1966 Cherokee, North Carolina

Ann Blythe

1952

Cherokee, North Carolina

Interviewed on January 29, 2019

By: Eric He

Oh, well I watched a lot of movies. Everyone did. It was, by far, the favorite entertainment for us when we were kids.

Back then, we only had drive-in movies. It was me and seven other siblings, and we’d all go together to the movies with Mom and Dad. There was a playground right next to the drive-in, so before the movie started, all the other neighborhood kids, my brothers and sisters and I would go run over and play together. We didn’t have much money back then, but Dad would always get the popcorn and Hershey’s, the milk chocolate bars, while we played. You know, they were only a nickel back then.

When the movie was about to start, the sun would just begin to set, and we’d all run back and lay some blankets on the ground. All the booths had these little speakers on poles next to where you’d park, and we’d always scatter them in and around the car so everyone could hear. Then, before the movie even started, we’d all sit together in front of the car, eating the food with Mom and Dad. My dad loved Clint Eastwood, and my mom loved anything Elvis. I think she even had a bit of a thing for him, but my dad didn’t know ahaHAHAHA.

The first movie I remember seeing… now that’s a hard one. It would have to be one of the Westerns: yes, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. It was the early 60’s, I was probably around 7 or 8, and it was one the first Clint Eastwoods I’ve seen. If I remember correctly, it was one of his first films as well. Later on, he started making other movies, but back then, it was all Westerns.

I can’t say I remember everything from the movie—it was so long ago. So there was the good guy, a bad guy, and an ugly-lookin one. It was a very dramatic movie, for sure, and we were all constantly on the edge. I do remember one scene in particular. Clint Eastwood—he was called Blondie I think—had this one flashback, and you saw everything from his childhood. You saw his house burnin’ down. The two bad guys killed his family and everyone he loved. I remember watching it with my brothers, sisters, Mom and Dad all there, it being really special. Movies always meant family time, and these kind of scenes brought us closer, in a way. It was all certainly very scary, but you knew in the back of your head, Blondie was gonna get them. He went from town to town—there were no cities back then— trying to get them, getting into duels with their tiny guns. It was all very exciting.

I can’t remember why all of it was happening. In the Westerns, all of the cowboys were trying to get rich, and they’d kill one another to get it. These movies were full of violence. And greed. So I guess nothing much has changed.

No, no, it wasn’t a silent film, but Blondie hardly ever talked. It’d only be a word here or a word there. That was the thing, though. Even though he’d barely talk, he spoke through his expressions, his emotion. My dad was deaf, but was always in awe like the rest of us when it was Clint Eastwood. You didn’t need the dialogue. It was better without it.

I mean, he was just a complete badass—you fell in love with him instantly. He had the guns holstered to his waist. He had those things on his boots that jingled when he walked. He had such presence. All the guys, my dad included, wanted to be like him. All of the girls fell for him instantly. He was my hero; he was everyone’s hero.

Oh, I wish they still made movies like they did back then. We loved them so much. Sitting with my family… It was that one thing that could made everything else go away. All the movies now got so much going on; it’s all so confusing. None of that could ever beat a drive-in.