What Was the First Movie You Saw in a Theater?

[John Cole]

My first theater experience was in the summer of 1959 when my aunt brought me to see a double feature of The Fly and The Alligator People. I was five at the time, and I remember how much the sun hurt my eyes when I left the theater on that hot summer's day. The movies were the equivalent of Ovid's Metamorphosis for the atomic age.

John

[Bob T.]

The first one I remember seeing was 'The Longest Day'. I guess my parents couldn't get a baby sitter that day. I think 'Fantasia' might have been the actual first one.

[Easy E]

I had nightmares for weeks.... if i was to the theater before then, it didn't make an impression.

(love sharks to this day)

[Rick Nebiolo]

John,

I think I saw "101 Dalmations" in a theatre but my earliest cool movie memory was watching "Spartacus" with my parents and sleeping baby brother at the drive in. Artsy for a six year old.

Regards,

Rick

[Ray Zee]

leave it to cole to remember the names of the first movie he saw when 5 years old. geeezch

but when i was young the movies gave you a preview which was a car race around some dirt track. then if your car won, you got a number for the race with your ticket, you got some kind of prize.

[Cyrus]

The parents started taking me to kid matinees early on so my best guess would be some kind of cartoon feature. But the first movie that stuck was one that had a knife stabbing scene in it, the bad guy stabbing the good guy over the woman's favors. It was lower than B-quality and the scene must have been very crudely done, but it had an effect on a 7-year old.

[Jimbo]

I believe it was 1958 when I was taken to see Rodan by Inshiro Honda. It was a great movie and influenced my viewing habits to this day. The first drive-in movie I went to was with my older sister and her boyfriend, King Kong (The original version). The same genre as Rodan, guess my family was either into fantasy or prehistoric monsters. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[andyfox]

Don't remember exactly. I do remember my mom taking me to see Gigi and my dad, trying to counteract its influence, taking me to see The Thief of Baghdad.

If I had to bet, I'd bet it was Dumbo. I'd never seen an elephant fly.

[Clarkmeister]

The first one I remember was a double feature of King Kong and Jason and the Argonauts.

[Boris]

Oh wow. You're younger than I am. Jason and the Argonauts was an awesome movie. I had forgotten.

[Boris]

For some reason my aunt and uncle were babysitting me and my sister for the night. This was back when they had one screen movie theatres. The only movie showing at the only movie theatre in Whitefish was Up In Smoke. My aunt and my sister walked out. I couldn't stop laughing. I was only 5 or 6 but when I saw them smoking dog poop I LMAO. The other really funny scene is then Cheech pees on the cop's leg. very funny to a little boy.

[Jimbo]

John,

I nearly forgot the best thing about my first trip to the movie theater. There was a White Castle's right next to the theater entrance with those see thru juice machines swirling orange and grape drinks in the window. Anyone else remember those? I got two White Castle burgers and a cup of grape juice for an after movie treat. I still remember how good that tasted!! /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[Zeno]

I grew up in a very rural area but one ramshackle theater existed in a tiny town 8 miles away, only open Friday-Sunday. We saw Snow White (and the seven dwarfs) this was probably in 1958 or 59 (I was 5 or 6 at the time). We also saw Mad, Mad,.... World at the same theater. It closed down in the mid-60s or so, in fact Mad…World may have been the last movie shown before the theater shut down.

First drive-in movie, Parents took the whole tribe to see Jerry Lewis in “The Nutty Professor”. Had to drive 25 miles or so to the drive in. My Parents were nutty to take 5 children to a drive-in movie, but it was the only time they did it I should add. Youngest was 2 years old. The movie forever warped our little minds.

That's about all the movies we ever saw as kids, probably up to about High School anyway.

-Zeno

[Zeno]

"I still remember how good that tasted!!"

That "grape jucie" concoction you drank was 100 % sweet corn syrup, 100 % sugar, and 100 % chemicals that tasted like "grapes". /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif

300% excellence for kids. /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

If you drink that stuff today you would vomit. /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif

[HDPM]

I can't really remember. I know I saw movies at theaters before the first one I really remember. The first one I can recall was in 1st grade my father took me to see Papillon. Not the best movie for a 6 y/o I suppose. Good movie tho. I never really liked Disney movies or the Wizard of Oz and such, so I just don't remember typical kids movies. A little later on Jaws, Close Encounters, Star Wars, etc... were cool.

[David Steele]

Not sure why my parents took me to this, I was about 5 or 6.

D.

[Dr Wogga]

[TJSWAN]

Same here, was 3rd or 4th grade age, 2 buddies both named Jay and i went. When that head popped out during the night dive scene one of them dropped his entire soda in his lap. /forums/images/icons/shocked.gif
Have it on DVD. Robert Shaw was great. Comparing scars and getting hammered, what fun!!!!!! I still laugh at that. /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

[imported_Chuck Weinstock]

I'm not sure what the first movie I saw in a theater was, but I know that my first movie memory was seeing Snow White at the Sunset Drive Inn at Touhy and McCormick in Chicago. I also remember this huge box of popcorn that was probably taller than I was at the time.

I also remember the Saturday Matinee at the Alcyon. Admission was 35 cents, popcorn was 15 cents (25 cents with butter), so for 50 or 60 cents I'd get to see Target Earth, Francis the Talking Mule, or the Forbidden Planet...complete with News of the Day, coming attractions, a cartoon, and usually a short subject.

ETTS.

Chuck

[Mark Heide]

John,

I can't remember. But, I do remember that all the movies I saw as a kid was at the drive-ins. During High School my sister had a job at the movie theater and I was able to see every movie for free. The owner of the theater was a friend of the family.

Mark

[scalf]

/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif fanny..at radio city...rockettes included...as about an eight-year -old...fantastic...lol..gl /forums/images/icons/cool.gif /forums/images/icons/spade.gif

[DPCondit]

I'm not really sure. It might have been The Sound of Music, or Mary Poppins, or something by Walt Disney. I can't remember.

Don

[nicky g]

Funny that a couple of people have said Snow White, me too. My aunt was supposed to take my twin sister to see Snow White and my uncle was to take me to see a Star Wars movie (can't remember which one), but the Star Wars wasn't on so I had to go with the girls. I remember being quite annoyed. A couple of films I saw on tv at my aunt's house when I was little affected me more though, I think - a black and white film about a ghost scared the bejeez out of me for years (even though I remember the ghost turned out to be someone in a mask), and I got a kick out of a film with James Mason (I think) as a highwayman (he was having an affair with an aristocrat who started impersonating him and killing people who found out, including her dear old servant), which I remember seeing a couple of times. Also saw the Sound of Music about 6 trillion times (look, I had a twin sister, OK? And the Captain is cool).