A day before my fifth birthday, my next door neighbors the Duncans took me to the Fox Movie Theater in Ventura. David Duncan, a flat topped fifth grader was my leader into the darkened theater.
Double features were the pleasure with a cartoon from one of the featured studio's... MGM, Warner Bros., Disney... don't remember the cartoon.
'Tom Thumb', a musical tale of George Pal's effects was entertaining... maybe the first time I was introduced to the talented Peter Sellers.
The theater curtains drew back again for the next movie-
'The 7th Voyage of Sindad'
astounded and joyfully frightened me.
Clutching the seat back in front of me, I lifted myself up to see better and dropped to hide when necessary-
the dancing Snake Woman!
I could never look at my turbaned Aunt Terry the same.
Weeks after, I drew the cylops everyday... my Mom got tired of buying a new box of crayons just because I was out of orange, the closest color to my new subject.
Thank you Ray Harryhausen for 'Dynamation',
your imagination will always inspire.
