Movies, Mom and Me. Entertainment in the early '60s

I have not written a blog for a while.  I enjoy writing my blogs.  I mostly write about travel.   And my second favorite topic is my family.   Today I read on Facebook that it is Kim Novak's birthday. February 13. 1933.  And this little piece of nostalgia inspired me to sit down and do some blogging.  I grew up loving movies.   My mother loved movies.   I know my fascination with them stems from her influence.  My father would watch a John Wayne movie or a World War II movie, but he did not like anything "dirty".   My mother was quite a conservative lady also.  But she did like the early 1960's bedroom farce movies.    She and her sister, my Aunt Louise, did not go to the movies often.  But if a Doris Day movie came to the local theater they would go see them.   Of course in those old movies Doris was usually the worlds oldest living virgin being seduced by Rock Hudson and or James Garner,  Cary Grant or even Rod Taylor at times.   These movies were naughty enough to make my Mom and my Aunt giggle, but never "dirty" enough to offend them. 

Growing up I listened to everything my mother said.  If she was on the phone I would be someplace nearby to listen to her conversation.   I learned a lot from eavesdropping on my mother. She would have been shocked at the thing I learned that she thought were just between her and her friends on the phone.  It was the early 1960's.  I was eight, nine, ten years old.  I also listened to every conversation she and my aunt had at the house.  They never knew how much I listened to them.  And they did love to talk.  They would come home from the movies and talk about Doris Day or Kim Novak.  They were always shocked at the things "those writers" got away with in the movies.  If there was a paperback novel from the movie they had seen Mom would buy it.    She would pass it on to my Aunt and tell her the novel was a little spicier.   My Mom had a copy of Boy's Night Out and that is cover I have posted at the top of this blog. 

After listening  to them talk about the movie I then would always want to go see it also.  I went to the Saturday matinee every weekend growing up.  It cost a quarter for the admission.  I would always ask to go see the movie on Saturday that they had just seen on Friday night.    My aunt would always scold my mother and say you shouldn't let that boy go see those movies.  They are too adult for his young mind.   My mother always laughed and told her I would not understand the adult humor but I loved the music and the colors.    I have no idea what that meant.  She admitted she was shocked when I came out to her many years later.  But that loved the music and colors remark tells me different. She had a baby's diary she wrote notes in when I was growing up.  One phrase I still chuckle at is "Larry is very musical and loves to dance."  Mom understood me coming out much  more than she would admit!   But she was partially correct about the movies though.   You can see from the cover of the novel above it was very colorful.  And to this day when I see Boys Night Out my first thought is the red rose on the back of Kim Novak's black dress.  And then gifts the men were bringing to Kim,  the yellow wrapping paper on Tony Radall's champagne bottle and the red roses Howard Duff had in his hands.  And yes even the theme song is still a favorite of mine  Patti Page singing Boys Night Out.  "What the boys are out after, the girls are after too!"  Oh those racy lyrics! 

But these movies all touched something in this little gay boys sensibilities even at those young ages.  I have a lot of gay men friends on Facebook who are movie lovers also.  And we all know, love and talk about these same movies.   To this day I still watch these movies.  I have them all on DVD.  All of the Doris Day movies, Kim in Boys Night Out, even Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three.

  One, Two, Three.  Now that one really intrigued me as a kid.  My Mom and my aunt came home from watching One, Two, Three and were still in hysterics over the scene with balloons.  One of the men in the movie dressed in drag to lure German spies and had a red balloon and a blue balloon in the top of the his dress.  One of the spies has a line where is upset because "one is red and one is blue"  I thought that was the funniest line ever. 

Once again I was allowed to go see it at the Saturday matinee.   This time Mom was correct though.  The humor went way over my head.   But I still liked it.  And there was the colorful balloons and the great music.   I still carry an appreciation for classical music writer Aram Khachaturian and his bouncy dramatic Saber Dance to this day.  And when I hear it I immediately think of the blonde actress in the tight dress dancing on the table top while the music plays.  Not surprisingly I have both Saber Dance and also Patti Page's Boys Night Theme still in my personal collection of music.   And if you ever drive in my car for any distance there is a good chance they might turn up in my music rotation.

So thank you Kim Novak.  Happy 87th birthday.   I am glad you are still with us.  My Mom and my Aunt have long passed on.   But your birthday today brought them back to me for a few minutes.   And not surprisingly Boy's Night Out is on the play list on Turner Classic Movies today.  I won't even have to dig out my DVD today.

He's very musical and loves to dance

Chasing Elephants with Elsa Martinelli

I posted the photo above on my Facebook page while I was traveling in Bangkok, Thailand.  I received several comments with a quote from the song One Night In Bangkok.  Hey Larry, One night in Bangkok and the worlds your oyster.  I don't know if the world is my oyster or not.  But I do know that I love traveling and seeing the world from my own unique perspective.

Growing up travel was not a option for the average person.  Traveling to Paris was a once in a lifetime experience that people saved up for most of their lives.  The times were different.  Airline travel was a luxury for the wealthy.They wore their best clothes for the flight.  Gourmet food on real china was served to those fortunate enough to be able to afford to airfare

.  I remember watching the 1962 Walt Disney film "Bon Voyage" at the State Theater in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Fred MacMurray took his wife Jane Wyman and their children to Paris.  The didn't use an airline of course.  That kind of tourist travel still was not frequent.  The took a large ship to Paris.  I remember Fred and Jane talking about this being a trip of a life time for them.  They had saved for years for this one time experience.  I watched the movie with great envy.  I wanted to be with Kevin Corcoran while he led his father on a wild chase through the sewers of Paris.  I wanted to dance with Michael Callan and Deborah Walley on the left bank.  I was Kevin Corcoran's age but I really wanted to hang out with his older brother Tommy Kirk as he explored the streets of Paris all alone without his parents.  But most of all I wanted to see this wonderful city they were visiting and share in all of their misadventures.

1962 was a big year for movies for me.  It is also the year that James Bond was introduced to the movie audiences.  Dr. No was released in 1962.  And as a ten year old I sat back and was once more transported to foreign destinations that were far removed from any place I thought I would ever get to visit.

Traveling became a reality for me through the movies.  James Bond took me to many exotic and fascinating locations.  I followed Peter Ustinov and Melina Mercuri to the Topkapi Palace in the movie Topkapi.

 I followed John Wayne to the plains of Africa in Hatari and watched the baby elephants chase Elsa Martinelli  through the camp ground.

Going to movies truly did make the world my oyster.  And I never had to leave my seat at the State Theater.  For $.25 I got to see the world and fantasize about traveling and having wonderful adventures.I traveled with Elvis and Gidget to Hawaii. Then I once more went with Gidget.  This time to visit Rome. The movies were my travelogue.

  I remember my mother watching Doris Day in That Touch of Mink.  Doris lived in New York City and shared an apartment with Audrey Meadows.  I remember my Mom talking about wanting to actually see New York someday.  New York is only a three hour bus ride from Maryland but in 1962 that seemed such a great distance to my mother and she never did get  to New York.

I look back now and realize how fortunate I have been to have my world opened to me not just through the movies any longer, but through personal travel.  I have taken Bond, Gidget, Elvis and even Elsa Martinelli and her elephants with me.    The memories of their adventures stay vivid with me when I visit the locations from their movies. And now I return home with my own memories and travel stories to enhance those I remember from the movies.  I wish my Mom had gotten to New York.  I think she would have been happy that I got chase the baby elephants like Elsa Martinelli.