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Li f escapeTHE DAILY STANDARD, Slkeston, Mo. Sun. Dec. 3, 1978 — Section B — Page 1Are small towntheaters extinct?By TIMOTHY O’HERIN New Madrid County ReporterAt one time almost every New Madrid County town had a theater of some sort to entertain Its citizens.Such names as the Shannon, Dixie, Rex, Maxin, Allgar, Dillon and Summers were well known for what they offerred: cheap entertainment, a good time and someplace to get away from It all, If only for an afternoon or an evening Most of the theaters and some of their owners have since passed awav Some owners sold out, others left the county. But the memory of the neighborhood theater is slow to die, left Intact in the minds of many county residents One such resident, Vincent 'Red'' Rost of New Madrid, still remembers the years from about 1932 to 1963 when he managed the Dixie Theater in New MadridWe opened that theater up and we had 550 seats, ” he saidThat was about 1938 and across the street from the original Dixie Theater, which Rost says he and Sam L Hunter Sr . bought and operated in 1932 from John Biler They moved across the street in 1938 into a wing of an old hotel and opened operations In the building which still sits on Main Street — deserted and In need of repairManaging a movie theater in the 1930's. 40's and 50's was a full-time business that required some ingenuity and resourcefullness The cost of admission, by today’s standards. was dirt cheap Tickets usually-sold for anywhere from 25 to 50 cents Saturdays a person could get in for 10 centsWith the low admission prices and the expenses of renting a film, the profit, if any, was to be made from food sales We made a lot of money from selling popcorn and candy,” Rost says Harry Turner, former manager of the Lilbourn Rex Theater, agrees Your concession was the biggest money Popcorn was a nickle a sack, sodas also w ere a nickle. ” he saidWe lOld it popcorn for 10cents a box and that really amounted to a lot of money.” Rost says We charged 10 cents for admission on Saturday s and at that time there was nearly 40.000 people in the county People would come in here in the truckloads because of the cheapness of the theater He said that on Saturdays he would begin showing the movies, usually westerns, at 12 noon and continue until 11 30 that nightDuring that time we would probably show it to 2.000 people for 10 cents each. Rost says Our gross from operating the theater was $200, but we probably sold $500 in food He said that before one Saturday midnight show he had 110 extra boxes of candy bars with 24 candy bars in each box He was determined to sell them and told the crowd that the show wouldn’t begin until the candy was sold He sold them, and the movie started on timeTurner, who returned from World WarThe Rex TheaterThe Rex Theater, in a picture taken about 1949, was one of the many theaters in New Madrid County that offerred their small-town residents a place for a few hours entertainment in the days before television. The Rex was closed in the late fifties and later burned down. (Photo provided by Harry Turner)II to run the Rex Theater until about 1954, said that he would often sell different kinds of food in order to keep up the sales He made his own caramel popcorn. snow cones and other treats, that were cheaper if he made them If all of this doesn't sound like big money, special promotions were also used to bring in the crowds Rost says he gave away glass cups as a special promotion, but his biggest promotion was Bank Night,” when a raffle would be held for a cash prize, which sometimes got as high as $2,000 A drawing for $100 was held and tickets were sold to as many people as possible When the drawing was held, you had to be at the theater to collect Often there might be up to 10,000 people participating.” he said A ‘Dixie Queen” beauty contest was also held. Rost said, with a winner chosen from a group of 18 to 25 local girls Turner says he had a promotion called Holly wood Screen Test ' ’U »■ had a photo cell set up on the front door with a camera sitting in the lobby If you broke the light beam, you got your picture made.'' he said.In addition to the task of attracting customers, competition with other theaters w as rugged Rost says he would go to St Louis every two weeks to book movies for two or three months in advanceIf you could get a picture before the other towns you could attract more people,' he said Turner booked his movies in Memphis and recalls that advertising for the movies was also competitive He says that various theaters would compete toget their advertising material in as many stores as possible At the height of the local movie theater business the movie Industry as a whole was also enjoying great successes Studio competition was fierce and the caliber of stars much greater When a movie and its stars were not attracting crowds, live performances from magicians, country-western bands and comedians were brought In to stimulate attendance ■ We had a lot of different stage shows and mostly they were country western bands.” Rost says. “Slim Rhodes was one of the best who came through here We had him up here a number of times We would give him a percentage of the gross If they were good and drew a crowd, we'd give them 10 percent of the gross ”We had Chuck Harding and the Colorado Cowboys,” Turner said They used to advertise Hart’s Bread If business got bad you had to throw something in there to rejuvinate the business ’ ’Turner and Rost agree that the presence of a big star in a movie meant more money in their local theaters Rost says that Gone With the Wind” was a big draw for the Dixie, while a western. ‘ Jesse James.” with Tyrone Pow er was an even bigger success “Jesse James ' was the greatest picture we ever ran, he said It was shown nine different times over a five year periodOn the final showing the distributing company gave Rost the movie for free “I took in $450 on it,” he said It grossed more than “Gone With the Wind ”“You made more money off yourwesterns then you did off the better movies, ” Turner says.“They (westerns) would really do the business,” Rost says.Business was not always good “A lot of nights we didn’t do very good and during the cold winter’s nights it was pretty lousy,” Rost saysHe said to keep a steady business It was Important to maintain a seven-day a week schedule, regardless of the size of crowdsBoth Turner and Rost said that most movies never ran more than two nights In a row Almost 250 different movies would be shown In a years time.The Rex Theatre operated seven days a week, Turner said. We had the same show on Sunday and Monday; Tuesday and Wednesday had single shows; Thursday and Friday was the same show and Saturday was a single Saturday was cowboy day ”A person was also sure to see a particular picture even if they showed up late Most nights the movie ran at least twice for latecomers.On Saturday’s the movies were nonstop. usually offering a western, serial and a cartoon.“On Saturday's I have seen people sit in there for three different showings.” Rost saysBoth men said there were a few X-rated” films in those days, not as bad perhaps by today’s standards, but neither ran any of them.“If I can’t make a decent living. I’m not going to make any,” Rost said One movie that Turner showed, Mom and Dad,” was considered somewhat controversial “It was back In the days when they were trying to break the barrier about sex, ” he said “ They had a nurse on duty and you got to see on the screen for the first time a child being born and If you fainted, the nurse would be there to administer the smelling salts Both men think the business Is In trouble with little chance of ever recovering Rost says he thinks the local theater is “dead,” but the young people certainly need someplace to go Everything In America has changed immensely since the two men left the business Rost left in 1963 and Turner in 1955.“ Back in those days, every child in the family didn't have an automobile. Turner said When I came to Lilbourn in 1946 they still had the hitching post where you could tie your horses, buggy or teams of mules People didn't have the form of transportation in every house ' Most families were large and many were sharecroppers or “ day workers “ When you go out and pick cotton all day for a dollar a hundred or six bits for hundred you just didn’t have a lot of excess money to throw around. ” he said “Saturday was the big day Everybody went out. bought groceries, visited and went to the movies,'' Turner said Whole families often took in a night at the movies “ Kids would sit down in front and the father and mother would sit in the back. Rost says It was the only entertainment back in the forties and fifties Dixie stands aloneThe Dixie Theater is one of the few movie theaters still standing in New Madrid County. Located on Main Street in downtown New Madrid, it has been closed to business for several years.Dixie Theater stands desertedNEW MADRID - The Dixie Theater still sits on Main Street, one of the only theater buildings still standing in New Madrid County Thanks to a recent paint Job, the building looks almost brand new from the outside Owner Sam L Hunter Jr., son of the original owner and president of the Bank of New Madrid, says he would like to see the theater open again, but that nobody has expressed interest in reopening it and running the bmllW The building was In good condition several years ago, he says, but today extensive renovation would be required before movies could ever be shown againHunter said he has considered making the building into a dinner the.itn Oi health club with memberships He adds, there is adequate parking for whatever the building would be used for There is definitely a need for enter tainment for older and younger people, he says That is where the real need is. they need something available Hunter says he doubts a movie theater would make it today, competition with televison and the high costs of new films would make it extremely hard to sustain any business But, he believes people still like to go out for entertainment and will go to movies if they ’re good
Newspaper Details
Sikeston Daily Standard
Sikeston, Missouri, US
Sun, Dec 03, 1978
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Joplin P.
MO, USA 11 Sep 2024
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