My Earliest Memories of Going to The Movies...by Mike Cooper

I've invited others to send stories about their memories. I had about decided no one had anything to say but this week I received a story from my cousin Mike Cooper. Mike has the unique talent of remembering every tiny little speck of his long, and I really mean LONG, history. It's spooky really. I've had to stop him on more than one occasion when he would start, "I remember a funny story about the moment of birth....". Thankfully I've always been able to stop him in time. I hope you enjoy his personal walk down memory lane.

My earliest memories of going to the movies were of “Song of the South” and “Giant”.  Quick research through Wikipedia indicates that these movie trips would have been in 1956.   In my memory, I thought they were earlier because I have no memory of Gary and Ronny being with my parents and me.  In my vague memories we were going to a theater in downtown Fort Worth to see “Song of the South” and I remember walking at night on the sidewalks of Fort Worth with mom and dad.  I also remember mom and dad taking me with them to the Cowtown Drive In to see the movie “Giant”. I was bored pretty quickly and I remember curling up in the floorboard of their 1941 Pontiac Opera Coupe and failing asleep at my mother’s feet.  The movie Giant was re-released sometime after I was old enough to drive. I thought what a great movie it must be and went to the Cowtown Drive In again, this time as the driver, to see it.  That movie is extremely boring.  I had to leave before I curled up and fell asleep again.

As Kids, my mom only let us see Walt Disney movies.  We saw almost every Disney movie released while we were kids.  Usually at the Bowie Theater which is now a bank on Camp Bowie and sometimes at the Ridglea Theater which has been restored on Camp Bowie.  “Pollyanna” was the first movie that moved me emotionally. I dreamed about that movie. When I ask my grandsons if they would like to see this movie they make all kinds to disgusting sounds to indicate how much they did not want to see a “girls” movie.  I quit asking because I don’t want to completely lose whatever street credit I might have. When I see in celebrity birthdays that it is Hayley Mills birthday I always note it to Nancy. This seems to irritate her a little bit. I mentioned at work once that it was Hayley Mills birthday and my friend at work said I think you have the “Hayley Mills crush” like he said his brother had.  He said his brother kept him informed of Hayley’s birthdays, “thank you very much”. By the way, Hayley Mills' double performance in “The Parent Trap” should have won her two Oscars for two best performances.

Sometimes there would be group outings to a Disney movie with Bruce Walker, Russell and Glenn Mihills, Gary, Ronny and I.  We all saw “Babes in Toyland” together.  I remember Rusty and I thought we were too old for this movie.  I still had years of Disney movies to see, but I never saw another one I didn’t like.  I was so sad when our kids got too old to see Disney movies with us. I miss going to Disney movies.

Daddy didn’t go to the movies with us much.  I remember seeing five movies with him.

“Song of the South”

“Giant” – I didn’t actually see this, but I was present.

“Night Passage”

“That Darn Cat”

“Pink Cadillac”

Mom had a bunch of ladies over one night.  I don’t remember if it was church ladies, River Oaks Garden Club, North Fort Worth Women’s Club or the PTA.  Daddy took us to the Cowtown Drive In to see Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy and Dan Duryea in “Night Passage”.  I think this is the best movie Audie Murphy made and one of the few movies that Jimmy Stewart plays the accordion and sings in. To this day, every time this movie is on TV I watch it because it is the one movie daddy took my brothers and me by himself. This had to be about 1957.  The next time we went to the movies with daddy was to see Disney’s “That Darn Cat”.  Mom wanted to have a family outing to the movies. This was about 1965. The next and last time I went to a movie with daddy was when we took him to see the Clint Eastwood movie “Pink Cadillac” after mom passed away.  This was a terrible movie and a good excuse to never see a movie again.

I hope you are enjoying this....part two will post tomorrow!!