The Laconia was my local movie theater, located under the elevated subway line running along White Plains Road in the Northeast Bronx. One of the earliest movies I remember seeing without my parents (but with my twin, thank goodness!) was Mr. Sardonicus.
If you haven't heard of it, there's a good reason: It's a horror movie and not even a good one. But it was Saturday afternoon, and there were cartoons as well as two movies (who remembers the other feature?), so sis and I sat and shivered and probably had nightmares about Baron Sardonicus's grotesque face.
Far better -- and from the same year -- was Mothra, a Japanese monster movie that comes to mind because it deals with the aftermath of atomic radiation. It was a favorite movie of my childhood and decades later I still remember the foot-high twins who summoned Mothra to help them. Oh, if only Mothra could help Japan now.
