Saturday Matinees and other Capitol Theater Memories by Kay Derr

It's true.  My town did have a movie theater at one time.  My peers and I will attest to the fact that those were good ole days in Danville. On Saturday afternoons, around 1:00 as I recall, a line of kids led from the theater to the upper bank waiting to get in. The Capitol Theater front had an artfully-designed inlaid sidewalk sort of like the "Walk of Fame" stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Centered was the rounded ticket booth. In the 1950's Saturday was the big day of the matinee!  My friends and I exchanged thirteen cents for a ticket and off we went into the darkness of the concession area. A flash-light toting usher led us through one of the two entrances:  half-walled sections with red velvet draperies matching the draperies stretched across the stage. We'd chat over popcorn waiting for the show to begin.

Finally the curtains opened and, as I recall, the news was the first feature.  I remember such news events covering Dwight D. Eisenhower and much less boring news as Hawaii becoming a state.
We didn't much understand the plots of many movies, but we probably saw every famed movie produced in the 1950's. Shows such as Singin' in the Rain, Ben Hur, Shane and Three Coins in the Fountain. Sometimes, in the younger years, mom and dad would take my sister and me to an evening show. I'll never forget Uncle Remus! This mini-video features my favorite part of Song of the South: http://youtu.be/47ak4vjiNzw
During that era many people, mainly children, had been stricken with polio. Some of the news films, in black and white, depicted the afflicted suffering in iron lungs, which were assisted breathing machines.  At intermission an offering was taken for the March of Dimes, the organization targeting polio victims.  During the offering, "Blue Tango" by Leroy Anderson was always played.  It was this very song:   http://youtu.be/A30UXHw2Y40

Oh, my first 3-D movie!  Wearing the green and red lensed disposable glasses I was set to watch The Charge at Feather River. I can even remember where I was seated when that Indian stood on the mountain and thrust that arrow right into my face.  I ducked! Hit the back of the seat and, boy, it hurt!  When the cowboys won, I cheered.

Saturday mornings and "the races" were my favorites.  Upon paying for our tickets, we were all presented with numbers from 1-12. Three stooge-like characters rode bicycles, each with a number on his back.  Comically, they went through various courses in their race for the win:  falling into creeks, getting caught on tree branches, crashing, etc.  At the end, whoever had the number of the winner received a free box of popcorn or a big Hershey bar.  Believe me, a whole lot of cheering went on during those races.

I remember the summer when there was a ring worm epidemic. a contagious skin disease. You always knew which kids had it as they had white bandaged heads. Whenever I went to the movies Mom warned, "Now don't sit with your head against the seat!"   My, I hadn't a clue as to how I would watch a movie sitting forward!

Today whenever a 50's movie is featured on "Turner Classics" I can almost always say, "I saw that way back when."  Somehow a re-watch is nothing like back in the day.  When I hear "Blue Tango" I am reminded of the lights coming on in the darkened theater for the March of Dimes offering and the awfulness of the iron lung. Or, when I was about seven years old, sitting on the half wall with the red velvet curtain because there was standing room only for Song of the South.  As I recall those days I think of Jane Russel rising out of a colorful feathered stage box in one of those old movies.  I remember Charlton Heston in the explosive scene of the chariot race, and Pennsylvania's own Grace Kelly starring opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon.   I'd love to, once again, hear Mom yell "Now don't sit with your head against the seat!"