1947 Elmsford, New York

Edward J. Massaro
1934
Elmsford, NY
1/27/19
By Edward Massaro Jr.

Oh man, I’m too old for this, hahaha. If I remember correctly the first movie I saw was “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I saw it with my family right after Christmas. It was a post-Christmas gift from my parents. My younger brother and I were so excited to go that we sprinted out of the house and jumped into the family car.  The reason why we were so excited was because it was our first time going to the movies. My family wasn’t poor but going to the movies wasn’t a privilege we could afford on a regular basis.

The movie came out in 1947, (wow am I really that old? ), so I was 12 years old and my brother was 9. The movie theater was packed, I remember we had to wait 20 minutes to get our tickets, which to me felt like an eternity.  After getting our tickets, my parents gave my brother and I twenty-five cents to get some candy and a soda pop. It’s funny now thinking about how far twenty-five cents could get you back in the day. I think I got Smith Brothers Licorice, my favorite candy, and my brother got Charleston Chews.

The Elmsford movie theater was beautiful, today it would be something like a Broadway theater. There weren’t ushers bringing food and drinks but that didn’t matter to me, just going to the movies was good enough for me. People were legally allowed to smoke in theaters, so there was a lot of smoke, but I was used to the smoke because both my parents were smokers. Also, there were intermissions because they needed time to put in the next film roll.

I loved the movie. George Baily was the classic gentleman, always helping others without expecting anything in return. On the other hand, I hated Potter, the old chromogen villain of the movie who only cared about money. The part of the movie when Clarence, George’s guardian angel trying to get his wings, showed George an alternate universe where George was never born really stuck with me. Seeing all the aspects of the story that changed as a result of George never being born brought to light the impact a single person could have on another or a community. It showed me that one person could make a difference, and from that moment on I tried to be the person who made that difference in someone’s life. Also, the movie taught me to appreciate what I had, no matter how little it might be. Until now, I didn’t realize how many life lessons this movie had taught me.

Unfortunately, I think the movie going experience of the forties doesn’t exist anymore. The internet has been the demise of this experience as kids today watch movies on their laptops or computers rather than going to the movies. It is so sad, going to the movies as a kid are some of my fondest memories and I feel like for kids today that isn’t true. I hope you and your friends make an effort to go to the movies because what’s better than going to a movie theater on a Saturday night?