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Authors, sign in!Shot in 1972 on location in Seattle, Cinderella Liberty is one of my favorite movies. Starring James Caan and Marsha Mason (who won an Oscar for her performance), the title comes from a Navy term for a shore pass which ends at midnight. I highly recommend this film. Rent it if you have time.
The reason why I enjoy Cinderella Liberty is that it’s not only a good story, it shows Seattle at the height of its blue collar, working class, Navy best. It shows the Seattle of Old – pawnshops and bars lining First Avenue, flophouses along the waterfront and the famous Green Parrot Club. Even the Sandpoint Navy base is intact in this movie, when it was hustling and hustling instead of crumbling. It also shows some Seattle of What’s Left – the bus station, the Seattle Center Ferris wheel, a section of Pike Place Market, and the skyline as viewed from the Bainbridge Ferry.
With the fortuitous timing of my Seattle arrival, I was able to witness some of old and all of the soon-to-be. I saw the seedy mini-marts swept away from Pine Street to become the upscale Pacific Place. Where one could once buy malt liquor and loosies (single cigarettes), Tiffany, Barney’s and Cartier now stand. Even the Seattle Center Ferris wheel will be going away next year to make way for an upscale green-space, taking that area back to what it once was before the 1962 World’s Fair – a park.
Seattle is going through a bit of an identity crisis – we want to keep the fun, old stuff, but we want the shiny, new things too. For some, it’s a battle for Seattle’s soul. For others, it’s the way it has to be. As the quirky Denny’s in Ballard (considered an example of Googie architecture) is demolished for retail and condos, Seattleites assiduously stay away from the “G-word” – gentrification. Instead, we embrace another “G-word”, gritty Georgetown, the artist enclave just down the hill from my house.
At the end of Cinderella Liberty, Marsha Mason’s character flees to New Orleans in pursuit of reliving her past. James Caan follows her, so they can start a new past together, creating the metaphor to conclude my first blog on Everyday Citizen.
Published June 4, 2008 by Jennifer Schwaller |
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Comments (2)
Great post - welcome to everyday citizen!
Posted by Henry Schwaller
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June 4, 2008 3:20 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 15:20
Welcome from me too! We've needed somebody else writing from your end of the country. Can't wait to read your future blogs!
Nora Thomason
Posted by Nora Thomason
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June 4, 2008 3:47 PM
Posted on June 4, 2008 15:47