Heart and Soul: The magnetism of cinema

The former Rex cinema in Butterworth, Penang. Photo: The Star/Filepic

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Walt Disney's Peter Pan was the first animated feature film I watched at a tender age in the mid-1950s, in a school hall.

The story of Peter Pan and his face-off with his nemesis Captain Hook made a lasting impression on me.

My cinema-going experiences as a kid started when Disney animated movies began showing in cinemas. My siblings and I tagged along with our parents to watch movies like Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella, etc. It was so much fun, especially with candy and titbits in hand.

We were mesmerised by the entertaining antics of the characters on the screen like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.

Disney movies resonated with everyone in the family, even our parents. We walked out of the cinema inspired by the messages and life lessons that the characters imparted though their actions.

As we got older, we spent all our pocket money on movies during weekends, school holidays and especially on festive occasions when blockbusters were screened, whether we were in Ipoh, Penang or Kuala Lumpur.

Our favourite cinema haunts were the Cathay, Lido, Capital, Odeon, Rex and Federal theatres.

The former Lido Theatre on Jalan Onn Jaafar in Ipoh. Photo: The Star/Filepic

At night, the theatres were the life of the town with their bright, decorative lights. In the daytime, when there was a vibrant musical film score like Baby Elephant Walk from the movie Hatari, the loudspeakers blared the music outside the theatre. We were simply drawn to the magnetism of cinema.

It was the era of gun-slinging westerns, Jerry Lewis comedies, the fantasy, action-adventure movies of Sinbad, Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts, and the crowd-pulling movies of Elvis Presley, etc.

On weekends and public holidays, and for just a few cents – for the cheapest seats right in the front – we could watch a matinee. Sometimes, after the show, we would immediately buy tickets for the next movie. We also had the habit of watching the same movie again.

Sometimes when there were not many customers and there was free seating, or when the hall was darkened, we would sneak to the back seats where viewing was more comfortable.

We would go in early to enjoy the air condition. When the black velvet curtain opened, we patiently watched boring Pearl and Dean advertisements, newsreels, sports reels and travelogues because cinemas didn't feature coming movie attractions back then.

The moment The Three Stooges and cartoon trailers like the Tom And Jerry Show, the Terrytoons and Looney Tunes were shown, we jumped and clapped heartily. We were just as excited when the opening fanfare for the movie was introduced.

During the late 1950s or early 60s, cinemas had dedicated weekend screenings featuring popular actors, e.g. John Wayne, or a particular genre of movies like westerns only, or war movies or the suspense dramas of Alfred Hitchcock.

In the early 60s, the national anthem was played just before a movie started. On one occasion, when I stood up, the person next to me offered me a cigarette!

In the early 70s, believe it or not, even X-rated movies were shown in cinemas.

One dressed in style for an evening out when it was time to watch a movie, especially a blockbuster or a premier show screened one day before, at midnight, or even a regular midnight show.

For blockbusters, you had to book tickets in advance. This was no mean feat because there were long queues and people shoving.

At women's counters, people tried to sweet-talk ladies into purchasing tickets for them. When tickets were sold out, you could only get them from scalpers selling them at exorbitant prices.

Cinemas were generally not clean. People munched on all kinds of snacks inside, and the rubbish was collected before the next show started. Still, rats scuttled close to your feet, and you could hear people scream at times.

One also had to contend with sticky floors due to spilled drinks, chewing gum sticking to your shoes, clothes and even your hair, and cigarette smoke, since smoking was not prohibited. Then there were inconsiderate patrons who spat on the floor, talked incessantly, or "knocked" the seat in front with their knees.

People behaved better in the Reserved class upstairs – referred to as balcony seats – offered in leading cinemas, which we only discovered when we were much older.

It was evident from the eye-catching posters that there were cinemas showing only English, Chinese, Indian (Hindustani/Tamil) or Malay movies. I was only into English movies but my curiosity attracted me to Malay horror and comedy genres.

Hindustani movies pulled in the crowds with their good-looking heroes and heroines staring down at us from the posters and the crooning of the great (playback singer) Mohammed Rafi, heard outside the theatre.

From the posters of Tamil movies, I came to know about the great Tamil actors like MGR and Sivaji Ganesan.

I was initially apprehensive about Chinese movies but later on opened up to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat films.

There was a time when one could rent a movie reel for private viewing at home or even to be shown in open fields during a special occasion or projected onto a building wall of some government quarters to entertain residents.

On certain days of the week, one could even get discounted prices for movie tickets but you had to be in your school uniform.

When the hit classics or epic movies with intermission, like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Dr Zhivago and The Sound Of Music, were to be screened, tickets were sold to schools in advance.

On movie day, the excited chattering of a large gathering of students in the cinema created an exhilarating atmosphere.

The introduction of television in late 1963 did not dampen our zest for the movies. We were all fired up with the new widescreen approach of presenting films, such as CinemaScope, VistaVision and Cinerama, gimmicks like 3D films which came with special viewing glasses, as well as the innovative special sound effect called sensurround which produced vibrations to enhance the movie-viewing experience.

My fascination with movies was sustained over the course of a few decades. Then, for a variety of reasons and the fact that I was getting older, the adrenaline rush to flock to the cinema was gone. Despite that, I still keep abreast of the latest Hollywood releases, the present-day screen idols and the annual Academy Award presentations.