TERRE HAUTE —
There has been lots of reporting lately about how long movies are becoming. Some near the three-hour mark. I don’t think I could sit still that long, but then movies are not what they once were either.
It stimulated a discussion about the first movie we can remember. I recall that several of the older girls in our neighborhood in Stockton, Ill., took me by the hand and took me to ask Mom if it would be OK if I went to the movies with them. I couldn’t believe my good fortune when Mom said, “Yes.” I felt as if I had suddenly become a grown-up.
We went to see a cowboy star named “Buck Jones” in a film called “Hello Trouble.” I remember nothing else about it.
My Best Friend claims to remember the name of Buck Jones’ horse. He says it was “Tony” and it may have been. I can only recall that the Lone Ranger rode a horse named “Silver” and Tonto, the Ranger’s “faithful Indian companion,” was mounted on a horse named “Scout.”
I know all this memory stuff dates me, but my BF remembers his first movie experience as being “Sonny Boy” with Al Jolson and Jackie Cooper. He remembers a tear-jerker ending after Sonny Boy was hit by a car — or was it a truck? — and the final frame had the little kid’s dad lying there in the street.
I remember becoming a life-long fan of Katherine Hepburn when Mom took me and Ed to the second movie I remember. Hepburn played the role of Jo in “Little Women” and I remember being amused when she backed up too close to the fireplace and claimed to have set her bustle on fire. I had an off-beat sense of humor even then.
I once followed movies and movie stars closely. I was a big fan of the so-called “screwball comedies” of the ’40s. Hepburn and Cary Grant were favorites. Later I came to accept Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, but only as second best.
But to sit still for three hours? Only for “Gone With the Wind.”
Liz Ciancone is a retired Tribune-Star reporter. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.
Liz Ciancone
LIZ CIANCONE: Movie memories don’t include many of the lengthy variety
- Liz Ciancone
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I saw a robin the other morning. It was not the first robin of spring, of course. A few of the more daring robins had opted to spend the winter and, although they looked pretty sorry about it on a few occasions, it was a fairly mild winter.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Innocence appreciated when you’re growing up
I grew up rather stupid. I didn’t realize it at the time. Neither did my teachers who seemed to think I had “promise.”
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I’m told that a pun is the lowest form of humor. I guess that typecasts me! I love them, but then, I like any type of word play.
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LIZ CIANCONE: For now, justice is served in Bball Hall
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LIZ CIANCONE: Well, what would you do with only 1 sock?
Let me ask you something.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Everyone has a favorite holiday
I suppose everyone has a favorite holiday. My guess is that, for most of us, that holiday is Christmas. It's a holiday with a miracle no matter how old we get.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Christmas season puts time back into focus
It’s a funny thing about time. It can speed along so that you cannot believe that your kids can possibly be old enough to have good sense, or it can drag its heels while you wait for that first grandchild or while you are saving up for something really special.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The bottom line is what drives ‘Black Friday’ sales
Why is it called "Black Friday"?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Have we lost the meaning of holiday?
I’ve been considering a lost-and-found ad to see if anyone knows what’s happened to Thanksgiving.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Magic is always there with live theater
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LIZ CIANCONE: Maybe the Cubs will win it all next year
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LIZ CIANCONE: Holiday decorating better when personal, simple
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