1962 Wilmington, Delaware

Evonne Lindquist-Baasch

Born 1949

Wilmington, Deleware

Interviewed on Saturday February 10th, 2024

By Malik Figaro

What is the first movie you remember seeing?

I remember watching Shirley Temple movies on television — “Heidi” and “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” come to mind as favorites. Our church occasionally showed a Disney movie as Disney movies were considered to be “ok” I remember enjoying the movie “Pollyanna” starring Haley Mills. But the first movie I saw in a theatre was Lawrence of Arabia.

What do you think of the characters, actors, story? What do you remember about the movie? 

I remember how the movie opened with a man wildly riding a motorcycle and being killed.  Only to learn a few moments later that the man was “Lawrence of Arabia.” I remember thinking how unusual it was for the movie to begin with the lead character dying at the beginning of the movie. I remember a most traumatizing scene where one of the characters– a young boy was swallowed by quicksand.  That scene was terrifying and still haunts me… 

I remember Lawrence of Arabia (Peter O’Toole’s) clear blue eyes — I remember how amazing the cinematography was! — expansive — I was totally immersed in what life must be like in a desert!   It was intense — many scenes of conflict.  The movie was very long. I don’t remember feeling a special way when I walked into the theater, but the movie was mesmerizing and a memorable experience. The movie is quite an extravaganza. It’s pretty old, and just because it was so new, it was panoramic. Big screen and everything. It was a pretty amazing experience.

I think he gathered the people in Arabia to fight off… I think it’s the British? I should reread about the movie itself. I’ve never watched it again. I don’t usually rewatch a movie a second time.

I was about 13-14 years old (the movie came out in 1962) and went with my mother and older sister.

Was there a concession?  

I don’t remember.   It was rare for my parents to ever buy candy or concessions when out for an activity.  —  I still don’t buy concessions when I go to the movies.

How did the experience of going to the movies function in your life?

I was 14 when I got to go to the theater. I was really busy and into music. I heard about Goldfinger, but I never went to see it. We had a banquet during Senior year, and it was Italian theme so we saw Caruso. When I went to college, I went to see Tora Tora with my husband, David’s father. Those are the only two movies I can remember seeing, it was a busy time. The school I went to wasn’t near a theater, I went to school in School Park, so theaters were around but not easy to get to. For Lawrence of Arabia, I did go in a car.

My mother liked movies. And so I kind of knew who she favored. She loved Ingrid Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Janette McDonald. I didn’t watch those movies, but I’d probably sit with her as she aged. I remember her favorites.

Interviewee Relationship to Evonne: I was so lucky to get to interview Evonne through FILM 232’s TA, David Baasch.