It occurred to me that sister Marcia should do a movie blog. I love watching movies, but she devours them. And often the old ones, many of which I still haven’t seen, but she has viewed multiple times. And she’s very conversant about them.
We remember seeing West Side Story with our mom and sister Leslie. It must have been in a second-run theater because she’d have been too young to see the film in 1961. Still, I recall that the ticket taker was concerned that the violence would be too much for her. This was before the movie ratings were implemented in 1968. And maybe it was too “adult” for her, but she loved it.
As kids, we would occasionally get taken to the drive-in, often the one near the airport after the one on Upper Front Street closed in 1963. I don’t remember any of the films except The Dirty Dozen, and that is only because former NFL great Jim Brown was in it. Marcia likely remembers a lot more of them.
Trauma
She occasionally reminds me of when I was mean to her. I was supposed to take her to the Ritz Theater, a second-run cinema on Clinton Street. This was so traumatic that she remembers exactly where we were, in the shortcut from Gaines Street to Oak Street. Reportedly, I asked her what movie we going to see, and if she couldn’t identify it, I wouldn’t take her. She got very upset. Her memory is such that this story is probably true.
The Strand and the Riviera were theaters on Chenango Street in downtown Binghamton. Our mother used to work first at McLean’s Department Store, then at Columbia Gas, both of which were nearby. I imagine we saw a bunch of non-animated Disney fare or safe comedies such as With Six You Get Eggroll.
When I visited my family in Charlotte, NC in the 1970s and 1980s, I’d see movies with my mom Rocky, Star Trek IV, and Dreamgirls – it’s so weird that I remember these without prompts – and I imagine Marcia attended these as well.
But she has embraced Turner Classic Movies and various other platforms over the years. If I need a recommendation for a film in a particular genre, I know who to ask.
Happy birthday, sister Marcia.
You threw me for a moment when you said the Ritz was on Clinton Street. I immediately
thought of the Ritz on North Pearl Street in Albany, along with the Leland and Strand Theaters.
Yes, I have told her too that she should be a movie critic. She is so good at that and has such a passion and gift for the art. Maybe that is something she just might do some day.
Happy Birthday, Marcia! Love you!
Leslie
I remember going to the drive in movie one time with my family. My sisters were both quite a few years older than me and the middle sister is the one who took me to the movies most often. She wasn’t thrilled . . .but, she did it anyway 🙂