From a very early age, I remember spending many Saturday afternoons with mom, watching a show called Creature Double Feature, where a local host would introduce classic horror films like Frankenstein, Dracula, (both from 1931), House of Wax (1953) The Blob, (1958) I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)-just to name a few.
Mom's favorite film star was James Cagney. Sitting down with her to watch White Heat was a both a treat and chore, because I really didn't understand the beauty of the black and white film yet. Into my adulthood I came to appreciate it for the masterpiece that it is. When the 4th of July rolled around, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) became a family tradition. When Cagney died on March 30th 1986, I vividly recall her shedding a few tears upon hearing the sad news.
Mom liked films about the underdog overcoming adversity. The film saga of Rocky Balboa was her favorite of the genre.
Watching Ryan Coogler's excellent continuation Creed in the theater for Christmas of 2015--was very bittersweet. I thought about the time I saw the original film with my parents on the big screen. Memories flooded back. I think she would have loved it... Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone were great together. They both deserved more attention from the Academy....Mom would have most likely agreed with me on that. If you have not seen it yet...It's a MUST WATCH...
Speaking of sagas...even though the first two Godfather films were not meant for kids my age, the first time they hit broadcast TV in the mid 70's, I was allowed to watch them. Of course I'm so glad my parents made the exception.
As mother and son we shared many other favorite films over the years. Comedies like Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and High Anxiety, all from the mind of a master named Mel Brooks. We also got a kick out of Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the original Pink Panther movies, as well as Sellers' turn in the underrated Murder by Death (1976).
She warned me not to watch John Carpenter’s Halloween the first time it hit broadcast TV--It's not like the Creature Features she said... Sorry Mom--So glad I disobeyed you. Regular readers of the blog already know how special Carpenter's 1978 original is to me....And the Horror genre as a whole...the funny thing here is that The Godfather on network TV is waaaaay more violent and disturbing than Michael Myers.
When the news of Shirley Temple-Black's passing broke in February of 2014 ..I thought about my Mom...Oh how she loved watching Temple's films. At a young age I remember that she had them on nearly every Saturday when the local UHF station would run two of them back to back...At the time I did not appreciate them. As an adult--It's easy to see that Temple had a special kind of magic...that has never been duplicated. What I would not give for one more chance to sit with Mom to watch a Temple film.
Mom would also indulge me by sitting through multiple viewings of Superman and various "Star Trek" flicks...especially Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, without much of a fuss. Any Star Wars movie, on the other hand, was a tougher sell...
When my sister Karen suggested that I study film making in college--while I was still in High School--Mom tried to steer me into a more "stable profession" She would say "you should be a college professor--you could teach the kids of the future so much..." I did think about the teaching idea for a bit--but the pull of cinema was too strong...Here I sit...There is a bit of Irony considering the path that I find myself on now though...
The last film that Mom saw in the theater was the live action/CG hybrid based the classic 1960's cartoon "The Flintstones" in 1994. Created by Hanna-Barbera the show premiered in 1960 and ran for six seasons before going into syndication for decades. As a youngster Mom latched me onto the reruns....While she enjoyed herself watching the film...I think she still preferred the series over the adaptation. Her biggest joy was seeing screen legend Elizabeth Taylor in a fun cameo....The live action film did a good job at capturing the spirit of the TV series. It made her smile. And that's all that matters....soon after she got very ill and our family would never be the same...
Sadly, cancer took Mom from our family nearly 25 years ago...And now that Dad is also gone--It's been an even tougher slog.
Thanks Mom for all of your love, support, and kindness for all of those years. I miss you every day. But I'm grateful that we shared lots of love, laughter, and of course many movie memories. 💓💓
"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!'
4 comments:
Aw, what a beautiful post about your mother! She sounds like she had good taste.
Thanks for your kind words Britt.
I loved your Mom, many times I remember laughing with her after we would come back from either the movies or doing something crazy and she was standing there waiting for us. I am sure she was just glad we were in one piece! She was an extra special lady!! Great post I can so see her with you watching those movies.
Thank you Tom. I miss my Mom and this brought back such great memories. Hugs buddy. -Marc
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