Going to the movies in the 50's and 60's

[Katzpur]

Remember when there was no stadium seating?

Remember when a movie would come to town, have a two-week run, disappear for seven years and then, if it had been really popular, would return for another two-week run?

Remember when there was always a newsreel before the movie actually started? And usually a cartoon?

Remember wondering if the movie was going to be in black & white or COLOR?

Remember how movies almost always used to start with the credits? And they'd end with the words "The End" across the screen? Duh!

Remember how movies used to just cost 50 cents?

 

[nutshell]

Remember when there was no stadium seating?

Remember when a movie would come to town, have a two-week run, disappear for seven years and then, if it had been really popular, would return for another two-week run?

Remember when there was always a newsreel before the movie actually started? And usually a cartoon?

Remember wondering if the movie was going to be in black & white or COLOR?

Remember how movies almost always used to start with the credits? And they'd end with the words "The End" across the screen? Duh!

Remember how movies used to just cost 50 cents?

Umm...no.

How OLD are you???!!!

 

[Katzpur]

Umm...no.

How OLD are you???!!!

No, I didn't think you'd remember them. I'm 58. The time period I was thinking of was roughly between 1956 and 1966, at which time I would have been betwen about 8 and 18 years of age.

 

[Bishka]

No, I didn't think you'd remember them. I'm 58. The time period I was thinking of was roughly between 1956 and 1966, at which time I would have been betwen about 8 and 18 years of age.

Dang woman!

 

[Katzpur]

Dang woman!

Sooner or later somebody's going to post and say, "Yeah! I remember all of those things. Do you remember silent movies?" Then I'll say, "How OLD are you???!" and "Dang woman!"

 

[Bishka]

Sooner or later somebody's going to post and say, "Yeah! I remember all of those things. Do you remember silent movies?" Then I'll say, "How OLD are you???!" and "Dang woman!"

It's okay, I'm sure I'll get to the point when my kids (future children) say "HOW old are you mum?"

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Remember when there was no stadium seating?

Remember when a movie would come to town, have a two-week run, disappear for seven years and then, if it had been really popular, would return for another two-week run?

Remember when there was always a newsreel before the movie actually started? And usually a cartoon?

Remember wondering if the movie was going to be in black & white or COLOR?

Remember how movies almost always used to start with the credits? And they'd end with the words "The End" across the screen? Duh!

Remember how movies used to just cost 50 cents?

Actually, at the tender age of 34, I remember a few of these things myself!



I remember the days before stadium seating, before product commercials in the previews, and before $8.50 ticket prices. I remember when "The End" DID cross the screen at the end of the movie, too. And movies really were a couple of bucks back in my avid movie-going days.



The days before movie-rental places and cable movie channels were interesting, too. Nowadays, if one really wants to, they can "just wait for the DVD." Back then, you HAD to get up off your butt and drive to the theatre if you wanted to check a movie out.



Refreshments were still expensive, though. Luckily, my brothers worked as ushers in one of our local theatres and would let me sneak in my 7-11 cups to get extra-large helpings of Pepsi.



Peace,
Mystic

 

[Katzpur]

Oh, and I almost forgot: Drive-in movies!

 

[Booko]

Remember when there was no stadium seating?

Remember when a movie would come to town, have a two-week run, disappear for seven years and then, if it had been really popular, would return for another two-week run?

Remember when there was always a newsreel before the movie actually started? And usually a cartoon?

Remember wondering if the movie was going to be in black & white or COLOR?

Remember how movies almost always used to start with the credits? And they'd end with the words "The End" across the screen? Duh!

Remember how movies used to just cost 50 cents?

Yeah, actually I do! Though it was a whole 75 cents for me. With popcorn and bus fare it was a shade over a dollar.

And there was one (1) movie playing in town at a time! There were no multiplexes -- not even multiple theatres!

I remember when the "big" new movie theater opened up on the west side of time, by the new "indoor" shopping mall. The new theatre had a whole two (2) theaters! Woot!

I remember when there was NO advertising. We paid for the movie already -- we did *not* pay for ads!

Our downtown movie theatre had the most gorgeous interior. Stars on the cieling, statues, archways. It was built when movies were silent, so there was a big organ there as well.

Oh yeah...and we had double features! I'm offended by paying for a movie that's barely 80 minutes long...where's other half of my double feature???

 

[Booko]

Umm...no.

How OLD are you???!!!

You missed Katz' extremely witty post a few days ago in the thread about getting older and getting wiser?

Apparently people hit the peak of sagacity at age 58, though later this year we should expect that to move to 59... :biglaugh:

 

[Booko]

Oh, and I almost forgot: Drive-in movies!

I saw "Young Frankenstein" at a drive in, in the rain.

That was interesting.


We didn't go to the drive in much. If it wasn't raining, it was closed for the winter.

 

[Katzpur]

I remember when there was NO advertising. We paid for the movie already -- we did *not* pay for ads!

Right! I'd forgotten about that. See, I'm getting desensitized.

Oh, and for you youngsters who may be reading this thread, the newsreel was a black & white segment maybe five or ten minutes long before the movie started. They had this because back in the 50's, there were still some people who didn't have televisons. The newsreel was always incredibly boring for the kids. It was like watching footage of conflicts in various parts of the world and stuff no little kid could possibly be interested in.

Oh yeah...and we had double features! I'm offended by paying for a movie that's barely 80 minutes long...where's other half of my double feature???

Oh, yeah... all the time.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

We live two minutes away from a fully-functioning drive-in theatre.



I went to see Star Wars for the first time at the drive-in when I was 5. I was in heaven, and at that young age I knew I was in love with Harrison Ford. The night turned out pretty bad, though, since my dad wanted us to stay to see Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland. Freaked........me............out!




Now I can take my kids to the drive-in. They love it. They even still have the older swings and slides at the playground right in front of the screen. It's also free admission for kids under 12, so it's always cheap to take the kids out for entertainment and a double-feature.




Peace,
Mystic

 

[Katzpur]

Now I can take my kids to the drive-in. They love it. They even still have the older swings and slides at the playground right in front of the screen. It's also free admission for kids under 12, so it's always cheap to take the kids out for entertainment and a double-feature.

Oh yeah, I remember the playground, too. My parents would always have us get in our pajamas before we left the house for the drive-in. We'd run around the playground in our pajamas, but so did all the other kids. By the time the second feature was over, we'd have crashed. Since we were wearing our pajamas, our parents would just need to carry us into the house when we got home and put us to bed.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

Oh yeah, I remember the playground, too. My parents would always have us get in our pajamas before we left the house for the drive-in. We'd run around the playground in our pajamas, but so did all the other kids. By the time the second feature was over, we'd have crashed. Since we were wearing our pajamas, our parents would just need to carry us into the house when we got home and put us to bed.

Ooooh, that's smart! Too bad that our kids would be the only ones wearing pajamas if we did that. But those nights at the drive-in, it doesn't bother me to carry them inside and to put them to bed with their shoes on.



Peace,
Mystic