Saturday morning at the flicks as a kid!

[merciasounds]

Remember those? Cartoons such as The Road runner (meep-meep!) I used to feel so sorry for the Wile E Coyote, and wished he could get that rotten bird just once! Speedy Gonzales, Bugs Bunny and Co, then a short film, like Skippy or a Lassie adventure, then the serial, Flash Gordon, or Tarzan - Or the Lone Ranger - if we walked one way there (3) miles we'd have enough for a shared bag of chips and a bottle of Tizer then bus it home...

[janbee]

Ah yes Mercia...happy days indeed. I went to the Ritz in Rodney St Edinburgh(now a block of flats). It cost 6d to get in, 9d if we went upstairs(to drop things on the people below). There was wonderful toffee Butterkist. We sang the ABC minors song every week and we had a badge that glowed in the dark. I loved it all.

[Davethedog]

Yes Yes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzWjw7AO_Xo

[Jemisa]

You are going back now mercia,but I'm with you Bud Abbot & Lou Costello always had me in stitchesThe main film 'Tom Sawyer' I still remember because it frightened the life out of me.
Owning an ODEON card was soo important in those days.

jem

[janbee]

Dave the Dog, yes I remember it well and I'm still word perfect after all these years.!! Sad eh?

[merciasounds]

I don't think I ever knew the real name of the cinema we went to, we used to call it the 'Flea Pit'!

[Davethedog]

Janbee - I am afraid that when the drink is upon me I am inclined to sing this ditty.

It always evokes such memories the competitions they always ran e.g the biggest silver paper ball, the manager telling us all to calm down or he wouldn't show the film, the cliffhanger serial all for 6p + The chips on the way home with my long lost mates,

[janbee]

Dave, we had a hula hoop competition some weeks. Also, if it was your birthday you got a card and were allowed in free the following week. It's amazing how many birthdays we each had every year. I certainly had several. We used to stamp our feet when the baddies(the indians) were on the screen and cheered when the goodies(the cowboys) were chasing. Also, just to prove what little sods we were, we used to go into the toilets and open the fire exit doors and let in our friends for free. No wonder the cinema closed. It must have run at a loss every week. It certainly must have put a few managers into an early grave.

[paddywak]

Flash Gordon, where the rockets had sparklers to show the exhaust flames and you could see the string they "flew" on, Zorro, The Cisco Kid I remember them all. The manager of our local flea pit used to stop the show half way through for a sing song, "she'll be coming round the mountain" and "i see the moon" being two songs I particularly remember. Ther was a chippyabout 50yds from the flea pit and the owner must of loved Saturday mornings with all the kids lined up for their threepenny mixes. Merciathis was always and still is my favorite cartoon when that wascally wabbit gets his come uppance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlmXU1zqfc

[merciasounds]

I remember one Saturday morning, one lad launched a 'missile' at the usherette, and it hit her on the head, she stormed down the isle, and the film was stopped and we were all told in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't start again unless the culprit either owned up or was given up. 'Mate solidarity' went totally out of the window as the lad was 'grassed up' immediately - I remember the kid scowling and saying ' I fort you were me mates' 'yeah but, it's Flash Gordon on next, and he's been captured by Ming the Merciless and I wanna see wot 'appens' replied one of his so-called mates'!!

[Davethedog]

Sounds like it was the same every where. Our "flea pitt" had a balcony, so you had a situation where the entire front of the stalls was empty but the back (under the balcony) was packed, due to UFO's.

My favorite serial was called "Radar men from the moon" a few years ago they bought out a film called the "Rocketeer" and it was the same thing I loved it but it was a flop :-(

[Manwithnoname]

Yes Mercia I remember the 3 Stooges as well. Before we went in the flicks we went into Woolies in New Ferry & helped ourselves to the pick n nix very generous of them.

[merciasounds]

Ahh - Woolies Pick 'n' mix! soft centred fruit 'bonbons' with a picture of the fruit on the wrapper, buttermints with a chewy centre, and wrapped nougat slices with nuts in it! If we went to the pictures of an evening with parents, we used to have a BOX of fruit gums, that were actually the shape of the fruit - or Payne's Poppets - Revels in a box or the chocolate covered nuts and raisins - And Kia Ora orange drink, and depending what cinema you went to, the Odeon sold Lyon's Maid ices, where as the Gaumont sold Walls ....not on a Saturday morning though that was w-a-y beyond our means!

[Jemisa]

Our local picture house was fondly called "The Bug Hutch" a lot of the seats were broken, you took your own life in your hands when you sat down, the usherette used to come round with the FLIT spray during the performance. The toilets were always flooded & male and female used the same ones (If you dared)
If you were caught misbehaving they would grab you by the scruff of the neck and turf you out. Ahhh!

jem

[wheaten]

Used to get into our local cinema on a Saturday morning for a couple of jam-jars or lemonade bottles! Kids on the balcony stamping so hard it felt like it was falling down, throwing popcorn onto the kids below. Fav films were the cliffhangers but the end seemed to be different from the week before (sleeve trapped in car door going over a cliff but next week it wasn't and he got out!). Happy days, bring them back!
Wheaten.

[Buenchico]

Davethedog:
Sorry, I'm not allowed to play with you!

My Mum said that I could go to the Gaumont (because, for some strange reason, she considered it to be the 'poshest' cinema in Ipswich) and that, if the Gaumont was closed for any reason (because it also hosted stage shows) I could go to the Odeon. But under no circumstances was I allowed to go to the ABC because (according to my Mum) "that's where all the rough children go"!

So, Dave, I'll hace to asume that you're "one of the rough children" ;-)

[BAKERS DOZEN]

Anybody remember Whip Wilson and Lash Larue, and Buster Crabbe and The Little Rascals?

[Buenchico]

Among my favourites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTfdiHxYivA

[paddywak]

I remember Lash Larue,for some reason the name of his horse Black Diamond has always stuck in my mind

[Buenchico]

My memories of Saturday morning cinema aren't always related to the films. I remember the rumours that used to go around, about 'something special' happening that week. (For example, there was a rumour that the Beatles were going to make a surprise appearance).

I remember the competitions on the stage, where we all danced 'The Twist'. (I never won!).

And, possibly most of all, I remember the interval rush to get to the lady with the ice-cream tray before the latest product, as advertised on the big screen, sold out:
http://www.thunderbir.../LyonsMaidBanner1.jpg

[Davethedog]

Chris - Some of us never had such a choice, I went to the ABC Elephant & Castle (we were all rough boys as well as some of the girls) They built an Odeon, where the Trocodero used to stand, but they just showed films no badges, no competitions and no balcony,