Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,694 posts, read 58,004,579 times
Reputation: 46171
Advertisements
I delivered Movie Reels to 5 states. I have a lot of theater memories. (Especially waiting for features to complete and rewind, so I could get back on the road. I had a lot of stops to make every night. (Hauling mail and newspapers too)
But by far the most memorable, were performing theater.
Going to movies?... not my thing. I can just sleep in the car in the parking lot, rather than pay for the movie. That's fine with me. My partners always have good ideas where to spend the money we saved. And I'm all rested up!
After WWII our little town of three-hundred and fifty people had a theater of its own. I was never old enough to get to sit in the balcony.
The theaters in those days were decorative. I remember that ours was in art deco style.
By the time I was in high school TV was booming and our little theater was shuttered. But sometimes when we were feeling brave a few of us kids would slip in through a basement window and explore. It was plenty spooky even in the daytime in there.
In the projection booth we found a movie poster from the Boris Karloff version of Frankenstein. I've often wondered what that might have been worth to a collector.
Later, on July 20, 1969, while the astronauts were walking on the moon, I was enjoying my one and only time to sit in a theater balcony and annoying my companions by tossing pieces of popcorn down on the folks below. No wonder my parents didn't want me sitting in a balcony.
Most profound Movie Theater Memory? Probably when my H.S. boyfriend talked me into patronizing a 24 hr adult cinema to see a movie called The Devil and Ms. Jones. Thankfully, that particular screening was not well-attended, so we sat in a mostly unoccupied section of the theater. A gentleman a few seats away acknowledged my arrival with an enthusiastic smile and a wave. I nodded and smiled back.
After a few minutes, I happened to glance back in his direction; he returned my glance with the same beaming smile and wave as before.
It took two or three more glances to figure out that he was 'pleasuring himself' while lavishing his attentions on me. I told my BF that we had to leave immediately and why...his ensuing howls of laughter made the situation doubly humiliating.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,694 posts, read 58,004,579 times
Reputation: 46171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodestar
After WWII our little town of three-hundred and fifty people had a theater of its own. I was never old enough to get to sit in the balcony.
The theaters in those days were decorative. I remember that ours was in art deco style.
....
Our small town movie theater had a refurb, and a quartet we started at our wedding, just performed their 43rd annual Christmas concert in the theater I hung out as a child. My most memorable movie there was Billy Budd. Sea adventure (probably a mutiny). As a prairie kid... I was changed forever. Seeking world wide adventures and drama ever since!
There once was a time when a movie theater had one screen. What you watched depended on what was available that day and time. You didn’t walk up to select from multiple movies to see. You looked at the newspaper or called the theater on the telephone to find out what was being shown and the time of the showing. On the premiere of a major film people would wait in line outside the theater patiently awaiting the opening of the ticket office. Those same people would get in line for snacks and drinks before taking their seats. When the lights dimmed, conversations died down so we could all be silent and enjoy the movie together. Some small towns had a very small theater, not much bigger than a school auditorium or university classroom. People were more patient and courteous.
I believe that the evolution of these theaters into the monstrosities that existed pre-Covid has sewn the decline of theaters. They are costly to run, have much wasted space, and require too many movies to fill the theaters.
Our small town movie theater had a refurb, and a quartet we started at our wedding, just performed their 43rd annual Christmas concert in the theater I hung out as a child. My most memorable movie there was Billy Budd. Sea adventure (probably a mutiny). As a prairie kid... I was changed forever. Seeking world wide adventures and drama ever since!
Yes, we held a few other cultural events there, too. I was too young to remember but I do remember having my picture taken sitting on Santa Claus's lap while Gene Autry singing "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" played in the background.
Later I was fortunate to meet the woman who had played the piano during the silent movies there. By then her knuckles were swollen with arthritis but she could still pump out barrel house tunes like nobody's business.
Just remembered watching "Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein" there at Halloween. It was only a couple blocks home so I didn't need supervision. On the way back I had to step into an open spot that was a dark alley past the newspaper printer's shop. Must have hesitated there at least five minutes being absolutely certain that I would see the monster coming down the alley with his arms outstretched!
I believe that the evolution of these theaters into the monstrosities that existed pre-Covid has sewn the decline of theaters. They are costly to run, have much wasted space, and require too many movies to fill the theaters.
Some of those monstrosities are closing now, or going into disrepair. There was a movie I had considered seeing in a theater about a year ago, I found two theaters close by which were playing the movie. One was really expensive. The other was more reasonable but the reviews of the place made it sound like a slum. Filthy, smelly, water damage, horrible sound quality, no employees... uh no thanks.
I believe that the evolution of these theaters into the monstrosities that existed pre-Covid has sewn the decline of theaters. They are costly to run, have much wasted space, and require too many movies to fill the theaters.
Your belief is non-factual, in that it claims the decline was recent.
Single screens were the first to close up, long before covid. Most single screens in smaller population centers closed as a result of early television. Even before that, some closed with the introduction of radio.
The economics and requirements of twins and multiplexes fit the era pre-internet. In some ways, they were a sweet spot for theatre owners.
The megaplexes were, in effect, a type of return to the downtown street that was lined with half-a-dozen or more movie palaces. Adding in bars and restaurants turned them into ersatz downtowns.
The decline of theatres is primarily due to advancing technology. There are secondary causes that can't be dismissed, but technology is and always has been the big issue.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(Especially waiting for features to complete and rewind, so I could get back on the road. I had a lot of stops to make every night. (Hauling mail and newspapers too)
