Movie
Buff
Bonnie Boerema
©
Copyright 2018 by Bonnie Boerema
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In
1951, when I was eight years old, dad started taking my twin sister
and me
with
him to the
movies. He was quite a movie buff, and enjoyed them
immensely.
Most
weeks in the 50’s, after their work week was over on Fridays,
our
family would
drive to Springfield on RT 66 Highway from Conway. Mom
would
go shopping.
Dad
always got
himself a large popcorn and coke. He’d buy me a Mound’s
candy
bar, my
favorite, with a Coke, and Connie a 7-Up candy bar and Coke.
It
was usually
either the Fox or Gillioz Theaters. The Fox was next to the J.C.
Penney
Store on the
square in downtown Springfield, Missouri.
But
the Gillioz
Theater on St. Louis Street off the square was the one I most
remember.
It was
beautiful, with chandeliers, ornate and expensive furnishings.
Back
then the large
studios such as Metro Golden Meyer and Warner Brothers
were
dominant. They
owned the stars, and were under contract. Major stars
were
Paul Newman,
Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Humphrey Bogart, Natalie
Wood,
and James
Dean.
Dad
kept up on all
the latest movies, especially the Academy Award winners,
including
Elizabeth
Taylor and Paul Newman’s, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, John
Wayne’s,
The
High And The Mighty, and Frank Sinatra’s, From Here To
Eternity.
We were
twelve when James Dean hit the screen with his three movies,
East
Of Eden, Rebel
Without A Cause, and Giant. At that same time, when his
three
movies made
him famous, he’d already been killed in an automobile
accident,
in his
brand new Porsche. He was only twenty four years old.
My
sister and I were
both crazy about him. We had pictures, posters, and movie
magazines
about him.
He was killed on September 30, 1955, in Cholame, California.
1955
was when Elvis
Presley became famous, and a major Rock n Roll hit across the
country.
He
performed at the Shrine Mosque in Springfield, in 1955, but he still
wasn’t
well
known. That afternoon, Elvis slipped into the Gillioz Theater, and
watched
a Glen Ford
movie. At that time, it still had ushers to seat you, Saturday
matinees,
and at
least two cartoons with every movie. Looney Tunes with Bugs
Bunny
and Elmer Fudd
were popular. Dad’s favorite cartoon was the Road Runner.
By
2000, the
Springfield elites, in conjunction with the Littlle Theater remodeled
and
refurbished the
old, historical theater. It had been closed for many years. Since
then
Springfield
people have attended many events there. According to the News
Leader
newspaper,
it’s absolutely beautiful. It looks very much the way it looked
in
the 50’s.
My
husband loves
movies as much as I do. They’re our major source of entertain-
ment.
We spend many
of our Sundays year round going to the movies.
(Unless
you
type
the
author's name
in
the subject
line
of the message
we
won't know where to send it.)
Bonnie
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