Those Were the Days

During grade school, my cousins and I spent most of our weekends at the Clyne and Avalon, two Pueblo movie houses located across the street from each other in a working class neighborhood called Bessemer. Both theaters always scheduled a double feature plus “added attractions” which included one cartoon, a serial, film previews, and a newsreel. Wide-eyed, we enjoyed every offering while gorging ourselves on popcorn, Milk Duds, and ice-cream bars.

We especially loved "Popeye" cartoons, Hopalong Cassidy westerns, and "Flash Gordon" serials. Sometimes we went from one “picture show,” which is what we called the theaters then, directly to the other. We were insatiable when it came to movies and goodies.  When we were a bit older, we hopped on a streetcar for a bumpy ride to one of the downtown cinemas.

We loved the Chief because of its lavish red and gold interior -- but preferred the Main’s more buttery popcorn. The Colorado usually offered a double feature which was hard to resist. And sometimes we stopped off at the Mesa Junction to take in another flick at the Uptown, famous for its Friday “bank night” giveaways.

Reacting to my obsession with film, my mother actually tried to land me a part in a movie. After hearing about MGM’s search for a young girl to star in National Velvet, she sent the studio a picture of me on a horse. Unfortunately, that role went to British actress Elizabeth Taylor. Go figure!

(Excerpt from Confessions of a Movie Addict, my award-winning life story with everything but the movie stuff edited out. For more information, click here.) 

Vertigo Lament

It’s hard to believe the American Film Institute (AFI) named Vertigo as number 61 on its list of the 100 Greatest Films of All Time. What a disappointment! Whenever someone asks me to name my favorite films  the answer changes a bit depending on my mood. But one movie always makes it to the top five: Vertigo, released in 1958. I never get tired of watching Jimmy Stewart’s riveting obsession with Kim Novak in Hitchcock’s haunting psychological thriller about an acrophobic police detective who falls in love with two women. When the first one apparently dies, he becomes obsessed with turning the second woman, a lookalike, into a carbon copy of his first love – (SPOILER ALERT) only to find out later they were the same person. 

"Vertigo" named in the top five.

A worthy goal for which I strive.

Suspense, romance, and mystery

 that can’t be beat; not just for me.

Haunting music in the background,

captivates us with each rich sound.

Stewart and Novak at their best

in this amazing Hitchcock fest.

Reward the art and artists too.

Give true genius what it is due.  

Grand Cinema lives on display

in "Vertigo" still to this day.