Lorine Ross Wilson: My Favorite Movie Going Partner

This morning I received news that my mother, Lorine Wilson has passed away. I will miss her very much, she was always my favorite movie going partner. My mother loved movies just like me, and she never criticized my passion. On the contrary, whenever I had time off to visit, it was always a given, “What movie are we going to see today?” 

As a girl growing up, I have so many fond memories of my mother that revolve around the movies. My earliest are at the drive-in. Back in the sixties, my father would come home from work and we would load up the car and head for the drive-in. There were two in our area at the time. My mom would make snacks, and we would pull our Volkswagen bug into the theatre parking lot and wait for the sky to get dark. Our Siberian Husky would have his leash tied to the speaker pole, and my brother and I would be allowed to play at the playground located under the movie screen. This was a great set-up for a family. The parents got a little alone time, while the kids could be safely observed in the distance. When darkness came and the previews started, we would head back to the car for homemade brownies and popcorn. My mom had a little silver ice bucket that she would bring along and we all got to have some Pepsi with our snacks. It was always a wonderful family night out.

Years later, my brother and I attended our last drive-in movie. They were releasing a new film called The Great Outdoors, and as a promotion gimmick they invited people to come to the drive-in theatre and cook out before the show. My brother and I barbecued hotdogs, brought our own popcorn, and my brother even brought along the silver ice bucket, which is one of his treasured possessions. As we waited for it to get dark, we recalled all the great times we had at the drive-in as a family.

In the early seventies, when my parents divorced, I remember one particular summer when my mom had very little money. We used to always go on a family trip, but this year things would be different. Since the small, downtown movie theaters were being threatened by the advent of the new multiplexes showing up in malls all over, many neighborhood theaters had to get creative. In San Jose, the Jose Theatre used to show Triple Features. For fifty cents you would get three movies plus a serial. My mom would drop us off and we would spend the entire day at the movies. They were never first run movies, they were usually horror films, westerns, or sci-fi. The serials were relics left over from the fifties, but we didn’t care, it was six hours out of the heat and in the air-conditioning. Sometimes, my mom would even let us take a friend along. It was a very memorable summer.

Another thing that happened after my parent’s divorce is that we started a new tradition. I remember our first Christmas without Dad. We got up early, had breakfast, opened presents, and then sat around and stared at each other. Nothing was the same without Dad being there. I don’t remember whose idea it was, but we decided to go see a movie. The Poseidon Adventure was opening Christmas Day. This was a new trend in cinema, studios started saving big blockbuster movies for the holidays and releasing them on Christmas Day. I’m not sure exactly when this started, but for my family, The Poseidon Adventure was our first. After that, it became a tradition. My mom would make turkey sandwiches from our leftovers and we would sneak them into the theatre. Along with our popcorn and Pepsi, we would nibble on our sandwiches watching the movie, happy as clams.

In High School and college, whenever I had time off, my mom and I would grab a paper and check to see what was on at the dollar show. It was now the late seventies and early eighties, and there were still a few small theaters struggling to hang on by offering one dollar admissions. Most of these theaters split their venue in half, and then started showing double features. These movies were what I call Second Run movies. They usually were films that had already been around for at least a month and were being pushed out of the multiplexes to make way for new movies.  You could see two movies for a dollar and the concessions were often cheaper. These theaters were found in small shopping centers, or in the downtown area. My mom and I knew them all. She was the one who started me off as a movie theatre bargain hunter.

One of my all time favorite movie memories is when my mom got a whole book of movie passes. My mom was a Special Ed teacher for over 25 years, and one year, a student’s parent, who worked for Century Theaters, gave my mom an entire book of movie passes that were expiring on December 31st. During that break from school we went to two or three movies every day until those movie passes were gone. My mom was a trooper and we were not going to let a single pass go to waste. We had a wonderful time and went to every movie that was playing. 

In college, I got a job working for a small independent movie theatre that showed classic movies. I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but occasionally my mom would come and work with me. That year we had my birthday at the Vitaphone Theatre in Saratoga, California. They played The Greatest Show On Earth, with Jimmy Stewart, and Houdini, with Tony Curtis. My mom helped me make party favors filled with movie candy, and everyone that came for my birthday got free popcorn. It was so much fun sharing my love with movies, with those that I love. I’ve always wanted to do that again.  

Another thing that my mom and I used to do together was celebrate the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards used to arrive around the time of my birthday, and after I had moved to LA, my mom would come and visit me for an entire week. We would run around and try to see as many of the nominees beforehand, and then when the big night came, we would park ourselves in front of the TV with all our favorite foods, and see how well we did on our predictions. One year when she was visiting, we went to see Ragtime at a theater in West LA. It was the only theatre where it was showing. Charleton Heston came in and was looking for a seat, so I gave him mine and took a different seat in the back. My mom and I thought it was cool sitting in a theatre with Charleton Heston. A few minutes later, another celebrity walked in. We were thrilled. Watching the awards without mom, I always feel a loss.

My mom loved me so much that she had no problem sharing my passion for film. She had no problem staying up all night, making me a formal dress, so that I could go to an Academy Award party. She gamely would sit with me through a double feature, sometimes even three films in one day. She even helped me when I became the membership secretary for a local film club. My mother was the greatest, and her support was absolute.

The last film I remember taking my mother to was Night At The Museum with Ben Stiller. We took her out of the Nursing Home, put her in a wheelchair and rolled her on in. She was a little overwhelmed by the special effects, but she really enjoyed her popcorn. Soon, I knew, that these outings would no longer be possible and it made me very sad. I knew that her movie going days were coming to an end. I believe my brother took her out one or two more times, but for me, that was my last.

My mom spent 13 months in Africa once, and when she came home, her flight landed in Los Angeles. The first thing I did after picking her up was to take her to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark. I was so enthusiastic about this exciting new film that I couldn’t wait to share it with her. While most people would think this was absurd, my mother got it. She understood me, and loved me unconditionally. She was the best movie going partner ever, and I’m going to miss her very much. I love you mom, rest in peace.