Morley Theatre

Celebrated a transformation by Griffith Amusements to widescreen and presentation of CinemaScope films on November 2, 1954

The missing vertical sign was replaced at some time. It appears in this photo, which was probably 2007, judging from the movies on the marquee.

Nice photos of THE MORLEY,too bad the vertical sigh is gone.

One other memory: I left Borger about the age of 13. I returned 15 years later passing through on a trip. I took my two young sons to the theater. By then it was two screens – one upstairs in the balcony and one downstairs.

The thing that amaized me was that the theater had strunk in size over the years – it was much smaller than I remember.

I lived in Borger until about 1963. The summer movie program was set up as I recall based on what park you lived near. We’d line up outside and the line would be around the block. The cost as I recall it was 10 cents. Our group was seated up in the balcony on the right side. Segregation was still in effect, at least a de facto sort, and I recall the black kids sat on our left in the balcony and we whites on the right or down on the main floor. The screen seemed huge and down at the bottom of the auditorium. I remember feeling a bit of “altitude sickness” being up so high. I had the same feeling when I was at the San Francisco Opera a couple of years ago while seated in the upper balcony.

SEE 1947 interior/exterior photos by typing in word “theatre”,
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I was born in Borger, and lived in Sanford untill after the Lake Meredith dam was built and my parents moved to Ok when I was in elementry school. We would go to the drive-in just outside of Borger on the highway going to Fritch, I think it was the Buena Vista. I have family living in this area so I would go back every summer. I moved back after I graduated High School for a short period, and spend almost every weekend at the drive-in, and have many fond memories. The hamburgers were so good people would order by phone and could drive through to pick them up after the movie had played for a while.
I seem to remember that there was another drive-in on the same road, but more in town. I think it was next to a Sonic, and Kentucky Fried Chicken was across the street by the race track where the silver dome was. We would go to this drive-in for a fireworks display every 4th of July.
This was all in the 70s, and I have not been back as often as I should so my mind is a little rusty! But I was all a good time!

The Morley was my first love …. of theaters. I lived in a little town about 2 miles away called Phillips. Yes, the oil company. They moved everybody out and the town no longer exists, but that’s another story.
Whenever there was a new Disney film the Morley had it. I saw Flubber, Shaggy Dog, Sleeping Beauty, and many others there. I threw such a fit when Swiss Family Robinson was there, and about to leave without my seeing it, that my mother dropped me on the curb on a school night and I saw my first movie unescorted. Gee, was she mad!
During the summers the Morley hosted summer movie camp. Every Wednesday I’d climb on a school bus and for a quarter would get to see an old movie and get a small bag of popcorn. The theater would be packed with kids from all over the area. We’d see old westerns and my favorite Johnny Weismuller as Tarzan. I can still remember being thrilled by the underwater swimming sequences on the big screen. What fun.
One of the local dairies sponsored guest appearances at the theater. Irish McCallum came in costume as Sheena Queen of the Jungle (a popular tv show of the time). She handed out post cards of herself with an ad for Metzger’s milk on the back. My sister and I fought over who actually owned the card. Don’t tell her but I’ve still got it! LOL
Seems the theater sat on a corner and the ticket booth was was free standing at the corner of the building. Can’t really remember too much else about the theater except either it or the Rex theater down the street had a crying room at the back of the auditorium. A row of seats behind a plate glass window with the sound piped-in. It was there for young mother’s with crying babies. Can’t recall ever seeing that anywhere else.
One of the last films I saw there was with my junior high buddies. We thought it was great and extremely risque'. The film? It was Jack Lemmon in “Under the Yum Yum Tree”. He was a landlord who had designs on all the young women in the apartments he managed. Imogene Coco was hilarious as the cleaning lady constantly proclaiming him a dirty man. I laugh at how tame it is by today’s standards.
( I mentioned the Rex… guess I’ll have to add it to this collection as well as the Buena Vista drivein theater of Borger.)
Yup, I love the Morley, glad to hear it’s doing well.