Saturday Morning Pictures
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
United Kingdom
April 28, 2017 2:00pm CST
When I was a child in the 1940s the only forms of entertainment available to us were the radio and the 'Pictures'. This latter you would know as the cinema or movies.
These were the days before television and the highlight of our week was our outing to the Saturday Morning Pictures. Most children would get a few pennies as pocket money every week, and these we would use as the entrance fee at the local cinema, which was affectionately known as the 'flea pit'. No parents went with us.
Once we were inside and ensconced in our seats the lights would go out, and up on the screen would come the words of 'our song'. We would sing at the top of our lungs, and then the programme would start.
There was always a 'funny' to start with - cartoons, Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, etc. Then there would be the main film, often a cowboy featuring the likes of Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, Tex Ritter or Gene Autry. Or it might be a 'Lassie' film, with that oh-so-clever dog.
This wasn't an orderly watching of a film - we were there to take part, hissing and booing the baddies, cheering the goodies, crying when Lassie didn't make it home. If the projector broke down, and it often did, there was much jeering, cat-calling and stamping of feet.
After the main film there would be an interval, during which we'd run around up and down tthe aisles, laughing or arguing with each other. The better off kids (not us) would buy an ice cream ( no popcorn in those days).
The concluding item was a serial, like Flash Gordon or Tarzan, and it always ended with a cliff-hanger. The idea was to make sure that we would go the next week to see if our hero survived.
We weren't allowed out till after the national Anthem was played, for which we had to stand in silence. Then we all spilled out onto the street, pretending to be cowboys riding our imaginary horses as we ran all the way home.
Oh, happy days. Did you have anything like that when you were a child?
58 people like this
58 responses
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
2 May 17
I think so too....Me Tarzan ...You Jane....How we loved them
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (166976)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Apr 17
I remember seeing many of those you listed when I got home from school. Including Roy Rogers and Tarzan.When I was ten or eleven my step brother and I would go to the movies Saturday with the free ticket we cut off the milk carton.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (166976)
• Boise, Idaho
29 Apr 17
@jaboUK .......Those were the days. Can't get anything for free now days unless there is a gimmick.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Apr 17
@celticeagle That was great that you got to go for free.
2 people like this
@Juliaacv (51197)
• Canada
28 Apr 17
Your memories are very rich, you had fun activities during your childhood.
My upbringing was very different.
I grew up on a family farm, and we did not go into town for anything unless it was as a family.
I don't think that I saw a movie in town until I was about 8 years old.
Playing was outside, riding your bike or going to the neighbour's to play with their kids, or them coming over to play at our house.
3 people like this
@Juliaacv (51197)
• Canada
29 Apr 17
@jaboUK And I just love to hear of someone else's upbringing, whether they were raised in my area or not, in my time period or not, a lot of what we do as a child shapes us to become the adult we do. My childhood was protected more then anything. I learned a lot about life when I had my first fulltime job after college. I wasn't exposed to other religions or points of view until then, and I found learning about it so rich. This was when I worked as an Activity Director at the old age home.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Apr 17
@Juliaacv I do keep fishing these memories out, don't I? I write about them because things were SO different then, and people might find them interesting. For instance, children running through the streets and going to the cinema without parental supervision - that wouldn't happen today would it?
Your childhood sounds idyllic - a lovely country upbringing. Our playground was the street.
2 people like this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
28 Apr 17
There were a lit of differences when I was going up compared to today. Nothing like this though but I grew up in the late 60s when I started school Thru the 70s when I was in grade school. Life was so much different then. Many times miss the quieter lifestyle.
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3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@KrauseHome You're a lot younger than me, but you've still seen a great many changes in your lifetime. 
@marguicha (223021)
• Chile
29 Apr 17
Our movies were on Sunday. And the order was about the same. Tom &Jerry at the beginning and the film. The seriakl I remember most was Fu Man Chu.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@marguicha - Oh I'd forgotten about Fu Man Chu. It's great that we had similar experiences even though we were on the other side of the world from each other.
@crossbones27 (49463)
• Mojave, California
28 Apr 17
I am a bit younger so not quite like that, but find your story interesting and sounds like you guys had more fun than we do these days.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Apr 17
@crossbones27 It was just after the war and material things were in short supply so we didn't have much in the way of toys. That didn't stop us having fun though.
1 person likes this
@Teep11 (7673)
• United States
28 Apr 17
Sounds like a lot adventures took place. Perhaps a stroll down memory lane. Haven't been to the movies in awhile but have seen plenty of movies. Use to see the movies for free when working at the movie theater. Remembering all of the nice police officers who also worked there.
3 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
28 Apr 17
No, but that sounds like fun times to be sure. Interesting that they allowed the kids to run the place until the Anthem was played. I'm also surprised at how many shows we grew up with you were able to see Saturday mornings. I didn't realize all those shows made it over the pond that long ago. In fact, I'm still surprised when mylotters from Europe, Asia and many other locales share about their interests in American shows, movies and songs.
Our Saturday mornings consisted of watching Howdy Doody, and a few cartoons. It seems like there was another regular show we watched, but I can't put my finger on it at present. We weren't able to sit all day long to watch TV. Oddly enough my memory wants to tell me we didn't get a TV until I was in high school, but I do remember watching the shows I mentioned when young, so I think the one I remember must have been the first color TV we got.
3 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Apr 17
Not when I was a kid is what my parents experienced at the Saturday matinee.
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
28 Apr 17
@JohnRoberts Your parents are probably the same generation as me I'm guessing.
2 people like this
@cavalierscholar (205)
•
30 Apr 17
luckily my generation at least got to see a lot of those old films on television. Media is so different now, I don't think today's kids have any experience they can compare to sitting in a dark theater watching serials.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 Apr 17
@cavalierscholar Hello, I don't think I've met you before. Yes, it's a completely different world now, the kids all seem to be engrossed in their electronics.
. Yes, it's a completely different world now, the kids all seem to be engrossed in their electronics.1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
2 May 17
@cavalierscholar There are good things and bad things about any era. The ideal now would be to find a balance - use the best that the internet has to offer, but at the same time enjoy your real life.
1 person likes this
@cavalierscholar (205)
•
2 May 17
@jaboUK the millenial generation have grown up fully immersed in the internet and don't really understand what the world was like before it came on the scene. As a Gen Xer, we grew up with landline phones and cassette tapes so we have a better idea of what the world was like for our parents generation before the internet came along. I personally really have an appreciation of what the entertainment business and film were like in that older world. I like things like stage magic, circuses, old films that are a call back to that tradition.
1 person likes this
@Nawsheen (28643)
• Mauritius
29 Apr 17
My dad often tells us about how he used to go to the cinema long ago. If they were going to see late night movies it would always be on foot as no public transport was available at that time. This was surely some great adventures. I would not mind watching Laurel and Hardy again. Such a nice movie
2 people like this
@rebelann (112879)
• El Paso, Texas
29 Apr 17
That sounds like it was so much fun.
From 1956 to 1959 we lived on a base in Germany and the local elementary school would play a film called a matinee on saturday afternoons, I used to beg mom to let me go and once in a while she'd say ok.
I remember watching a lot of the disney cartoons over the 3 years we were there.
2 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
29 Apr 17
Yes I did janet...when we were younger we ( my brothers and I ) belonged to the saturday morning cinema club.. what you just described sounds very familiar ...lol
the only difference being the films (the main features) we watched... mainly walt disney... and chitty bang bang, sound of music, but not many cowboys..
the only difference being the films (the main features) we watched... mainly walt disney... and chitty bang bang, sound of music, but not many cowboys..2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@sueznewz2 So you know what I'm talking about - I think ours was called the Mickey Mouse Club.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
OH yes every Saturday morning we were turfed out to the Saturday morning picture show. I think that was the time for mummies and daddies to play mummies and daddies. That was why it was compulsory for all kids to go to the pictures. They were still playing those films when I was a kid including Old Mother Riley. I loved Norman Wisdom films though they were my favourite and there was another guy from America who was incredibly funny I forget his name! I remembered as soon as I posted. Jerry Lewis and another actor can't remember his name. Might have been Dean someone?
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@garymarsh6 Dean Martin I think Gary. Yes I loved them too, and I'm glad you mentioned Old Mother Riley. Then there were Abbott and Costello. They were all very entertaining.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@garymarsh6 I'll tell you what Gary - I never remember being bored. We played all sort of games in the street with balls and skipping ropes, hopscotch etc. Indoors we made clothes for our dolls out of scraps, and spent hours drawing and colouring.
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@jaboUK Yes that was back in the 60's early 70's for me. Bearing in mind we had tiny little televisions I am sure did not work during the day time and showed the test car only two channels maybe three until much later unlike today with hundreds. Kids have so many things at the tip of their fingers but are always complaining they are bored. We had to make our own entertainment when we were younger Janet. It was probably worse for you just after the war. No money no goods and still on rations. But we were relatively happy and grateful for the smallest thing.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14556)
• United States
29 Apr 17
Wow that really was something! What I remember of the movie theater from my childhood was actually getting dressed up to go and see a movie. It was an event. There were actual curtains closed in front of the screen when we entered the theater. And some theaters had a live orchestra to play all the music. Some just had an organist. But we would see about half of the movie and then music would begin playing and the curtains would close for intermission, so we would get a cup of tea and maybe a small cake and then return to our seats to see the end of the movie.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 17
@CRK109 The sort of experience you describe was the same in England, but that was for the regular films that the adults went to. Children were taken there too of course, but the Saturday mornings were for children only. It was more like a kids' club.
1 person likes this
