That's Why God Made Movies
Like so many kids, I grew up enraptured by TV and the movies. The moving image, especially on the big screen, captured my imagination. The first movie I recall watching was "Father Goose" with Cary Grant and Leslie Caron. It was playing at the Sand Theater and I saw it with Jill, Ann, and Chuck. After that, I was hooked. I would sit in the dark for hours and watch movies at the Sand, the Paramount, and the Dome theaters. Back then they didn't clear out the theaters after each show, so I'd just stay and watch the movie. Some days I'd enter the theater at noon and not emerge until the last show was over.
Like most boys, my favorite type of movies were action films, any movie with John Wayne or a James Bond movie would bring me in. Among my favorites were "El Dorado," "True Grit," "Thunderball," and "Goldfinger." Then came a movie titled "Billy Jack.
"Billy Jack" was an absolute favorite of mine. It had everything I ever wanted to see in a movie at that time in my life. It had Indians, karate fights, hot chicks, karate fights, partially naked chicks, comedy bits, shootouts, Indian mysticism, a cool song, and a hero who stood up for what was right. The main character was a half-breed Indian fighting to protect Indians, hippies and wild horses from the corrupt white power-base.
I walked into the theater for the matinee not knowing what to expect but I was hooked from the opening scene where Billy stops the bad guys from killing a herd of mustangs. I sat there the rest of the day watching every showing. The next day I went back and I kept going back time after time. I lost track after seeing it about the fifteenth time. I could never get enough of it. I went to the sequels, "Born Losers" and "The Trial of Billy Jack," but they didn't have the same impact as "Billy Jack."
Today when I watch it on DVD I can see the flaws in the filmmaking that I never noticed as a kid, but I still get shivers up my spine when they drive past that line of people with their fists raised in salute. That's how movies are supposed to affect you.
Besides having an emotional connection with the film, "Billy Jack" could have led me to an emotional connection with a girl if only I hadn't been such a social klutz. One Saturday afternoon I was sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start when I hear this female voice ask, "Is this seat taken?" I looked up and there was this pretty blonde girl about my age standing next to me. There maybe twenty people in this theater and this girl is asking if the seat next to me is taken! I was completely shocked. All I could do was stammer out a "no" and return to watching the previews. I wanted so desperately wanted to talk to this girl, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was totally frozen. All I could do was look out of the corner of my eye at her. I spoke not one word during the entire movie. When it was over she left and I followed her. She went across the street and she kept looking at me and I kept looking at her, but I couldn't screw up the courage to walk over to her and talk to her. And so we parted, never knowing each others' name. It one of the few instances in my life where I wonder, "What would have happened had I acted differently." For anyone reading this who didn't know me as a kid, this is a "Believe It or Not" story.