Even Non-New Yorkers Will Like The Movie "Boardwalk"

There is this one movie titled Boardwalk from 1979 that really hits home with me. I may not be a native New Yorker; but after living in New York City for four years, I could not help but to be able to relate to this film. The late Lee Strasberg and the late Ruth Gordon both starred in it as the main protagonists. You may remember the late Ms. Gordon playing the role of Minnie Castevet in the movie Rosemary's Baby that was released in 1968.

The first, last, and only time that I ever saw the film titled Boardwalk was on cable television so many years ago back when I was staying in a hotel in Santa Monica, California, looking for a new place to live after I had received my transfer orders from my employer to relocate from New York City to California. I was able to relate to this movie, because I had gone through some of the horrendous experiences during the four years I had lived in New York City that the elderly people did in this movie.

What was so noteworthy about this film is that it did not sensationalize on urban violence the way that other movies set in the Big Apple had done in recent years. It told the God's honest truth about living in a neighborhood in New York City that once was nice and was now gradually going to Hell in a handbag; as in "here is New York, either take it or leave it and leave New York." The late Mr. Strasberg played the role of David Rosen, and the late Ms. Gordon played the role of Becky Rosen.

In watching this movie, I found it admirable that no matter how rough things got, the Rosens stood up to the local thugs and refused to leave their Brooklyn neighborhood and everything else behind that they had worked so hard for. I also liked seeing Ms. Gordon play a good person in a movie for a change after having seen her play a creepy, sinister role in the 1968 version of Rosemary's Baby.

I was a naive Southern boy when I first moved to New York City so many years ago, and I never realized back then how much of a shock I was in for. Therefore, I would recommend anyone who is contemplating moving to New York City and has never lived in a big city before to see this movie.

Don't get me wrong. New York City had its rewarding moments for me when I lived there, but I wish I had been much more streetwise than I was before I moved there. People who think that New York City is this flashy, exciting place where one finds overnight success and grandeur to the extent that they wish to move there will have a much different outlook on it once they have seen this movie. It's not all Broadway and glamor.

By no standards was this movie politically incorrect about minorities. In fact, there was even a scene in it in which David Rosen defends an African-American married couple from next door against his daughter's racist remarks, because even though this married couple had recently moved from the ghetto into Mr. Rosen's neighborhood, they had already showed themselves to be decent, honest, law-abiding citizens who were willing to play by the rules to better themselves socially and economically.

This same African-American married couple even go as far as providing first aid to Mr. Rosen after he gets into a violent confrontation with local thugs that are terrorizing his community. This movie is a must-see. Even if you have never been to New York City and have no plans of ever going there for any reason, you should still see this movie inasmuch as it deals with the real world and it never sugarcoats the Big Apple despite that it never tarnishes its name either.

You can actually see Boardwalk on YouTube for free. I've embedded a copy of it below accordingly for your viewing pleasure.

The 1979 Film Titled Boardwalk Starring The Late Lee Strasberg And The Late Ruth Gordon

Janet Leigh plays the elderly couple's middle-aged daughter in this movie. You may have remembered her from the 1960 thriller movie Psycho.

This movie is not all doom and gloom. In fact, it shows a number of funny moments that remind me of some of the crazy stuff I used to see out in public in New York City that I would phone my parents about, and we'd have a good laugh about it. Nonetheless, most of the movie is done on a serious note, and that's how you expect the movie to be once you start watching it. It's a cinematographic work of genius. It will change how you see movies set in New York City from that point on.

This movie is dear to my heart, although I must admit one thing. After I left New York City to relocate to the West Coast, I never looked back. After living there for four years, I began to identify with the lyrics of the song below.

The Song Titled "New York's Not My Home" By Jim Croce

What can I say? Most outsiders develop a love/hate relationship with New York City after living there for so long. In any event, Boardwalk was an excellent movie. Don't miss it. You can watch it by clicking the video of it above.

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