Do you remember newsreels?

Question

Were they only shown in movie theaters during intermission?

Answer 1

We kids spent all day Saturday at the theater enjoying "moving pictures". Saturday was kids day. Your folks could drop you off and, you could stay as long as you wanted....watch the movies and many times as you wanted. Not like today where they kick your butt out after the film is finished. We usually went in the afternoon because we didn't want to miss our favorite Saturday morning shows --- on the radio. The Lone Ranger, Sky King, the Buster Brown show, etc. We are talking 1940's here....way before TV was available where I lived.

They always started with the newsreels (The Eyes and Ears of the World), then several cartoons - Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the rest. Then a "serial" which was a short 15-20 minutes story usually western that "continues next week". They ended right as the good guy is surrounded by the bad guys or the woman is strapped to the railroad tracks and the train is bearing down on her. This encouraged you to come back next week to see what happens.

Then there would be the "feature film"...usually a western starring one of the favorites..Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Lash LaRue, The Cisco Kid.... During intermission, there was always music (live organ) or, where we went, a talent show!!!! Then the second feature, usually with lesser known stars.

At the end of the second feature you could either leave or stay and watch the whole thing over again.

How we kids loved those Saturdays.......

Answer 2

Yes. And the organ coming up in front of the non talking black and white films before the show. In the intermission the lights went up and the usherette came round with the ice-cream and drinks. We used to queue at the front to get an ice-cream.

Those days and after, we had two films. An A film (the main film) and a B film (a cow boy or something) The newsreel came in the middle of the two films. Then the lights went up, then the second film

Answer 3

Great recollections, guys...to which I'll add--remember the travelogues ["And now we'll be leaving the lovely island of Pashewar..."] and the comedy short--Robert Benchley, Pete Smith--and sometimes a sing-along [follow the bouncing ball on the lyrics, right?] and THEN the newsreel and THEN Bugs Bunny or Donald Duck...and finally the Big Feature. And after that, the Not Really Very Big Feature, aka the B Movie with guaranteed wooden plot & worse actors... and, blinking in the sunlight like blind moles coming up out of their holes, you'd straggle out into what was left of your Saturday...

Answer 4

I remember them well & shown during intermissions too. Of course, being a kid at the time, I wanted them to show more cartoons.

Answer 5

I sure do then captain Video then the main movie I remember when I left the movie at intermission, I did not know what it meant and got up and went home

Answer 6

Yes, I remember news reels AND cartoons! No advertisements either. And, I could sit in the theater all day long or walk in, in the middle and sit through the next movie until I caught up!

Answer 7

Yes, I remember them. They were shown before the main picture show. My Mother in Law, took her children to see a movie and saw her son, James cut in half by bullets, on an island in Okinawa.

Answer 8

I do remember them as a child. They were shown before the movie and cartoon.

Answer 9

They always showed them before the main feature when I went to a show. I remember that the commentator was Lowell Thomas. It cost about .50 cents to get in.

Answer 10

I remember them at the beginning of the movie. Cartoons were better. Even the dancing popcorn boxes and cola cups were funny.