Roy Rodgers the king of the cowboys was a 50s childhood favorite
Most movies produced during the 1950s focused on adult interests. The cartoons that preceded the main feature were considered the children’s part of the presentation. Western theme films, Science Fiction, WWII films, and Comedy genres attracted both children and adults. Most of the Westerns that played in the years right after WWII were made in the early 30s or 40s and were not in color. The industry began producing a large number of new westerns in the late 40s. Comedy films, like Francis the Talking Mule, appealed more to children than adults. Movies framed 50s childhood memories and friendships. Many of the Western Films made in the early 50s were short films made in serialized format. Singing Cowboys consumed both adult and children’s interest. Double features that consumed 5 hours on Saturday afternoons were often Westerns.
Main street Roxana, Illinois 1998. A sparse
shopping district for out daily commerce.
Photo by Rodger 1998.
The compact downtown section of Roxana, Illinois was 5 small city blocks long on Central Avenue. City offices and all of the retail businesses were located on Central. A Shell Oil C0ompany refinery on the East and a Standard Oil Company refinery on the West sandwiched the town in between them. The town was only 2 blocks wide on 3rd street where I lived. Because of the small scale of the downtown, the movie theater felt like a neighborhood theater. Children walked to the theater like they walked to their friends house next door. Before televisions were common, movies framed 50s childhood memories and friendships. The theater served as a social hub to promote childhood friendships.
A child responds to a 1950 Sci-Fi film vision of the future
Science fiction was a common theme for 50s movies. The Thing from Another World, Them, and When Worlds Collide are examples of movies that are cult if not cinematic classics. Science Fiction movies were very popular with children. I watched a film made in 1950, Destination Moon, with my friend Stanley as it replayed in 1954. I often departed on my 3 block walk to the theater without any plans for who I would watch the movie with. One or more of my friends often decided to see the same movie at the same time. The theater venue created, maintained, and enhanced friendships via planned and ad hoc meetings.
I planned to ride my bicycle to the nearby town of Wood River, Illinois to see Them in 1954. My friend Brian did not get permission to go with me so I went alone. I became very frightened during the middle of the movie and decided to leave to be home before dark. This is the only time I remember chickening out in the middle of a movie.
Science Fiction films became an early 50s children’s favorite and motivated production of the genre
Post movie conversations ranged from a recap of an action scene to personal ratings. Stanley responded to the end titles of Destination Moon. The end credits said: “This is THE END…of the Beginning” as the crew approached the Earth on the return trip from the moon. Stanley said: what does that mean? His question underlined the theme. The movie portrayed the beginning of space exploration. The movie depicted a vision of space exploration initiated by private enterprise investment and engineering. Stanley’s question foreshadows the first launch of a satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957. The United States launched the first commercial telecommunications satellite, Telstar, in 1962. Eight years after our conversation in 1954. The movie accurately predicted the industrial use of space.
The town theater was an object of uncritical devotion
The section heading is an alternate definition of the word icon. It is appropriate for
Roxana Illinois movie theater frames childhood
fantasies and friendships in the 40s and 50s
Photo by Rodger 1998
thiscontext. Children thought of the theater as an icon more than adults. The theatre was 4 blocks North of my house on Central Ave. Before TV people went to the movies almost every week. Double features played on Saturdays and repeated into the evening. Children often spent 5 hours or more watching a double feature twice. Management did not clear the theater after a performance. Children paid admission to a performance in the afternoon and stayed until the theater closed that night.
I began attending movies alone by age 6. Parents let children roam around town by themselves. This attitude was symptomatic of the small town culture of that time period. Parents trusted their neighbors and business people to watch out for their children and report any misbehavior. I eagerly anticipated the theater routine, from my first memories in 1947 until 1955, when I moved away from Roxana.
50s childhood memories come to life at Wakulla Springs
Tarzan and the Creature from the Black Lagoon
movie location Wakulla Springs Florida
Photo by Rodger 2007
Vivid memories of the locations for my favorite movies persisted to adulthood. The first movie that I remember was a 1947 Tarzan movie. I remember attempting to visualize what the movie was going to be about. I had not seen any Tarzan movies but my mother had given me a brief description. 60 years later I fulfilled a lifelong dream to walk through the jungle where Tarzan had swung on vines. In 2007 I travelled to the Florida Panhandle with my wife for a vacation. We took a boat tour at Wakulla Springs where the Tarzan movies of the 40s had been filmed.
My wife had been working as a Park Ranger, University Teacher, and had been training docents for several years when we took this trip in 2007. The other element of our dual purpose trip was the ecological system. Among my 65 plus National Park trips, this location is unique in diversity and the intense experience of this habitat. The one mile length of the river from the spring hosts: 182 species of tropical birds, 600 or so alligators, and manatees. According to the tour book, Mastodon bones may be visible at the bottom of the springs. The spring is 100 feet deep. On the day that I took the tour, the water was not clear enough to see the bones.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon was also filmed at Wakulla Springs. The film was produced in 3D but usually shown in 2D black and white. The box office was less than 2 million dollars. This is a startlingly low number in comparison to budgets for films in later decades. Follow the links for more info.
Parental guidance filtered 50s childhood memories
My mother censured the movies that I watched. She considered some of them to be too frightening. Her list of prohibited movies was short. Movies did not contain graphic violence or sex at that time. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was on the censure list. I do not remember the reason that Snow White was censored. My mother often gave explanations for rules or discipline but I don’t remember why she thought the film was to frightening for a 7 year old.
Some of the Sci-Fi Horror films that were not on my mother’s radar were more frightening than Snow White. There were often no news sources for the content of movies. If my mother had not heard anyone describe the movie, she would not know that it was a horror film. Donovan’s Brain, a 1953 film, was much more frightening than Snow White. I do not remember having any bad dreams, but I can still remember the theme as being an intense horror film for a 10 year old. Follow the link to see the trailer.
I saw Donavan’s Brain following a usual scenario. one of my friends walked down the alley while I was in the front yard. Johnny said: “I am going to the movies you want to come”. My reply was: mom, can I have 25 cents. So I saw the movie. I don’t remember if I knew what movie I was going to see. Usually I was aware of the current presentation.
The drive in theater makes 50s childhood memories
Drive in Theaters were a core element of small town culture in the 1940s and 1950s. My research quotes: 4000 nationwide by the early 60s. Books are available for a detailed history. This summary is a description of my experience near the small town of Roxana, Illinois.
Cowboys and Indians themes dominated Film and Tv in the 50s
Drive-ins were inexpensive. The price was by car so that a family could get in for one price. I remember $.50 being common in the 40s. This venue was designed for children. There were playgrounds with swing sets. Children played before the movie started or during the movie if they wanted to. If the children were noisy or unruly they only distracted the people in the car with them and not people in other cars. Drive-Ins occasionally had all night presentations from dusk until dawn. I saw an all-night show with my family when I was 8. My effort to stay awake until dawn did not succeed. The all-night programs included Westerns, my father’s favorite actor was Randolf Scott. Jane Russell’s debut in one of Howard Huges films, Outlaw, made her a star.
One of the movies I can remember seeing at a Drive-In was the Invisible Man. This movie was made in the 30s but was a classic still showing 20 years later. After I moved to California in 1966 I went to the Griffith Park Planetarium where some of the scenes for that movie were shot. This location has been used for many films, including Rebel Without a Cause. The first link is for images that show why this is one of the most popular places to visit in Southern California. The trail to Mt Hollywood starts at the back of the parking lot, is an easy hike, and provides incredible views. This link is the park history. The Drive-Ins were not open during the winter.
Film industry production in 1951 included childhood favorites
The Lone Ranger rides again in 50s childhood movie memories
The menu of movies in 1951 was typical for the years that I was attending movies in Roxana. Follow the link for the complete list. Classic films, like African Queen and Streetcar Named Desire, science fiction including The Thing From Another World, and the WWII movie Flying Leathernecks were produced that year. I counted 91 Westerns and 49 Comedies from the 1951 list. War movies were becoming less common by 1951. The industry produced 14 War movies that year. My favorite movies for that year included Angels in the Outfield and Flying Leathernecks. The Lone Ranger character due to its serialized format became a standard Saturday morning Tv favorite. Republic Pictures produced a large number of episodes, but the Studio did not survive after the 50s.
WWII films dominated the industry for several years after the war. The depiction of war battle scenes was much less graphic than films of the 1970s or later. Blood, bullet holes, and severed limbs were not seen in film. The WWII movies were very popular with children. The toy industry responded with miniature soldiers, tanks, and other war artifacts such as battleships, planes, and guns. Many children had a large collection of WWII related toys.
Theaters in the small towns sometimes arranged special free presentations for children. The Roxana theater arranged a presentation of Qou Vadis, a 1951 film about the rein of Roman Emperor Nero. The theater at the city of Highland, Illinois, where my cousin lived, presented a total cartoon show at Christmas time. The cartoon character Wiley Coyote is part of my 50s childhood memories.
Small town theatre presentations in the 40s and 50s were often several years old. Snow White was released in 1937 but still playing in 1950. In the 1980s or 1990s or later old movies would only be watched on television of DVD. Movies would often run in theatres for several weeks up until the 1980s.
Super hero and adventure movies framed 50s childhood memories
A series of short films was produced for the Batman comic book character in 1943 and another series as a sequel in 1949. The chapters were shown weekly on Saturdays at the theater in nearby Wood River. The Wood River theater was not within walking distance so I did not attend that theatre as frequently as the Roxana theatre.
I liked the Batman serials the best. The Batman serials were action oriented but the special effects and stunts were very crude compared to what was done with digital technology in the 90s. I don’t think that I ever saw all of the episodes of a serial. You had to go regularly for several weeks to get the complete story line. The Batman serials were short films less than one half hour in length. The story lines incorporated some elements of the 1920s cliffhangers. Batman fell out of an airplane at the end of an episode and landed in a large haystack at the beginning of the next.
Twenty seven films with a designation of Adventure/ Action were produced in 1951. The peak for the Swashbuckler genre had come and gone. Captain Blood and Robin Hood, produced in the 30s were still playing in theaters in the 50s. This genre has been reincarnated in the Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean film series.