09.23.09 | Jerry Frebowitz | Talkin' the OldiesPrint this Post
There was no better experience in the 1940s than the Saturday matinee. When I was a young boy, movie theaters only cost ten cents for children under twelve. I’m not positive, but I'm pretty sure that adults were twenty-six cents, but to put into perspective, a candy bar was a nickel and a bag of popcorn, a dime.
Logan Theater circa 1940, photo: Irvin Glazer
Philadelphia had hundreds of local movie theaters. Because a bus, a trolley and a subway were so close to my house, I had a wide variety of choices but the one I went to most often and the one that has given me my fondest memories was the Logan Theater on Broad Street (pictured). Just about every neighborhood in the area had a movie theater and sometimes two or three. Matinees usually started at noon and you could stay until 5 or 6 o'clock, which is about how long it took if you stayed to see it all. In our neighborhood, we had three movie theaters located within one block of each other. Remember, it could all be supported at that time because TV wasn't yet a factor.
It seems like forever ago, but for the price of admission, we got to see a newsreel, cartoons, a chapter from a continuing cliffhanger serial and a short subject - usually a Three Stooges short or a Joe McDoakes comedy, or maybe a Robert Benchley Miniature... and this was all shown before the feature presentation.
What? You're asking what's a newsreel? Believe it or not, before the advent of television, people got their news from movie theaters as much as they did from newspapers and radio. Seeing that big Pathé newsreel opening onto the screen with a crowing rooster atop some old weather vane was chilling. Sure, it sounds corny now, but back then it was good stuff. Really!
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man 1943
The movie house I went to most of the time was owned by Warner Brothers -- and who would have guessed -- they showed a lot of their own movies, but I didn't know it then. The matinee was usually an action-filled swashbuckling feature like The Sea Hawk or The Adventures of Robin Hood or a creature feature like Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. Sometimes the feature might have been a "reissue" but we didn't know because to us, it was all new.
When I say "us" or "we," I'm referring to the gang of kids that accompanied each other, stood in line together, hissed the villain together and discussed the day's adventure on the walk home together. Communities were different then. Our group always included family and friends who trekked the six city blocks together for our Saturday fix and when we got there, we were joined by other groups just like ours and usually had mutual friends from school, making my memories of those days even sweeter.
Then, believe it or not, if we were willing to sit through a repeat of the newsreel and cartoons, etc, the main feature was shown. The "main feature" was the one being shown after the "kiddie matinee." It could possibly have been a Danny Kaye movie like A Song is Born or the latest Humphrey Bogart or Bette Davis movie. Warner Brothers theaters showed a lot of those back then. Of course, they distributed other studio's properties too so we got to see movies like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein or a Charlie Chan programmer or one of the Thin Man movies. I remember how exciting it was walking home after seeing Gene Kelly in MGM's The Three Musketeers and how we re-enacted the film's most perilous scenes as we walked. One movie I saw in 1947 especially stood out in my mind for many years to come, It's A Wonderful Life, and it's still among my favorites.
Superman Serial (1948)
A typical Saturday afternoon matinee went something like this... With Jujyfruits in hand, first up would have been the Pathé crowing rooster leading into footage of President Truman signing something or other, possibly the Marshall Plan, followed by Sam Snead putting to victory, the latest Paris fashions, a visit with Tyrone Power and his wife, Annabella and then the big newsreel closing. Next, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, a Behind the Eight Ball comedy short and then my personal fave, another chapter of Superman starring Kirk Alyn (bio; serial). When Superman said, "Up, up and away," he turned into a cartoon, but in 1948, who cared? Just before the feature presentation, there might have been an on-screen bid by Bing Crosby for donations to the Will Rogers Fund. Volunteers passed cans through each aisle and oddly enough, no can was ever stolen... then, finally the movie. Although the feature presentation was the draw, it was all of those treats before the movie that counted.
After a while, there became a real rhythm to the proceedings at the theater. It was probably in the late forties but the gruff theater manager all of a sudden became Mr. Nice Guy, or actually, "Uncle Barney." The new tempo still included all the goodies from before but new fun things were added. Yo-yo contests sponsored by the Duncan yo-yo company became a staple, where "Uncle Barney" came out on stage and introduced a young Filipino guy who did tricks with a yo-yo we could only dream about doing. Sure, I could "walk the dog," or "rock the cradle" but no one was ever as good as that little Filipino guy. He was the best!
Another treat that was added to the day's outing and only if we were lucky did we get to see it, was a "wacky racers" short subject where everyone got a numbered ticket upon entry to the theater and the holders of the winning number got a prize donated by local merchants. The on-screen race was so funny and naturally the one who was winning all along never won; it was always one of kookiest guys in the tail end who came up from behind, crossing the finish line in a bathtub, no less. These races were probably the basis for the animated series that showed on TV in the 1960s. Sometimes a local merchant, maybe the owner of the hardware store for example, actually came right out on stage standing there next to "Uncle Barney" and gave the treasured prize to the lucky winners. Once I won a little gardening set. The fact that our house had no garden didn't even enter to it. It was the thrill of victory.
We've all heard the expression, "those were the days." Well, all I can say is that they really were. Imagine all those hours of fun and years of memories -- all for one thin dime.
Now, get an idea of all the fun we had with the trailer from The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn:
To read more about Saturday afternoon memories, visit Matinee at the Bijou.
Jerry Frebowitz, president of Movies Unlimited, started selling movies for home use in 1975. First, as a hobby, then by 1978, through a small direct mail catalog, which eventually grew into the big 800-page version seen today. Jerry is an avid movie fan and collector and particularly enjoys classic films from the 30s, 40s and 50s.
You hit the nail on the head...great piece...our life was Saturday at the Logan Movie...
Once in a while I would go to the Broad Movie because it ran a war flick. Once in a while I would go to the Rockland Movie. I won a bicycle there once. The Logan Movie was so much larger than the Broad or the Rockland. This was our excitment each week. There must have been millions of us at the Logan each week, or was it thousands?
Ah, more memories. Thanks for sharing. And yes, I do remember that war flick at the Broad Theater. Wasn't that you on the fifth row?
I spent many happy afternoons at both the Broad and the Rockland but my memories are mostly about The Logan. Maybe it was the huge balcony or maybe it was Uncle Barney himself but the Logan was definitely my "movie."
I'm from a more current vintage, but found myself getting caught in the wonderment of old movies via TCM. I think almost by accident, I watched one of the Saturday night "essentials", and it's gone on from there. Now I find myself recording classic after classic on DVD-I particularly seem to like the mysteries from the 30's/40's/50's (Noir so to speak). I've learned and speak of the stars of their day all the time, it's become sort of a journey to bygone times and eras. I love em-some of them corny, some of them msyterious, some of them grainy; most of them rich with history. I'll put a plug in here for Ginger Lynn and Fred Aistaire-after seeing one of their movies on TCM I was hooked. In fact, the complete Warner Brothers package of their movies comes complete with a cartoon and reels from the exact year of each movie-just outstanding.
Jerry-it was a treat to read you article so that I could almost visualize what it was like to take part in these movies at those theatres when they were released!
Jerry,
I lived in West Philadelphia and my experience mirrored yours, including the prices. We had four theatres to choose from, including the gigantic Commodore at 42nd and Walnut, and three theatres along the 52nd Street shopping corridor, the State, the Rivoli, and another one I can't remember. All beautifully decorated, clean, and full of good seats. All had uniformed, adult ushers, and the show went on all afternoon for nine or ten cents. My friends and I always walked to the theatre and ran home to tell our parents what a swell time we had had, usually with missed-mouth popcorn in our shirt pockets and Jujyfruit remnants stuck in our teeth. I used to love Commando Cody with his leather jacket and jet-pack propulsion, and I remember crying all the way home when Alan Ladd, playing The Great Gatsby, was shot and killed at the end of the movie. I will treasure all those Philadelphia movie moments for the rest of my life.
Nostalgia revisted - wonderful! Thank you. I grew up in a small Southern town, only one theatre within walking distance, but I remember all the shorts, the newsreels, the sometimes live cowboys on-stage, etc.
Thanks for a great article. I was a bit more 50's than 40's but the recollections I have of Saturdays at the Roseway Theater on Sandy Blvd. in Portland, Oregon are similar.
Does anyone remember the "Pete Smith Specialties" ? These were sometimes shown in addition to three cartoons, a serial. a newsreel and the two features, plus "Previews of Coming Attractions"
I recall the newsreels featuring college fottball films of people like Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, Johnny Lujack and Kyle Rote. Holloway "all-day suckers at 5¢.
Randy...glad to know you are hooked on classic movies but you need to be a bit more precise with your facts: the dance team was Ginger ROGERS and Fred Astaire...and even if your set was released by Warner Bros., their movies were all made at RKO Studios (except for their last in 1949 Barkleys of Broadway...that film was made at MGM). Sorry for the correction but there will alway be someone out here in cyberspace ready to call you on your mistakes. So keep on watching those old films but work harder to keep your facts straight!
Was I lucky, I covered the mid 1940's and through the 1950's going to the movies before TV destroyed the experience of meeting with friends every Saturday for an all afternoon feast.
The Alden in East Falls, the Roxy in Roxborough, the Orpheum in Germantown (use to be a vaudeville theater from the Orpheum circuit ), The Capital , the Band Box and many more in every neighborhood. Double features, serials, news, cartoons, shorts, kids throwing candy and pop-corn at each other. Those were the days
TV was the real start of isolating kids into their homes and away from their friend at the local movies long before the PC and electronic games finished off kid to kid friendhships.
Ellie-of course I meant Ginger Rogers, you had to comment as such that I should work harder to keep my facts straight? My reference to Warner Brothers was purely in regards to the package of the Rogers/Astaire movies that was released, it had nothing to do with RKO being the studio that produced the films. Sheesh. Cmon.......get off your high horse, that's a bit condescending to say the least.
Yes-I'll continue to watch and enjoy the old films. And I LOVE Ginger Rogers.....there, I said it correctly.
Randy - it's true you did miss out on a great era but it sounds like you're having fun with it now. Having TCM available to you is like re-living it all with those great shorts and classic features. TCM has more exciting content in one month than most channels have in a year. In case you didn't guess, I love TCM, too. Thanks for commenting and two thumbs up for Fred and Ginger!
what a terrific, memory-inspiring piece.
i grew up in akron, ohio, and was a regular at the saturday matinee at the highland theatre during the 40s and early 50s. we had a steady diet of roy rogers, gene autry and a few other low budget movies for kids. i remember one in partiuclar where a little girl contracts spotted fever, and the race to save her was the story.
once my parents were late to pick us up, and we stayed on to see part of a great movie, singapore, with fred mcmurray and ava gardner. boy, did i put up an argument when mom showed up and i had to leave, half way thru the movie.
i really enjoyed reading about jerry's experiences, which so closely mirrored my own during that long ago, innocent era, when kids could go to he movies without chaperones, or fear.of being accosted by creeps.
I grew up in a very small town in upstate Michigan called Manistee. I recall more of the 50 than the forties (I was born in 43). In those days even this small town had two theatres called the "Vogue" which was the classier one, and the "Lyric" which featured the Saturday afternoon kids matinees. I recall that we paid 12 cents for admission, and if we had been good that week, Mom would give us another ten or 15 cents for popcorn and candy. I certainly recall the Pete Smith Specialties, but also lot of "travelogue" films as the short subject. Usually the features were westerns with stars like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers (my favorite), Johnny Mack Brown, Rex Allen, Lash LaRue, Tom Steele, and Tom Mix. You could count on the fact that the good guys would prevail in the end, and the bad guys would get caught. The hero would get the girl, and the bad guy that turned good would get killed trying to save the hero or the girl. The good guys would order sasparilla or milk in the saloon, and the good guy would have a funny sidekick like Smiley Burnett or Gabby Hayes. These features were fairly short (50 or 55 minutes) and so often we got a "Double Feature." Our newsreels were the "Movietone" News. We had lots of great cartoons, but Tom and Jerry were my favorite. Most of the kids like the funny shorts with Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges, or the Dead End Kids which became the Bowlery Boys. And, when the singing cowboys sang, a lot of the boy booed, as they did when the hero kissed the girl. Thanks for stirring up these old memories.
I guess there are more of us 40's kids than I can imagine.South side Chicago 55th st."Garfield Blvd. Arcadia or Acadia theatre, very similar, candy store was adjacent to the lobby, a bag of popcorn 5 cents with 'hot butter "from a small chipped porcelin spouted pot.The dillema then was candy would last and still be good.Errol Flynn would appear with a leg of mutton or pheasant and make it look so good that the popcorn and candy couldn't compare.After a period of time the "parent hunt "would begin,parents on the aisle looking for their kids who stayed for the repeat feature.Oh yeah, Ma Kettle looked really old!
In our evolving electronic world of information technologies, blogs, vlogs and hogs, your reminiscence of the Logan Theater and the existence of Movies Unlimited , Turner Movie Classics and Matinee at the Bijou have given me unspeakable joy, A child of the early 50’s in New York, I was privileged to be brought to Radio City Music Hall by my mother, and less frequently by my father to witness the spectacle of film and the knees of the Rockettes too many times to count. I too have fond and rich memories of the movies that so impacted my life and the way in which I think and see the world. Rather than living in the past, recalling the emotions and thrill of fine (and not-so-fine, but fun films) enriches my soul in a way nothing else has the capacity to do.
Thank you for keeping the classics alive. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Jimmy Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock, Joan Crawford, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, Laural and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Eve Arden, Ann Southern, Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers and scores of others live ii my heart every day of my life, and you do you for what you bring to my life.
I live in Philadelphia for 25 years, and am now transplanted to Rehoboth Beach from original roots in New York. I will have to go back to Philly and visit the site of the old Logan Theater and pay homage to the site on your behalf, and remember its better days. I write for a living now, and my publisher says, “you write like a movie…it’s very visual.” I reply, “No surprise, movies made me what I am.” They do.
Your notes on Saturday matinees brought back a lot of memories and although I didn't live in Philadelphia I had my share of theatres in NNJ. There were new movies every week in those large palaces of entertainment. If I hadn't been to the Capitol or Lincoln in the evenig with my Uncle I would have a choice of the Temple, Strand, Embassy, or the local itch house The City.
I remember all the things you spoke about, the newsreel from Pathe, Looney Tunes and the ever popular serial, Superman was my favorite. The pictures were sometimes good and more than likely awful but as long as I had my Jujyfruits or Dots I was happy to sit there and be entertained. Later in my life when I was allowed to travel a bit further I would go to Journal Square where they had a theatre that ran films immediately after they came from NYC. The Stanley theatre was a wonder by itself. It had columns on the side of the orchestra that ran all the way down to the stage and when you looked up the ceiling was covered with twinkling stars. The Loews was another palace of movie art. Although not quite as beautiful as the Stanley it was large and stately. Whats more these theatres had air conditioning which was another draw on hot summer Saturdays. Movies were a great form of family entertainment and I remember going at night with my parents to a theatre that had request night. They showed a third feature which meant that you were in the theatre for about 6 hours. All that for 50 cents for and adult and 25 for kids plus the ladies got a dish.
After I graduated High School I got a job in NYC which gave me access to the fantastic theatres there. I remember going to Radio City Music Hall where I got in for 50 cents at a matinee before noon. They always had the first run films and kept them running for weeks before they were released to the other local theatres. I would sit in the loge section which had really posh seats, ash trays and hat holders under each seat and see the coming attractions, newsreel, a cartoon, the feature and a fantastic live stage show featuring the rockettes. I vividly remember seeing "Singin in the rain". I enjoyed seeing it so much I went back to see it a second time. I also remember standing in line to see the Christmas and Easter shows. If I had seen the feature at RCMH I would either go to the Roxy or the Paramount where they also had stage shows. Patti Page was a good headliner and sang about her doggie in the window while Martin and Lewis clowned around on stage. Harry Belafonte was a big draw at the Roxy and sang Matilda and many of his other Calypso beating songs. I guess that this is a lot of trivial nostalgia to some people but it was a great life back in the forties and fifties when the studios held sway over their productions. You could take a child to any of the films and not have to worry about content. It was an era of good times even though there was a war raging in Europe and the Pacific. But my parents never had to worry about what I was seeing. After all I was too young to see "The Outlaw" and that other film "The moon is blue" which used the word pregnant and it was banned by the legion of decency. I guess we were all pretty innocent then and I kind of wish we were back there again, at least for the sake of my Grandchildren.
Fred, that is great stuff. I forgot about Dish Night. In our neighborhood, it was Tuesdays. More great memories!
Do you know if one can purchase a DVD of the "wacky races" which as you indicate were shown during saturday matinees? Peole were given numbers as they entered the movie house and winners of the races received prizes. I look forward to your response!
I livedin Philadelphia near 10th and Olney Ave on Wagner Ave from 1942 to 1958. From this location I could walk to school (Logan, Cooke & Central). I could walk to many Movie Houses. They were the Logan, Broad, Rockland, Grange (Esquire), Bromley, Colony and Fern Rock. But my Movie House was the Logan. I would try to sit in the last row before the center aisle. It was there that I became a major movie fan. When I was in college (UofP) I would go to the News Theater on Friday afternoons on my way home. It was the only afternoon that I didn't have a class. The News showed old movies. In the early 50's these were movies from the 30's and eearly 40's. I still enjoy movies. I attend "Talk Cinema" and the "Phila Film Society."
I buy films from Movies Unlimited, Kino, TCM, and from movies listed in "Films of the Golden Age." If you want to see what the Movie Theaters looked like before they were torn down, get the book "Philadelhia Theaters, A Pictorial Architectural History" by Irvin R. Glazer.
Irvin Glazer was a regular visitor to our store and to our corporate offices as well. The photo of the Boyd Theatre found on one of our older catalog covers came from him as well as the Logan Theatre picture in the blog post which he gave to me more than 25 years ago. You're right about the News Theatre -- at one time, it was the only place to see classic movies. I first saw My Darling Clementine there in the late 1950s.
Great memories from you all. I grew up in the big city in the 30's and 40's --Manhattan, NYC. I recall that kids of about 15 or younger couldn't get in to a theatre before 3 pm-"you should be in school, etc". I remember ditching school one day to go over to Broadway to see the latest Danny Kaye movie which was about to close. I looked older than my years and I faked my way past the ticket booth and ticket taker to get into a balcony seat. So there I am, almost alone, there may have been two or three others,to see Danny Kaye's latest. The gag is that now I don't remember which film it was and it should not have mattered. I just could not wait. Films in the 40's stayed on Broadway for something like 4 - 6 months. Then they went away for about 2 months and then came back to the local theatres at a much lower price. That's the pull that early movies had on us all. Another thing that has passed in today's movies is the ability to stay as long as you want. The showings were continuous. If you missed the start of the movie, just sit tight, it will be on again. Also, remember ushers with flashlights - "hey you kids keep quiet." Other features of the day were: March of Dimes appeals, and "Time Marches On" newsreels. Also did anyone mention the ultimate goody: The Double Feature - wow: two for the price of one. Great memmories. Todays kids don't know what they missed.
[...] Superman (1948) was one of the biggest money making serials of all time, only Flash Gordon (1936) rivaled its success, as both played evening shows at prestige theaters. Looking at it today from the perspective of someone who hadn't been around at the time of its release leaves one with mixed feelings. [...]
I was born in 1939 and lived on Smedley St, 5000 block in Logan. I had exactly the same experience with the Logan Theater as Jerry. Beside being huge, the Logan was very fancy and well-appouinted. I remember the price being a standsrd 16 cents with occasional 10 cents days. News, shorts, cartoons, horse races, yoyo champions and sometimes dish giveaways were all included.
As I recall, until I got a job, I would have to ask my Mom for 16 cents and if she could afford it, 5 cents more for candy. Sometimes I'd have to find a few empty soda bottles and return them to get candy money. There was a little candy store less than a block north of the theater, and sometimes we would go there first and get 5 or 10 cents worth of hard candy - cinnamon, butterscotch, or licorice. The candy lady would use her little silver hammer to break up a few pieces from the large piece and put thenm on the scale and then into a little white bag. The advantage to the hard candy was that it lasted hours and with a double feature, plus all the extras, you could easily blow 4-5 hours.
On Saturday afternoon, the Logan would be packed and of course very loud. But things calmed down once the lights went out. Then it was time to be absorbed into that huge screen and be taken to other lands or other times and always adventures. The kids of today can't imagine that those afternoons were the only time in our young lives that we saw moving pictures - unless we had a rich uncle with a 8 mm camera and screen. So the whole thing was like magic for us.
Hi. I consider myself an amateur movie buff , but I need a little help finding the title of a movie! I watched many "Saturday Matinee" features. I was more focused on the action than the name of the feature as a child. So, the thing that I remember the clearest about this movie,was a bit shocking. Here goes (details are a little fuzzy-I think I may have been 5 to 7 years old) Scene= Man handcuffed to train ,inside. Train derails from bridge, sinks into a large body of water, handcuffed man, in his panic , locates an axe...okay, you get the picture. May have been in color, my grandparents didn't own a colored TV.
Quite possibly, give or take a few years,
1975. Thank you!
It sounds like David S. Rufft is referring to "Chamber of Horrors" (1966) but we're not too sure about the train derailing into a river.