Friday, July 25, 2008

A Friday Matinee


The 1954 movie Gang Boy was filmed entirely in Pomona, and was based on a true Pomona story of a truce between gangs. I finally got around to watching all 26 minutes of it.

Here's the link to view the movie.

I enjoyed seeing retro Pomona, the citrus groves, and the acting done by real live Pomona residents (and Pomona Police officers). The late Father Beta of Sacred Heart Church - who was a legendary presence in the neighborhood at that time and who will be a subject of a post one day - even makes a cameo.

In 2004, there was a screening and reunion downtown with the actors from the film. Perhaps they will do the same sort of thing once the Fox opens. I would love to see what the film's star Curly Riviera looks like now! If anyone knows where any of the people who acted in the film are, please drop me a line.

If you are curious about exact locations and other details about the film, "MrLocalHist" assembled an awesome amount of facts about the film on a Ganesha High School message board.

Feel free to post your thoughts about the movie.

THE END THE END

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

good stuff.

I love that shot of downtown.

Anonymous said...

Hi Goddess. Thanks for providing the link to this short film. It was kinda humorous, and it was fun to watch. When I get a chance I would like to show this to my Mom. She grew up in Pomona during the 50's and 60's.

Jennifer
route66voice.com

Anonymous said...

back in high school one of my teachers was Frank Garcia he showed the movie in our class one day and I also was able to meet Rosa Lee this film is a classic some of the film was filmed in my neighborhood.great to see how it was back then.thanks Goddess I truly enjoyed the flick

Anonymous said...

I realize that the DPOA has a link to your site and will be reading your post, but I still think that it is a good idea to share this with Carolyn Hemming and Mike Schowalter. I am sure they can forward this to the proper Fox people...

Anonymous said...

While it is a neat relic of times past. It is also a bit of a snoozer.
Mark

Patrizzi Intergarlictica said...

You have no idea how much I love this post. You're the best Goddess evar!

John Clifford said...

I'm actually out here too and will make sure that the Fox people all know about this. It's interesting and would make a good program on "social" short subjects from the past that also show off our city.