It had as much influence, if not more – than other parts of my early life. Ages 5 through 8 or 9. I lived on Waverly Ave, number 119 …. Third floor. I was allowed, encouraged, to go to the movies nearly every Saturday, and almost always went alone. This started at age 6. It was only around the corner … The world was thought to be a safer place then, so, my mother used the movies to get me out of the house in order to get on with her house-cleaning.
At the time I went there, It cost 35 cents for a child to get in … adults were 50 cents !
In those years, there was no movie rating system. So I got to see movies that were never meant for a 6 year old. Often saw 2 movies, plus a coming attraction or two, and usually 2 cartoons. The day of the weekly serial was already passed, didn’t take part in that phase of entertainment. I saw “ The Monster of Piedras Blancas ” on my first solo outing. A very scary movie for a little kid. I remember being terrified when I got home and I ran …. No, I flew ! – up the two flights of stairs, through the dark hallways, to get to our 3rd floor apartment ! I also saw things like Psycho …. The Tingler ….. Journey to The Center of The Earth …… Escapade in Japan….. A variety of Westerns and Monster Movies, with the occasional Sci-Fi flick thrown in. The Ten Commandments …… Old Yeller … My Mom’s favorite, The Nun’s Story …. The Shaggy Dog too. Anything and everything. I usually just went to the movies, and whatever happened to be playing, whether I understood the story or not – there I was !
One promotion the theater ran, as I remember : every Friday night, they offered a set of dinnerware, piece-by-piece, super cheap. In order to get the whole set, you had to go every week. One week might be the cups, the next week, the saucers, the following week soup bowls … you get the idea. My folks got a fair number of those dishes as I recall – they were a green-and-white streaky print design, and somewhat heavy too. Cheap China. ( Lots of businesses gave things away like that, especially gas stations; they were know for giving items out drinking glasses. I remember we had accumulated set of glasses with illustrations of long forgotten, antique 1910- 1920 cars, like . )
We went to the movies many Friday nights – because the place was air-conditioned. Our apartment was an oven,and you did anything you could to get away from there during the dog-days of summer.
I liked that the theater had 2 candy counters, one being inside the theater at the bottom of the screen, so you wouldn’t miss any of the movie. The one in the lobby had the better candy selection. Of course they had a matron working the theater too, a elderly lady wearing a uniform, and going around with a flashlight, helping you find your seat …. And keeping the little devils in line.
I remember being on a first name basis with the ticket lady in the lobby. One Saturday, I had a rash, some sort of an allergic reaction. She allowed me to leave the theater, run home, put some lotion on the itch, come back to the movies and she was fine with it all. That would never happen today… No hassles – I was just a neighborhood kid from around the corner.
In the summer of 1961, we moved to the Midwood section of Brooklyn, and I went to both the Midwood Theater and the Kent Theater. But that’s a different story, for another time.
Ahhh – the Peerless Theater.
It had as much influence, if not more – than other parts of my early life. Ages 5 through 8 or 9. I lived on Waverly Ave, number 119 …. Third floor. I was allowed, encouraged, to go to the movies nearly every Saturday, and almost always went alone. This started at age 6. It was only around the corner … The world was thought to be a safer place then, so, my mother used the movies to get me out of the house in order to get on with her house-cleaning.
At the time I went there, It cost 35 cents for a child to get in … adults were 50 cents !
In those years, there was no movie rating system. So I got to see movies that were never meant for a 6 year old. Often saw 2 movies, plus a coming attraction or two, and usually 2 cartoons. The day of the weekly serial was already passed, didn’t take part in that phase of entertainment. I saw “ The Monster of Piedras Blancas ” on my first solo outing. A very scary movie for a little kid. I remember being terrified when I got home and I ran …. No, I flew ! – up the two flights of stairs, through the dark hallways, to get to our 3rd floor apartment ! I also saw things like Psycho …. The Tingler ….. Journey to The Center of The Earth …… Escapade in Japan….. A variety of Westerns and Monster Movies, with the occasional Sci-Fi flick thrown in. The Ten Commandments …… Old Yeller … My Mom’s favorite, The Nun’s Story …. The Shaggy Dog too. Anything and everything. I usually just went to the movies, and whatever happened to be playing, whether I understood the story or not – there I was !
One promotion the theater ran, as I remember : every Friday night, they offered a set of dinnerware, piece-by-piece, super cheap. In order to get the whole set, you had to go every week. One week might be the cups, the next week, the saucers, the following week soup bowls … you get the idea. My folks got a fair number of those dishes as I recall – they were a green-and-white streaky print design, and somewhat heavy too. Cheap China. ( Lots of businesses gave things away like that, especially gas stations; they were know for giving items out drinking glasses. I remember we had accumulated set of glasses with illustrations of long forgotten, antique 1910- 1920 cars, like . )
We went to the movies many Friday nights – because the place was air-conditioned. Our apartment was an oven,and you did anything you could to get away from there during the dog-days of summer.
I liked that the theater had 2 candy counters, one being inside the theater at the bottom of the screen, so you wouldn’t miss any of the movie. The one in the lobby had the better candy selection. Of course they had a matron working the theater too, a elderly lady wearing a uniform, and going around with a flashlight, helping you find your seat …. And keeping the little devils in line.
I remember being on a first name basis with the ticket lady in the lobby. One Saturday, I had a rash, some sort of an allergic reaction. She allowed me to leave the theater, run home, put some lotion on the itch, come back to the movies and she was fine with it all. That would never happen today… No hassles – I was just a neighborhood kid from around the corner.
In the summer of 1961, we moved to the Midwood section of Brooklyn, and I went to both the Midwood Theater and the Kent Theater. But that’s a different story, for another time.