Comments on: Saturday Matinee at the Logan: Confessions of a Movie Addict

By: Jerry Frebowitz

Jerry Frebowitz — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:14:12 +0000

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.

By: David S. Rufft

David S. Rufft — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:45:11 +0000

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!

By: Joe McGrath

Joe McGrath — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:36:07 +0000

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.

By: Celluloid Superman: The Columbia Serials | MovieFanFare

Celluloid Superman: The Columbia Serials | MovieFanFare — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:17:07 +0000

[...] 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. [...]

By: Wes R

Wes R — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:23:09 +0000

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.

By: Jerry Frebowitz

Jerry Frebowitz — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:38:24 +0000

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.

By: Bob M

Bob M — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:14:26 +0000

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.

By: joe

joe — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:45:37 +0000

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!

By: Jerry Frebowitz

Jerry Frebowitz — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:10:39 +0000

Fred, that is great stuff. I forgot about Dish Night. In our neighborhood, it was Tuesdays. More great memories!

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:44:19 +0000

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.