Thursday, January 22, 2015

Who remembers Saturday Matinees???

I do!
 And I miss them.
photo courtesy of wehadfacesthen@tumblr.com
 
 Mom and Dad would drop a girlfriend and I off at the old Fine Arts Theatre in their blue and white '59 Chevy Impala. We'd each have 50 cents in our purses:  35 cents for the movie ticket and 15 cents for popcorn.
 
Fine Arts Theatre, Westport, CT 
 
The boys were really into Davy Crockett, but we probably went to see Disney's Sleeping Beauty or the Shaggy Dog that year.  Nobody seemed to worry about "stranger danger" back then and we loved being able to sit by ourselves . . . no parents. (OK . . . maybe a sister sometimes . . .right, Andi?)
 
By 1961, I was an official "teenager" and clearly remember going to the Saturday matinee with my girlfriend, Kathy, to see Elvis in Blue Hawaii. We spent half of our time waiting for Elvis to sing  "Just Can't Help Falling In Love With You" and the other half checking out which "boys" happened to be in the theatre that day and where they were sitting.
When DH and I went to a matinee at our local Cinemagic yesterday, I couldn't help but think about how different going to a movie is now.  The old single-screen theatre is gone, replaced by a "multi-plex" with 10 screens, a cafĂ©, reclining seats and Dolby surround sound.  Heck . . . this theatre is so big I couldn't find the boys now if I tried!

 
And my 50 cents wouldn't go very far either.
 
 
 $7.50 for a bag of popcorn?
 
 
Are they cracked???


 I miss those Saturdays at the Fine Arts.
 
We got the movie (with a newsreel and cartoon), the popcorn, and . . . the anticipation of a boy we "liked" actually talking to one of us. . . . all for 50 cents!
 
Do you remember going to the Saturday matinee as a kid?
 
 
 
 
This post is being shared at:
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

7 comments:

  1. I remember movies when I was a teenager and dating. Now, wow it's so expensive. I only go to the $2 movie theater here.

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  2. Hello Cheryl, I just really enjoyed this post! Your first picture of all those kids sitting in the theater was priceless!We rarely go to the movies anymore, we prefer a DVD at home. But I have so many memories from my own childhood!
    Blessings, Roxy

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  3. Yes, I do remember that Cheryl. I think my older sister (by 8 years) took me to my first movie which was Snow White. I vaguely remember it. As a teen we went as well with my girlfriends. I remember seeing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and swooned out loud when Ilya Kuriakin (?) came on screen. lol I also remember tossing popcorn on peoples heads in front of us and an old bald headed man came back and told us off. lol I also used to go to the drive-in movies which was fun but the mosquitos would come int the car windows which were down because it was hot. We rarely go to movies now because of the expense. Good times. :)

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  4. OMG...I had forgotten about handsome old Ilya Kuriakin and the man from U.N.C.L.E.! And tossing popcorn at people in the row ahead? Hate to admit it but, like you, I'm "guilty as charged". I also forgot all about the drive-in...you're so right about the mosquitos. Great fun remembering all this!

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  5. My best friend back then was Cheryl Schultz. We used to go to the movies all the time. We saw ALL the Elvis movies. I loved it that it cost a quarter and you could sit through the movie as many times as you wanted to. It was really special when the theatre showed 2 different movies back to back.

    I think the first movie I ever saw at the show was a Saturday MORNING movie...The Tingler with Vincent Price. I'll never forget that movie and remember seeing on TV years later and laughing at what we used to watch when we were kids and were SO scared!!

    Thanks for the memory.
    xx, Carol

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  6. Dear Cheryl, I sure do remember, Sat. we had to pay 35 cents to get in plus popcorn
    I can't remember in the 50's how much popcorn was. Must have been pretty cheap.
    We saw the feature and then the continued Flash Gordon, or what ever. I am worried about the movies.
    They are going to be knocked out by the new TV's

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  7. Yes I can barely remember being taken by a Grandmother. They were such a treat! Thank you for joining Home Sweet Home!

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