The clip below is from the 1953 movie “Lili” starring Leslie Caron. It is a film I remember not so much for its content as for its context in my life. I tend to associate many of the key moments in my life with what was on television at the time. This movie is a prime example.
I was in second grade in 1968 and my parents had decided to buy a new home and move us to a different section of town. We were not consulted about the house choice as I’m sure many parents would do today. I did not see the home until the day we moved in.
I remember getting on the bus in the morning to go to school, but after school my father picked up my brothers and I and drove us to the new house. It was much larger than our previous house and was set on a dead end surrounded by woods. I recall my parents had told us all about the pond and the river behind our yard. Though we did not see the house until moving day, my parents did a good job off “selling” us on the new place.
I vividly recall racing outside to explore the yard and surrounding woodlands without a moments regret about leaving the place that had been my home for seven years. I guess my parents made a pretty good pitch .
Aside from the thrill of seeing the pond and the river behind the new domicile, there is not much else that I remember. I can’t even picture my siblings when I recall that day. It was as if I alone were discovering this new uncharted territory. Strange that one could have such a sense of isolation in a family of seven.
The only other two things that I remember fairly well were my dad assembling our new beds and watching television before we retired for the night. That’s where we come to the clip. I don’t know why, but I distinctly remember this movie being shown on the ABC network that night, which I think was a friday, but I’m not positive about that. I remember very little about the film other than this part of the movie with this famous song.
Enjoy