From the time I was watching black-and-white Buck Rodgers features on my TV as a kid, I have loved science fiction movies and television shows-wires and cheesy special effects and all.
My parents divorced when I was 10 years old and my brother was 5. My dad got us every other weekend. With the hours he had worked, he didn’t know how to entertain us for a whole weekend. So, between the ages of 10 and 18 I must have seen every movie that came out. All the Bond movies, from Connery to Moore. An all-day viewing of all the Planet of the Apes movies in a little Berkeley movie house. Every movie Woody Allen made. I don’t think there is a horror movie of the ’70s I missed. LOL
Then in 1977 something magical happened. Star Wars. My brother and I saw it 35 times that summer, sometimes staying until after the credits to watch the next showing. I’ve tried over the years to explain to my children what Star Wars meant to science fiction fans. The special effects were so well done that you didn’t notice the special effects. You could be wrapped up in the story without looking for wires or noticing it was a model of a spaceship. When the landspeeder swept over the sands of Tatooine, you believed. When Luke and Leia swung over that infinity drop on the Star Destroyer, you held your breath. George Lucas, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2D2 transported us to a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and we’ve stayed there for 40+ years.
This week, I went with my scifi movie buddy, my son, now almost 30 years old to see the latest episode, The Rise of Skywalker. I cried at every familiar face. I laughed at the creatures that only existed in the writers minds until they appeared as if by magic on the screen. I was once more swept away to that galaxy far, far away.
I wasn’t at the movies. I was on an adventure to save the galaxy!
Jill James, romance writer and movie fan.
Made in 1934, it starred Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. Runaway heiress meets a reporter who wants to exploit her story. Key element? The walls of Jericho. Watch the movie and you’ll understand.
Made in 1938 and starred Katherine Hepburn as a zany rich girl who turns uptight Cary Grant’s life into chaos. Key elements? A baby leopard and dinosaur skeleton.
Made in 1959, it was the first pairing of Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Womanizing songwriter and uptight interior designer share a telephone party line, and that’s when the games begin. (Ask your grandparents if you don’t know what that is. We lived in the country and had a party line long after the rest of the world had private lines. A party line was a true test of one’s integrity. *g*) My cool hip daughter loves this movie so much she bought DVDs of it and the other Doris Day/Rock Hudson films. In several romantic comedies of that era, Tony Randall was the hero’s best friend and was hilarious in his second banana role in each film. He’s the kind of secondary character every romantic comedy needs.
Made in 1961 and starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day again. In this flick, Rock and Doris are advertising executives who disdain each other’s client recruitment methods. When Doris decides to exact a little revenge, she gets way more than she bargained for. Oh, my! The scene when Tony Randall is driving a heartbroken Doris back to the city, and they stop at a diner is hysterical!
Made in 1962 and starred Doris Day and Cary Grant in a movie that confronts the virgin versus the player issue. He’s handsome, rich, and charming. She’s lovely and works though she’s not a career woman. They’re equally captivated, but she wants marriage, and, of course, he wants an affair.
Made in 1969, this was Goldie Hawn’s film debut with Walter Matthau and the renowned Ingrid Bergman. What a romp this is! Yeah, it, and all the ones above are outdated in terms of our culture, but I bet you’ll laugh.
Authors of Main Street 