My Memory Mansion

While not technically a mansion, my childhood home was rather large. I chose to use it because of it's size and variety, though I have not lived there since 1999. In fact, as I pieced together my memory theatre I actually recalled a great deal of my home that I had forgotten, though much of it is probably incorrect. Many of the film titles are remembered through images from the films, or from other films. I also will include some of the details I have added in my hopes to remember the years each came out in, every decade has a symbol for the number which is reiterated at the five year mark.

1-Wings: A fluttering bird at my old bus stop near my home.

2-The Broadway Melody: A large music box on the berm to the right of the driveway entrance, under the crab-apple tree.

3-All Quiet on the Western Front: A dead and smoldering tree on the left (West) berm over a field of clover (1930, 3-leaf clover).

4-Cimarron: strange word, makes me think of cinnabar, the driveway is now red-orange.

5-Grand Hotel: A beautiful vintage car parked at the front door, bellhop opening its doors.

6-Cavalcade: I used the second definition, and have a procession of masked ball patrons piling out of the car.

7-It Happened One Night: Along with the party, there is a Chinese lantern (for night) and a masked couple stealing a kiss underneath.

8-Mutiny on the Bounty: a sea battle, including a giant squid, is engraven upon the door, a few loose clovers have been dropped at its base (1935).

9-The Great Ziegfeld: A white tiger (Siegfried and Roy) stretches on the carpet.

10-The Life of Emile Zola: A stretch, a child dressed as Zorro stands over the tiger.

11-You Can't Take It with You: Feathers (angels, afterlife) are strewn over the stairs, having been blown there by...

12-Gone With the Wind:...a large fan halfway up the stairs.

13-Rebecca: Just a woman in a flowy checkered dress (1940, squares are 4-sided), behind the fan.

14-How Green Was My Valley: The rest of the steps are overgrown with grass.

15-Mrs. Miniver: Minnie Mouse at the top of the stairs.

16-Casablanca: Sam at his piano just inside my parents' room.

17-Going My Way: Literally a large sign pointing towards the bathroom. (Though I made it old and rickety to help the image along)

18-The Lost Weekend: A man in a bubblebath, doing office-work. He holds a large metal square in his hand (1945) which is cutting him and drawing blood (always add blood if you're having trouble with an image).

19-The Best Years of Our Lives: Snow and autumn leaves fall in the shower, flowers line the floor, to show seasons changing.

20-Gentleman's Agreement: Two men in suits shake hands in the secrecy of the closet, I technically just passed through a wall, but that's alright.

21-Hamlet- A man and woman in royal dress sit in bed, Hamlet's mother and uncle.

22-All the King's Men: Humpty Dumpty lies cracked over a chair.

23-All About Eve: My niece, Eva, stands at the balcony in a star-covered dress (1950, stars have 5 points).

24-An American in Paris: A styrofoam airplane flies from the balcony to the pastures down the hill from my house, an activity from childhood, only this plane has an American flag on it.

25-The Greatest Show on Earth: Fireworks over the pasture.

26-From Here to Eternity: Crossing a stream, the reflection of stars in the the water.

27-On the Waterfront: Marlon Brando sits by the stream.

28-Marty: My friend Martin talks with Martin Scorsese at the fence, they are holding a metal star (1955).

29-Around the World in Eighty Days: The tip (yes, we had a tipi) has images of the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids painted on it.

30-The Bridge on the River Kwai: I have added a small bridge inexplicably leading away from the tipi.

31-Gigi: Half-Life's G-Man stands with his briefcase. G-Man...G...G-G...Gigi. Yeah, I couldn't think of anything.

32-Ben-Hur: A chariot is on its way up the hill toward my house.

33-The Apartment: A small apartment looks over the path is carbon, up the hill, diamonds rest on the table on its patio. The sixth element on the periodic table is carbon, diamonds are made of carbon, (1960).

34-West Side Story: Two "chickens" fight at the top of the hill, movie reference if you don't understand.

35-Lawrence of Arabia: Lawrence, fully robed in white, stands on a large rock overlooking the edge of the hill.

36-Tom Jones: My lighting professor, Tom Watson, at the willow tree.

37-My Fair Lady: A lovely, period dressed woman sitting and winding a...

38-The Sound of Music: Music box, with a large diamond (1965) decorating it.

39-A Man for All Seasons: A mountain man wearing a large pack and lots of equipment, walking towards the pool.

40-In the Heat of the Night: People in the pool to escape the heat.

41-Oliver!: The cartoon Oliver (different movie, I know) in the shallow end.

42-Midnight Cowboy: The corpse of a cowboy leaning on the wall.

43-Patton: Patton...patent...Thomas Edison...the hot tub full of light bulbs instead of water. These lights are multicolored...rainbow...ROY G BIV...seven colors of the spectrum (1970).

44-The French Connection: A cliche Frenchman (stripy shirt, etc.) tying a knot on the pool fence.

45-The Godfather: Marlon Brando, again, in this film's character, opening a door to the house.

46-The Sting: A bathroom full of bees.

47-The Godfather Part II: Marlon Brando yet again!

48-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: The laundry room full of nests, including one with a large, multicolored egg (1975).

49-Rocky: Rocky, leaning on a rock outside.

50-Annie Hall: The main couple lounging on the trampoline. When I had trouble with it, I imagined the trampoline descending into the ground as a vertical HALLway.

have 8 tentacles).

54-Chariots of Fire: Inside the extra garage, chariots on fire.

55-Gandhi: The man himself sits cross-legged in the driveway.

56-Terms of Endearment: Another deer in the main garage.

57-Amadeus: A piano crashes down the stairs, just through the garage house-door.

58-Out of Africa: At the top of the stairs, a giraffe, a person in safari gear, and a giant spider (1985, spiders have 8 legs).

59-Platoon: In my brother's bedroom, everything is covered in camouflage mesh.

60-The Last Emperor: on his side of the loft that separates our rooms, a child dressed in royal clothing.

61-Rain Man: on my side of the loft, a downpour of rain indoors.

62-Driving Miss Daisy: A car crashing through the wall into my room (which is on the second story).

63-Dances with Wolves: Wolves and one cat (1990, cats have 9 lives) rush out of my closet and into...

64-The Silence of the Lambs:...the bathroom, where they kill a sheep.

65-Unforgiven: An old man is shackled to the wall of my sister's room.

66-Schindler's List: many pieces of paper covered in lists fill my other sister's room.

67-Forrest Gump: Forrest sits nearby on a stool.

68-Braveheart: William Wallace takes a zipline back to the first floor, a cat in his arms (1995).

69-The English Patient: A person in a hospital bed.

70-Titanic: A replica of the last tip of the ship sinks into the ground in the dining room.

71-Shakespeare in Love: Shakespeare sits on a cupboard.

72-American Beauty: a young woman wrapped in the American flag.

73-Gladiator: Gladiators fight in the kitchen near a broken computer (2000, for the Y2K crisis).

74-A Beautiful Mind: Russel Crowe again, different character.

75-Chicago: Richard Gere in character in the living room.

76-The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Lots of gold rings strewn on the couch.

77-Million Dollar Baby: a baby in a crib on a pile of money.

78-Crash: a gaping broken window, and another computer (2005).

79-The Departed: someone disappearing through said window.

80-No Country for Old Men: Multiple old men relaxing in the guest room.

81-Slumdog Millionaire: A blind and begging child in the hallway.