Movies from My Childhood

Growing up in the late seventies and early eighties, my brothers and I were rarely allowed to watch television (a popular catchphrase in our household was "Go outside and do something constructive.") and my parents never had enough cash to go see an actual movie. Except for Wrath of Khan in summer '82, but that's a whole nother story in and of itself.
To start off, obviously no childhood is complete without watching The Wizard of Oz whenever possible. The scene when Dorothy opens the door and the world goes from black and white to colour was my absolute favourite part. (Imagine my disappointment the time we watched it on our old black & white.) I was utterly mesmerised and agog at how magical Oz was and I desperately wanted to go for a nice long weekend.
It also goes without saying that we also were severely addicted to all things Star Wars and watched that movie til we had it completely memorised. Luckily none of my brothers have realised that I currently have the Darth Vader figure case in my possession. (Good thing they don't read this blog.) I have no plans on returning it or the action figures stored inside.
My two faves, that my brothers could care less about, were Faerie Tale Theatre's Beauty and the Beast (my love for Klaus Kinski began at a very early age) and Pollyanna. I swear every time Pollyanna'd be up in that tree, sneaking back in through the window, I'd think, "Maybe this time she won't fall..." But she'd never learn. Every damn time she'd reach for that stupid doll and go crashing several stories to the ground. Idiot.
Other classic films of my youth were The Black Stallion, Mr. Boogedy - to this day we still quote from this '86 TV movie - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which began my great appreciation for tall, raven haired Jewish men, Savannah Smiles, Watcher in the Woods, and Penny Serenade. What could be better than a love story featuring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne? Especially one that features earthquakes, miscarriage, infertility, and the death of a child. Just what my dysfunctional family needed to bring us all together on a Saturday night.