Growing up days – comedies of the 1960s

In the period earlier to the 1960s, comedy meant slapstick comedies of Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin but the 1960s brought in changes and stories began to be written around situations that involved comedies – movies that did not necessarily make the audience roll in laughter but that did make people raise and appreciate humorous situations.

For example the 1960 movie ‘the Millionairess’ in which Sophia Loren played the lead role with Peter Sellers - its song ‘I’ve kissed the girls in London, I’ve kissed the girls in Rome but the ladies of Calcutta are better by far …’ was and will always remain an all-time favorite.
Another super movie dripping comedy and satire was another Peter Sellers movie of 1964 – it was ‘Dr Strangelove or How I learnt to stop worrying and love the bomb’ and showed what could trigger a nuclear war between the two super powers. It clearly had an important message for the world.

Other movies in this category are Absent minded professor (1961), My fair lady (1964) and Those magnificent men in their flying machines (1965) – delightful movies that still draw crowds. (to be continued …)

School days – morning shows of Laurel-Hardy movies

Another activity that was kept reserved for Sundays was the special morning cinema shows in the halls – these halls in Shyambazar used to have Bengali movies in the regular 3pm, 6pm and 9pm slots as regular schedules but would have English movies on Sunday mornings.
The attractions were the Laurel and Hardy series, Abbot and Costello, Charlie Chaplin and other such comedies and one of the favorite halls was Talkie Show House.

The morning shows would usually begin from 10am or 10.30 am and, since English movies usually finished within an hour or so, we brothers under the watchful eyes of my father, would return home in time for lunch.
The dose of slapstick comedy would keep us invigorated and would be a talking point during lunch hour among my class friends.
Our visits to the main cinema halls located in the Esplanade area were restricted and I remember a few movies that were wonderful ones – ‘The Greatest show on Earth’, ‘the Ten Commandants’ and ‘20000 Leagues under the Sea’. We enjoyed the movies no end.

Then there were other movies that showed Nature in all her glory and beauty from flowers, gradually blooming in the desert, to animals roaming freely in the wild. These have today been taken over by TV channels like National Geographic. Such exposure to western cultures and the world around us went a long way in shaping my outlook on life. (to be continued …)
Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities through the eyes of a 70-year-old