the news of the day- they used to call them EPIKAIRA. I actually prefer that they’ve replaced them with ads now, even though they’re a bit boring. You usually go to the movies to let off some steam and forget about the struggles of reality, and listening to the news doesn’t quite help with that. I also recall that you could stay in the theater after the movie was over and watch it again if there was a second screening- they definitely won’t let you do that nowadays!

I just realized I haven’t been to the theater in quite a long time; hopefully once the pandemic is over, I can go again… I’ve missed it.

[Kaiti is my grandmother from my dad’s side. She’s 86 years old, and has started being a bit forgetful for the past year. Nevertheless, she clearly remembered all this very fondly!]