Curt Dalton
159 posts
Jul 29, 2009
7:39 PM
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My first movie was at the Fairborn Theater. I still remember the lighted sign on the tower that shouted "FAIRBORN" at everyone on Broad Street. I was around eight at the time and we went to see Way, Way Out with Jerry Lewis. I wanted to be an astronaut at the time and this was right up my alley, with Jerry as an astronaut against the RUSSIANS!!! The Russians have male/female teams in space, while the U.S. has all males. The all male teams eventually go nuts without women, so the U.S. tries a male/female team as an experiment. It was kind of racy, the fact being that Jerry and the girl have to be married to keep up a moral front. The end of the movie sort of implies that Jerry and his wife are becoming friendly with each other... which made my mom quite upset and we left the theater before the end of the credits.
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Marck1957
53 posts
Jul 30, 2009
9:05 AM
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I believe my first movie was "Mary Poppins". Like I've said before, I can admit this online, as I am relatively anonymous here! I must have been 5 years old. It was at The Victory Theater in downtown Dayton. The line to get in to see it was extended around the corner of the building, and down First Street. Mom and dad loved musicals, and took us to see a lot of them. "The King And I", "My Fair Lady", "Show Boat" "The Sound Of Music", "Oliver", and more. We had the soundtrack records of them all, and we sang show tunes day in and day out. We never got tired of it. My love for music surely is due to those years and those films.
In later years we saw many plays at the Memorial Theater, "Kinley Players". I'm sure some of you have some memories of them too.
Last Edited by on Jul 30, 2009 9:07 AM
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RickD
29 posts
Aug 11, 2009
12:25 PM
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Don't know what but I know where. The Davue on Salem. It was walking distance by cutting through Miracle Lane Shopping Center. Used to go there on Saturdays for all afternoon shows. If you stayed inside you could watch shows all day.
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Keugene48
47 posts
Aug 11, 2009
2:16 PM
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I can't remember it but I saw Snow White, probably at the Victory theater. My mom said I almost went under the seat when the wicked stepmother turned into a witch. That was back when you had to go to a theater to see a movie. You could see a cartoon, coming attractions and newsreel and a movie for probably 60 cents.
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driver62
202 posts
Aug 12, 2009
7:36 AM
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I can't remember the movie but it was at the Eaton Theater in Eaton, Oh. It was only open on weekends and showed nothing but westerns. I remember Lash Larue, Durango Kid, Gene Autry, etc.
They always had a serial with a different chapter each week. At the end of each chapter, the hero was about to fall off a cliff or get run over by a train so you had to come back next week to see how he survived. This would have been in the late 1940's or early 1950's.
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JohnC
90 posts
Aug 20, 2009
6:35 AM
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"The Lost World" at the Lowes Ames back in 1960. Loved me some dinosaurs when I was a little guy. Remember it like it was yesterday. Jill St. John, Michael Rennie and David Hedison (who later played Captain Crane on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"). The "dinosaurs" were really only big lizards shot with wide angle lenses, but to a four year old kid, they sure looked cool.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2009 6:42 AM
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newsnot
17 posts
Aug 20, 2009
7:45 AM
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what was the name of the theatre that was on fourth orfifth street westof bank west of the miami river?
it sorta turned into a "hobo city" in later years. they might have torn it down to build route 35.
Last Edited by on Aug 20, 2009 7:47 AM
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newsnot
18 posts
Aug 20, 2009
7:49 AM
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what was the name of the theatre at wyiming and gunckel?
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RIVERDALE RAT
16 posts
Aug 23, 2009
1:07 AM
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13 Ghosts. I believe it was at the old State theatre.
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pie8me
12 posts
Aug 28, 2009
2:44 PM
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That was a theater at Wyoming and Gunkel? I only ever knew it as a bar.
First movie had to have been at the Belmont Drive in. No clue what it might have been.
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CurtT
10 posts
Aug 30, 2009
1:57 PM
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First walk-in movie for me was It's A MAD MAD MAD World on Brown and Wyoming St.
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phil pixley
10 posts
Aug 30, 2009
3:06 PM
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To RickD Man I have got to know you,I went to Fairview,one of my best friends D Murin went to Assumption,&then Fairview.I went to Gettysburg &then Fairview,I think we probably chewed the same dirt together.P.S.I still eat mustard on my fries&soft salty pretzels,ala the Mascot.
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rfk61
9 posts
Sep 01, 2009
4:26 PM
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It was Jungle Book at the Belmont Drive In. Mom took me and some friends there for my birthday and it starting storming and lightning so they had to stop the film and we had to leave. I'm sure there were other times we went to the drive in before that but that was the first that really stands out. We used to go to the Fox Kettering Theater alot on Dorothy Lane also.
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Sgot
10 posts
Dec 17, 2009
10:13 PM
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Disney's "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" at the Airline Theater, in Vandalia... sometime around 1959-60.
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gch1955
1 post
Dec 18, 2009
11:50 AM
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It was either "That Darn Cat" or "Mary Poppins" at the Victory Theater downtown. I loved to go to the Victory and walk up that (then it seemed long) corridor.
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icsalum
32 posts
Dec 20, 2009
8:07 PM
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First movie I remember was Summer Magic at the Victory
downtown. Around the same time I went to 'free' afternoon movies at the Belmont. You could pick up
tickets from a local business for an afternoon showing
of a B movie. Saw many in the early sixties.
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tlturbo
176 posts
Dec 21, 2009
10:01 AM
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I lived in Fairborn from birth in 47 to about 53 so I assume it was at the Fairborn Theater. I remember going there and seeing a couple cartoons and a show and they had some guy or gal come out and draw ticket stubs for prizes. It probably was some cowboy flick. Earliest real movie I remember (and this probably was after we moved to Memphis after 1st grade) was The Creature from the Black Lagoon and THEM (the ants).
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DaytonDennis
8 posts
Sep 12, 2010
5:05 PM
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"The Angry Red Planet" at the Sherwood Twin on West Third. My family was poor with 7 kids so going to the movies was a true luxury. Actually, that's the only one I remember seeing with my folks as a kid. I remember going to the Alhambra on East Third with my friend Guy, but he always went just to make out with his girlfriend, while I was stuck watching some crappy Western!
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JBlair
3 posts
Sep 18, 2010
1:34 PM
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I went with my mom when I was 6 or 7 to a downtown theater--either Keith's or Lowe's--to see "Million Dollar Mermaid" with Esther Williams. Williams was swimming around in a huge container of water with one side of glass so she could be filmed swimming in it on an old movie set. The glass broke and I think Williams' character was shown being swept out with the water over huge shards of glass. I screamed and slid down in my seat with my hands over my mouth. Mom was so embarassed we didn't leave until everyone else had and on the trolley home, she said she was glad that we'd gone to a matinee so fewer people were disturbed. It was a different for parenting, wasn't it?
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DebCB
8 posts
Sep 25, 2010
12:30 PM
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My older sister took me downtown on the Third St. electric bus to see Bambi at the Victory theater. Must have been in the late 50s.
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AllenN71
86 posts
Sep 25, 2010
1:29 PM
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The first movie I ever saw was "The Wizard of Oz", seen on the first color television in our neighborhood which, unfortunately for us, belonged to us. I was barely a first-grader and believe me, hiding my fear at the tornado, the witch, etc. was even more traumatic than watching that vintage motion picture. Remember the Cheerios commercial where Cheerios Sue was trapped in a tower by a dragon? That gave me nightmares, but not one-tenth as bad as I got from the Wizard of Oz. By cracky, it bordered on child abuse... (by cracky??)
But that was in Indianapolis. The first movie I saw in Dayton was "The Longest Day", the account of D-Day. We saw it at one of the drive-ins (The Dixie?) and the part I remember best was where the German officer was in such a hurry to respond that he put his boots on the wrong feet. That, and the part where the GI mistook the clicking of the bolt on a K-98 German rifle for the all clear on a "cricket" signaling device.
BTW who comes up with these anti-spam letter sequences? At the end of this, I have to type "cexhuG" to prove I'm not a robot. "cexhug"? I thought this was a family site, lol.
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nancy121
3 posts
Dec 12, 2010
5:57 PM
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Think it was called Federation on Xenia Ave. A boy from the 4th grade named Jerry Simpson took me to see Oklahoma....
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thomas6
27 posts
Dec 24, 2010
9:09 PM
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it was the Ames on n.main,have no idea what was first,sinbad the sailor,maybe ole yeller,thanks to the Ames brothers for allowing us kids from shawen acres to go every sat,this was late 50s early 60s
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Leath
7 posts
Jan 09, 2011
10:43 PM
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The Belmont Theater in downtown Belmont...Mom would send me on my way starting at about age 7 (1954), by myself or with friends of the same age, to see the Saturday matinee....it was always a B grade monster or space or cowboy movie with a cliff hanger suspense serial to make u come back next Sat...cost a quarter...and Mom told me stories of her going to movies with her Mom and it cost a dime to get in and have popcorn.
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FAITH
3 posts
Jan 11, 2011
7:24 AM
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I remember going to the Belmont Auto often as a kid. The only specific movies I remember staying awake for though are "Willard" and "Billy Jack". I loved the Pink Panther cartoons before the feature!
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Doug68
93 posts
May 30, 2011
11:49 AM
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The first movie that I ever saw was VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED at Ames Theater on N. Main Street. It was so scary back then - and now I can't sit thru it without laughing.
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Perry401
60 posts
Jun 01, 2011
7:55 PM
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I think the first film I saw at a theater was the movie "Tom Thumb". I think it was shown at the Belmont theater on Watervliet Ave. I don't remember much about it except for a little kid, it was sort of scary. The first film I went to that really impressed me was a Jacques Cousteau documentary film, complete with a bad English soundtrack which was shown at the Art Theater on Wayne Ave. This was before the Art became an adult entertainment movie house. At the time, they showed some of the more obscure Hollywood films, documentaries, and some foreign films. This was very impressive for a young guy -- living under the sea in what looked like a large football with half a dozen other men. Going skuba diving several times a day and having such pretty fish and coral out the windows. I think part of the appeal for a young boy with two sisters (and countless other young women in the neighborhood) was no girls were allowed in Jacques' undersea world!
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flikhem
6 posts
Jun 05, 2011
11:14 AM
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I have no idea what it was, but I think it would have to have been a Disney movie at the Victory Theater on a Saturday afternoon, early to mid '60s.
Last Edited by on Jun 05, 2011 11:15 AM
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Riverdale Ghost
187 posts
Jun 07, 2011
10:11 AM
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The question and some of the answers were obviously posed by people of the "post movie era."
The first I REMEMBER -- there were no doubt some before then -- I was three years old and it was memberable because I got a memorable spanking. It was probably the one near Roosevelt high school.
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 Honest Communications Is The Foundation of Civilizations.
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F16 1UB
22 posts
Jun 09, 2011
7:14 PM
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I think it was Lady & The Tramp at the Ames on north main near Nottingham. My brother and I walked from our home. We lived on Allerton Rd.
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januarysend
1 post
Jun 10, 2011
4:22 PM
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My first movie was "Singin' in the Rain" at the Victory Theater, 1952. I was so impressed that an actual grownup would dance through puddles and get soaked in the rain, dressed just like my daddy going to work. I've never forgotten it. Does anybody remember the crowds of girls at the Victory to see "Love Me Tender"? We waited hours to get in. Early on, there was a nice head shot of Richard Egan, who played Elvis's brother, and then Elvis appeared as a tiny speck in the background, plowing the field. The theater erupted in ear-splitting screams, probably chasing out even the Victory ghost, and nobody could hear a thing during the rest of the movie. What a great experience, to learn the emotional power of a tiny image no bigger than a dot on that big screen!
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Oldav
5 posts
Sep 28, 2011
9:13 AM
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"Don't give up the ship" a Jerry Lewis movie, at the Alhambra on east Third.
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PaulH
65 posts
Sep 28, 2011
10:51 PM
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Bambi at the Victory theater. I think I was about 5 years old? Maybe 4.
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wolfcreek
17 posts
Sep 29, 2011
9:32 AM
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"Sword and the Stone" at the Victory. Maybe not the first, but one of the first. I remember because a huge snowstorm came through during the movie, and my mom didn't want to drive in it, so we waited, along with other people, in the lobby until it calmed down a bit.
I remember being scared, but excited too.
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gris66
62 posts
Sep 29, 2011
9:33 AM
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Like you, Paul, mine was a Disney flick at about the same age... Sleeping Beauty at McCooks Theater. My grandmother took me. Wasn't much interested in the love story but was absolutely captivated and thrilled with the battle against the fire-breathing dragon (Maleficent) at the end to get into the throne-covered castle.
Last Edited by on Sep 29, 2011 9:36 AM
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notgoingquietly
3 posts
Dec 06, 2012
2:26 PM
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The first movie I attended by myself was a kind of rite of passage for this young man. I was 11 years old in November of 1964, and my mother gave me the bus fare and price of a ticket to see Mary Poppins at the Victory. I rode the trolley bus south on Main st. from Fairview, and the stop put me off the bus in front of the Lowes, across the street from my intended destination. On the marquee was James Bond's Goldfinger. I'd seen the trailers on TV, was a car-crazy kid, and the lure of the Aston-Martin battling the very new 64-1/2 Mustang was too great to resist. The movie was a revelation for an 11 year old, in so many ways.. I sat through two showings without closing my mouth or blinking, I'm pretty sure. When I got home, Mom asked me to tell her about the movie, and I mumbled something about a lady flying around with an umbrella. A white lie, I figured, as Ms. Galore had no umbrella..
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KennyE11
92 posts
Dec 06, 2012
7:44 PM
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I don't remember the first movie I saw, however the previous post reminds me that the first movie I saw at a theater by myself was also a James Bond movie. I saw "The Man With the Golden Gun" at the Salem Mall when I was thirteen. A similar rite of passage...
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KenC3
44 posts
Dec 06, 2012
9:34 PM
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I have no idea. I do remember going with my class to Loews to watch Quo Vadis. It was supposed to be educational?
I went to the downtown movies at Keiths, Loews, Victory and the two on Jefferson every saturday after my piano lesson. Roy Rogers, Whip Wilson, Hopalong Cassidy, Lone Ranger and others on Jeffeson.
Does the Mayfair count? That came later.
Ken
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Mark1984
25 posts
Dec 07, 2012
3:56 AM
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The old theater at the corner of Gunkel and Wyoming was recently demolished. The roof and one wall had collapsed. But the first movie I saw was Disney's Robin Hood. It was at the Salem Drive In. It was on Salem, obviously, a little south of the Miracle Lane shopping center.
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Mark1984
26 posts
Dec 07, 2012
4:09 PM
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You are so right. I got my directions confused. It was close to where the Ponderosa use to be. There was a Golden Nugget pancake house between them. I think?
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bigben37
2 posts
Dec 07, 2012
9:20 PM
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This is going EAST on THIRD St, starting at the corner at the SUGAR BOWL, {for girls}then next door was the PEOPLES THEATER, next was the TEDDY BEAR, {for boys}still going EAST, was a shoe repair store,then the VELVET ICE CREAM parlor! On the South side if 3rd was RESINGERS funeral home & CAROLYNS flower shop then the BLUE DANUBE bar! Then R.R. tracks & the WEST SIDE lumber,next was the PARK theater & a BANK on the corner of WESTERN & THIRD There was GALAGHERS a LIBERAL markrt& a WOOLWORTHS 5&10 STORE at that corner! Also on the north side was HANKS bar! Then on the north sidewas the KEG #2 bar,& on the South side was MICHAELS CHILI PARLOR , my most favorite resturant od all! Next to the CHILI parlor, was FORNEY'S PET store & then the FIRE HOUSE at Euclide Ave & THIRD! Next was a RADIO shop & then the CONGRESS bowling ally , just before Summit street !
Then we had the R.R. tracks again with the HUNGARIAN VILLGE on the north side & INKY's POOL room on the south side,before the WESTERN AUTO store that was in front of the ICE PLANT that sat way back off of THIRD street&still on the south side was the RECORD STORE , where GENE "BY GOLLY" BERRY was the window disc jockey & right across THIRD was the MECCA THEATER!
Now we are at the corner of BROADWAY & THIRD !!
Still on the NORTH side ofTHIRD, we had another VELVET ICE CREAM store,a GALAGHERS drug store & the BORDENS ICE CREAM FACTORY !
On SOUTH side was a BANK on the corner, another WOOLWORTHS 5 & 10,the FIRESIDE & RUBINSTIEN FURNITURE
stores & the FAMOUS CLOTHING store !!!!!
So,, this took us EAST on THIRD street,all the way from Roosevelt High to the THIRD STREET BRIDGE !!
HOPE THIS HELPS YOU remember all these fun places,
& MAN WHAT A GREAT RIDE BACK THRU OLD TIMES !
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bigben37
4 posts
Dec 09, 2012
12:31 AM
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I FORGOT MENTION, I HAVE A,, "1952 SENIOR EDITION"
of the ROOSEVELT TIMES THAT I MIGHT CONSIDER SELLING !
THE BOOK HAS THE NAMES & PROFILES OF ALL THE GRADUATES FROM THAT YEAR !!
THE BOOK IS IN EXCELLANT CONDITION !!
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Bill628
18 posts
Dec 09, 2012
6:40 AM
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Saturday afternoon cowboy flicks and cartoons, the old Salem theater, east side of Salem near Grand...mid 60s.
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dls
2 posts
Dec 17, 2012
8:00 AM
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The first movie I saw was Frankenstein with my Aunt about 1947. When I was 16 in 1957 I worked my way up from usher to Student Assistant manager at Loew's. Joy Bolner was the Asst. Mgr. and Carl Rogers was Manager. Irene worked the ticket booth and Margaret and her daughter Myra worked the concession. Joy was named appropriately. I loved working there with Larry Prather and McGee and Buddy feltner. I was from Oakwood and all the ushers were from North dayton. They became my protectors when all the other Usher gangs came by. Too many stories to tell for this forum. Thanks for being here.
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