What childhood memories do you have of your local cinema?

Every Saturday afternoon, all the kids on our street went to the pictures, about 10 or 15 all in a gang. It was the Victory but we called it the Vick!! I went because all the other kids went. You could get a penny ice lolly that tasted quite awful, but we still ate them. There were those little tubs of ice cream too, but they cost 3d, too expensive for the Bash St Kids. LOL The films shown were Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, The Three Stooges amongst others. To this day hate slapstick comedy, I would sit there unsmiling and stoney faced throughout. LOL Also there would be a cowboy film, accompanied by much excitement and feet stamping by the kids in the audience. Again I had absolutely no interest in westerns. Why did I go???? Probably because, as I have said, everyone else went and I would have had no one to play with all afternoon. Then I got into a fight one day and won, it was a boy, Jimmy Quinn, and I made him cry, and the battle axe usherette banned me. 'You are not coming in here again'!' she yelled at me. Did I care? Not in the least, I went home and read my library books. :-- )) EDIT. I also remember my very first visit to the cinema. I was probably about 2 years old. I was carried in anyway so I must have been quite small. I was taken there in the afternoon by my grandma. When we got inside, it was pitch black everywhere. I saw a giant picture of a man's head and shoulders accompanied by a booming voice. Frightened me to death!!! I screamed my head off, had to be taken outside and got a sound slapping for making such a fuss and getting us chucked out.!!! LOLOL

I was born in 1955. When I was a kid in the south (Texas, to be specific), the balcony was still reserved for "Negroes" - my mother was appalled when I wanted to go up there to watch the movies (I'm Caucasian), and I had no earthly idea why. Beyond that very sad memory, the theater is still in use on a limited basis. I remember big, Greek-style classical murals on the walls, and massive velvet curtains over the screen. It was a single-screen theater, of course, as most were in that day and time. It was actually comfortable, especially as in the summer it was one of the few air-conditioned places in town, and ticket prices were a whopping 25 cents for adults :-), and only 15 cents for kids.

i remember slipping in between those sliding seats...and struggling to keep my balance...lol..was very very tiny.

Interesting question. When I was a lad my town which used to have about 4 cinemas only had one - The Hippodrome. It was an independent cinema which only closed down when the first multiplex cinema came to the town. The Hippodrome only had two screens and used to allow smoking till it closed in 1998 - something which certain people loved but which I hated! It has rich 1930s decor inside, though badly aged by the time I was going to the place! A real oddity was the fact that they had retained the "double" seats in the circle which couples would use. Used to sell nasty Westlers Hot Dogs. As an aside my Father spent much of his teenage years in the London in the 50s which was still when cinema was huge and also when cinema seats were slashed in iconic films such as Rock around the Clock.

geez how old are you granny??? shall I speak louder? EDIT: looks at HAZ... OH MY.. is that gray hair??

It was a tiny place that held about 10 people and I went for my birthday to watch the Never-ending story...my brother cried at the scary wolf bit and we had fish and chips afterwards. Were the seats blue or red? Titanic is the only film I have gone back to watch again Memphis Belle was the first film where my dad sat at different part of the cinema as he was not cool enough for me and my friends

Hi Haz Memories not that good. First time I went to the pictures on my own (well with some friends, not parents) was to see Towering Inferno I sat too near the front and was totally mesmorised until my neck started aching!

- The 9penny rush on Saturday afternoon - a feature film, a B movie, cartoons and either popcorn or ice-cream (we couldn't afford both)! - when I got older, flicking paper missiles with elastic bands at unsuspecting patrons, kissing on the balcony and putting tons of makeup on my face to get in to see the exorcist, when I ws only 14! Our cinema is still there, a listed building, and still shows films twice a day, most days

I remember our class went on a field trip to the local cinema, to watch a special presentation of the Ten COmmandments.