Movies and Their Impact

I am sure I have written about “Benhur” before but I will repeat myself as this was the first movie that really had a profound influence on me.  I was 7 and we saw this one at the drive-in.  The horror on the guard’s face when he came out of the dungeon saying “lepers” was so real for me that I was utterly terrified of lepers from that day forward.  I did not know what they were but I was AFRAID.  I joke about my paranoia but in all honesty I am quite petrified of this disease against all rational thought.  That’s what movies can do to one.

Another film that has stuck with me has no name in my memory but it was such a poignant story and certainly struck a chord with me when Dad talked to me about keeping the family together.  The story is about a lumberjack who marries, has 5 or 6 children, is felled by a tree and the mother then dies shortly after the baby is born.  The oldest child is a boy, about 15 or 16 who valiantly tries to keep the family together but in the end it is just too much for him.  He then seeks out good homes for his siblings, rejecting some families because he could see they only wanted free labor but eventually there is only himself and the baby left.  He takes the baby with him on a sled and leaves the town.  If I remember correctly once out of town he ends up in a home that seems to be the right place for the child.  And then off he goes, to be a lumberjack like his father.  I was 10 or 11 when I saw this movie and I still find the story moving despite having gaps in the memory of the whole plot.  I would certainly be interested to know if anyone may know the name of the film and if it is available on DVD?  

Other films that I remember loving (but not having tremendous impact on me) are “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein”, “Conquered”, anything with Randolph Scott or Audie Murphy (I loved westerns) and Doris Day & Rock Hudson films.  We would see some of these movies in the drive-in because it was much cheaper than going to a theatre (and I suspect that smoking in the car was also a convenience for my dad).  We didn’t go all that often but it was such a high treat for us that I believe I can remember every movie we saw even though I don’t remember the titles.  More often though we would watch “Family Theatre” which was on every night on television.  The wonderful thing about my mother was that she never censored anything for us (but of course the TV probably did their own censoring as there was never really anything sexy or horrific on early evening TV – or even later I believe!)

To this day I love movies though I find that there is a real lack in originality or quality in films that often disappoint.  There is too much coarseness and there is also too many remakes or imitations.  Technically the sound is horrific with music overriding the dialogue way too often and the actor’s articulation is staggeringly poor.  But what does that have to do with childhood?

Once upon a time Movies were “rich”.