1953 Hartford, Connecticut

Francee Edelstein
1945
Hartford, CT
Interviewed on September 9, 2019
By Sophie Edelstein

Flashback sixty-six years to 1953. I was very young; just about to turn eight years old, in fact. I was anticipating my birthday. Back then birthdays were a big deal. Now, not so much. In a sense, I viewed going to the theater for the first time as a coming-of-age thing, given how close it was to my birthday. The theater, while not as grand as many others across the region, was quaint, cozy, and a place I had my eyes set on whenever we went into town. I waited for that day when I’d finally be able to view a film there. However, in my eight-year-old mind, I was probably just in it for the candy.

My mother would drop my older sister and I off at the Central Theater on Farmington Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut. My sister, Lorrie, was twelve so she was in charge, especially when it came to the goodies we were, and weren’t, allowed to purchase. The people working the concession stands were very polite. They would make sure you had everything you needed—napkins, straws, more candy. We were allowed to buy a box of popcorn which was a little more than the amount of a small today. I also bought jujubes because they lasted for a long time, and you would get a lot of them in one box. I would sort out the jujubes by color: the yellow, lemon-flavored ones were my favorite. I very much disliked the green and purple ones so I’d give them to my sister—she would eat anything. My food cost under $1.00.

The floors were carpeted with burgundy red that one could probably eat off. My mother would make jokes about how she wished my sister and I kept our rooms that clean. Inexpensive, like our snacks, the film cost 35 cents. There were ushers who would show you to your seats, it wasn’t a sit-anywhere-you-wanted kind of thing. However, I feel as though the system at the time was better than the one in theaters today. I mean, most of the time kids sneak into films and take seats away from those who paid. Who am I kidding though? I would sneak into the theater if I were their age, too.

The showing consisted of the news of the day, cartoons, and then the feature. That day, the featured film was a well-known film, Peter Pan. There may have been two previews before the main movie, but that was the extent of it. My first experience at the movies was nothing like what it is today. My bedtime was early, so we had to attend a daytime film. Daytime films were always “G” rated, but they didn’t have ratings back then.

My memory is pretty poor, but I do remember the excitement that came to not only my face, but my sister’s, too. My sister wasn’t the happiest kid, but going to the theatre was one thing she certainly loved. It was the ideal family film full of catchy tunes and what I believed at the time was magic. I loved the magic of Tinkerbell and of course, loved Wendy and John. The movie was magical, scary at times, but fun. Peter Pan made me believe that people could fly and there was such thing as fairy dust. I desperately wanted to get my hands on some after seeing the film. I was destined for a flying career. Unfortunately, I came to learn that fairy dust wasn’t real, and I would not be flying anytime soon. Maybe in a plane, but not like Peter Pan. Looking back on my memories of the film, I recognize that one must cherish the days when they are young and free. Watching the film today with my younger grandchildren takes me back to my childhood. There is something so heartwarming about the experience.

When I got older, I would go with my friends to see monster movies. It became an after-school activity, but very rarely evenings, especially when they were scary movies. When we went to see horror movies, all the kids would scream. It was very loud, almost piercing. For horror films, I would go during the day, generally on Saturdays. The theater would be packed and was not quiet. I am still in touch with a lot of my childhood friends. Dumbo was another childhood favorite and quite similar to Peter Pan. As I got even older, the theater eventually became the go-to location for a date. My first date took place at the theater. It took place at the Central Theater where I saw that first film, Peter Pan. This process—digging deep into my memory—even though there are lots of missing pieces, is quite moving. I never thought that something as simple as my first time going to see a feature film would bring back so many emotions and make me want to relive my childhood so desperately.