Movies From “Back in the Day”
The Baby Boomer, upon reflection, very much enjoyed going to, what I called, the “movie house” “back in the day”. The following is, by no means, a totally inclusive movie list which I saw, but rather a nice representation just to get you to reflect and jar your memory on the movies from your childhood and teenage years 1956-1970.
As previously mentioned, I suffer from ADHD which won’t allow me to patiently sit through anything which lasts longer than thirty minutes, let alone, a full-length movie. In fact, the last time I went to the movies was in 2003 with the family to see the Christmas movie “Elf”–not a very good movie and one that sent me to the lobby knowing my ADHD had kicked in.
I can’t say for sure since I no longer watch new movies, but I bet the movies of today can’t even come close to those wonderful movies from “back in the day”. I used to always look forward to the Academy Awards and see the Oscars being presented to actors who were truly magnificent stars–it WAS quite an extravaganza!!
Speaking of extravaganzas, these movies come to mind–“Ben Hur” (1959) starring Charlton Heston, “Spartacus” with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, “How the West Was Won” (1962) with an ensemble cast of stars, “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) with Peter O’Toole, and “Cleopatra” (1963) with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who later worked together in the well-acted “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1963) along with Sandy Dennis and George Segal.
During my childhood and early teenage years, I went to the movies with my dad while occasionally heading to the “movie house” with buddies like Fred, Gary, Bob, and Eddie. Our usual venue was the Wilson Theatre on Wilson Boulevard in a strip center with a Chinese laundry we used and Root Jewelers across from Colonial Village so within walking distance. Other theatres we frequented were the Buckingham, the Arlington, the Glebe (Dominion in later years), and the State in Falls Church. We’d go into Washington for the premier showings of all the James Bond movies at the RKO Keith’s Theatre on 15th Street, NW, next door to the Planter’s Peanut Store with Mr. Peanut standing out front–this was a “must” stop for a bag of hot nuts.
I remember the little ticket booth which set in front and center of the Wilson Theater and the elderly gentleman who sold us our tickets. I’m not sure I ever knew his name, but I always called him “sir”. He must’ve lived close by because I would often see him sitting at one of the park benches at the playground in Colonial Village on Troy Street feeding peanuts to the squirrels and pigeons. I recall often sitting with him and passing some time away as he was always very nice and friendly not minding my intrusion.
Once our tickets were purchased, it was off to the snack bar for a buttered popcorn (with extra butter of course) and a box of candy either Jujubes or Jujyfruits. It’s no wonder why I was a big boy having to wear the “Husky” brand of clothing from Herbert’s in Virginia Square. Our tickets were torn in half by an attendant at the doors to enter the theatre and for some reason we seemed to always sit on the right side of the theatre about halfway down the aisle.
The first movie my folks took me to was “Giant” all the way back in 1956 which I have no recollection of at all. I just had to take their word for it not truly believing I could be that good at four years old for three hours and twenty-one minutes.
Not to offend anyone, but I thought Sean Connery epitomized the true James Bond! RKO Keith’s was a large theatre with a balcony and we always sat there for these thrilling movies. Of course, my favorites were “Dr. No” (1960), “From Russia with Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), and “Thunderball”. Each film opened with a lavish and somewhat “racy” opening and a big song. Who’ll every forget the belting voice of Shirley Bassey!
There were some stars who were very successful, but they just didn’t do much for me. Those that come to my immediate mind are Peter Sellars, Jerry Lewis, the “King”– Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon, or Annette Funicello although I did enjoy the light comedy of Doris Day and Rock Hudson along with Tony Randall in “Pillow Talk” (1959) and “Send Me No Flowers” (1964).
I can’t imagine anyone not being a huge fan of John Wayne as he was and still is a favorite of mine. Some of his bests were “The Horse Soldiers” (1959) with William Holden, “The Alamo” (1960), “The Comancheros” (1961) with Stuart Whitman, “The Sons of Katie Elder” (1965) with Dean Martin, “War Wagon” (1967) with Kirk Douglas, and “The Green Berets” (1968) with Jim Hutton, David Janssen, and Aldo Ray, and two ensemble war pictures, “The Longest Day” (1962) and “In Harm’s Way” (1965).
Two of my favorite movie genres were those of war and westerns and why not! War movies included “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) with Sir Alec Guiness and William Holden, “Never So Few” (1959) with Frank Sinatra, “The Guns of Navarone” (1961) with Gregory Peck and David Niven, “The Great Escape” (1963) with Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Charles Bronson, “Von Ryan’s Express” (1965) with Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, and Brad Dexter, “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) with Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, and Richard Jaeckel, and “Patton” (1970) with George C. Scott and Karl Malden. One more which became a “fave”, but a bit too early (1953) was “Stalag 17” with William Holden and Peter Graves. My list of westerns includes another early one “High Noon” (1952) with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (1957) starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Earl Holliman, “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) with Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and Eli Wallach, another John Wayne winner “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962) along with Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” (1966) with Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and the gorgeous Katherine Ross.
You’ve got to mention some horror movies and a few I’ve included are “The Abominable Snowman” (1957) with Washington-Lee High School graduate Forrest Tucker, “The Blob” (1958), “The Fly (1958), “House on Haunted Hill” (1959) and “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) both with Vincent Price, “Psycho” (1960) starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” (1962) with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, “The Birds” (1963) with Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren, and “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” (1964) also starring Bette Davis.
Musicals I enjoyed “back in the day” were “South Pacific” (1958) with Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, John Kerr, and Ray Walston, “West Side Story” (1961) including Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, George Chakiris, and Rita Moreno, “The Sound of Music” (1965) starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, “Camelot” (1967) with Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, and Franco Nero, and “Hello Dolly” (1969) starring Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, and Louis Armstrong.
My comedies include “Some Like It Hot” (1959) with Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963) with an ensemble cast including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, and Jonathan Winters, “The Great Race” (1965) again with Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, Peter Falk, and Natalie Wood, “The Odd Couple” (1966) starring Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, “The Graduate” (1967) with Dustin Hoffman and the beautiful Katherine Ross, and “M*A*S*H*” (1970) starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould.
Dramas with outstanding acting performances were “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957) with Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958) including Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Burl Ives, “Vertigo” (1958) starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, “On The Beach” (1959) with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Anthony Perkins, “Home from the Hill” (1960) with Robert Mitchum, George Peppard, and George Hamilton, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) with Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, and Brock Peters, “Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962) with Burt Lancaster and Karl Malden, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury, “Wait Until Dark” (1967) with Audrey Hepburn, Richard Crenna, Jack Weston and Alan Arkin, and “Cool Hand Luke” (1967) starring Paul Newman, George Kennedy, and Strother Martin.
Finally, just a potpourri of movies enjoyed “just because” were: Disney like “Toby Tyler” (1960) and “Swiss Family Robinson” (1960), “Bullitt” (1968) with Steve McQueen and the famous car race scene, more wholesome than noteworthy are “A Hole in the Head” (1959) starring Frank Sinatra with the song “High Hopes”, “The FBI Story” (1959) with James Stewart and Murray Hamilton “Shenandoah” (1965) with James Stewart, Patrick Wayne, and Doug McClure, the so sad “Old Yeller” (1957), the fun movie “Ocean’s 11” (1960) with another ensemble cast of Frank Sinatra’s “Rat Pack” among others, and “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (1969) starring Elliott Gould, Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, and Dyan Cannon, on the other hand, was “Carnal Knowledge” (1971) including Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margret, Art Garfunkel, and Cadice Bergen, the raucous and chaotic “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) with Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, and Michael J. Pollard, the movie I found a bit weird which I still don’t understand to this day “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) with Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and HAL, and the movie which both broke my heart, made me cry, and led me to fall in love with that being “Love Story” (1970) starring Ryan O’Neal and the wonderful Ali MacGraw to whom I’m still infatuated.
I’m really just hoping my rambling, reminiscing, and reflecting will allow you the opportunity to think back and remember with joy the movies of your youth!! Which were your favorites??