1965, Flint, Michigan

What was the first movie I ever saw? Ohhhh…that is a tough question! I don’t know if I can remember that far back (chuckling)! My memory is a bit murky, but I think the first movie I remember seeing was The Sound of Music. It was 1965 so I add to have been around… twelve years old, I think. Yeah, I must’ve been twelve years old. I remember it just came out in the theaters and my mom drove my older brother and I to go see it. This was a huge deal for us. We lived in a small rural town outside Flint, Michigan. Flint was the big city with all the movie theaters and entertainment venues, and we had nothing in our town. It was easy to get bored and I don’t like being bored (chuckles). This was a mini vacation for us, and I was so excited.

             I don’t really remember much about the theater, but I remember it was dark. Very dark, but I loved it. When the movie was about to start, I remember the huge curtains opening and words coming on the screen. I think it was “Cinascope?” “Cinemark?” Something like that flashing on the screen in large, bright letters. Next thing I remember was the nuns chanting in the church. Well, they weren’t chanting. They were singing. I remember the rolling hills and the mountains and Julie Andrews running and singing so beautifully as they pan through, I think Austria. It felt larger than life. I couldn’t help but want to be a part of it.

            I wanted to be her. I wanted to be Sister Maria. I wanted to be the one on that mountain and tripping on that stream. I wanted to be something bigger than my small rural town. Yeah, I just remember it feeling large and feeling in it. I was absorbed. Today it is still one of my favorite movies that I have ever seen. It still moves me to tears every time I watch it because it is just so perfect. The storyline, the setting, the characters, the singing. All of it was just so perfect. I don’t remember if we bought any snacks. We probably didn’t because that would’ve been pretty expensive. I don’t remember popcorn or candy or anything like that. I don’t remember how much a movie ticket was either. We’d have to look it up.

            I remember seeing movies on TV too. I grew up in the 60s and remember watching the Tuesday movie of the week. At that time there were only three television networks. I don’t think we even had cable if you can imagine (laughing)! We may have even had rabbit ears. Seriously! Seriously! Banging on the TV. I remember we would all gather in the living room, and I would bring my homework. It was four kids and two parents and two cats. And I don’t remember specific movies, but I do remember one with Dennis… Oh God we’d have to look it up, but I think it was a Steven Spielberg film. I believe it was his first film. But, I remember there was a truck terrorizing and chasing a guy and that was the whole film.

            However, the other wonderful movie memory I have, that really turned me on to movies where I began to see that this was an art and I world I really want to live in. Again, rural Michigan and nothing to do. And honestly, I am so grateful for that. There were no cellphones, there were TVs but no cable, no iPads, computers. You were bored and we had to figure out how not to be bored, so we put on plays. My brother and I would write plays, direct them, make props and sets. My little sister would be in them. We’d fire her cause we thought we very were cool (chuckling).

But when we weren’t doing that—which wasn’t all the time—I would watch something called Bill… Bill somebody. It was on at like 1 o’clock I think. It was a local Flint program, but he would show Fred Astaire movies. Ginger Rogers movies. All these 1930s movies. And again, outside was relatively nothingness but beauty and nature. And inside this little box was a way to relieve myself of boredom, and watch people do cool things like dance. And say snappy dialogue. And watch people wear cool things. And that influenced how I dressed in high school. I wore costumes.