Village Theater Memories

Village Theatre Memories

“I remember Pop Millar, the juvenile Coronado Police officer who looked after us in the ‘40’s and ‘50’s. He would sponsor a Saturday Matinee at his own expense. We would all meet at the Library and walk up to the Strand or Village Theatre for a free movie. We marched on the median strip, like children following their Pied Piper. That was a real treat! There was always a lot of cheering when The Lone Ranger and Tonto came to the rescue in the Village Theatre!”

- Dr. Vince Flynn

In 7th grade, 1953, I saw “House of Wax” with Vincent Price. It was my first 3-D movie. We wore the glasses and all. There was a paddleball (toy thing) at the beginning that was coming straight at us. Everyone was ducking. It was the scariest movie I had ever seen, and I almost wet my pants! I had been forbidden to see it, (along with “The Thing”) but Ky Winchester Roberts and I swiped a bunch of empty bottles from behind Piatt’s Market to cash-in so we would have enough money to see it. My parents never found out, but I was still punished by the nightmares I had for months afterward.”

- Kathy Clark, former schoolteacher, Miss Coronado 1959

“In 1943, I was going with Mike Flynn and all the other junior high couples would meet for the Friday (or Saturday) night movie and would settle into the metal rimmed seats in the junior high section. A lot of the couples held hands, and some of the boys would put their arms around their girlfriends. Week after week I hoped Mike would finally move his arm from the metal rim of the seat onto my shoulder. Months went by and I had almost given up hope. Finally, one night when we were in our same seats watching “Flicka,” his arm slowly lowered onto my shoulder. The screen went black and I truly saw stars. Talk about Cloud Nine. After that I hated living only one block from the Village Theatre ... the walk home was way too short.”

- Ky Winchester Roberts

“I used to work for Burt Kramer, manager of the theater, in the late ‘40s or early ‘50s. My job was to change the marquee wording outside when movies changed. I also used to pick up the large cans of film in San Diego when they weren’t delivered. I got 35 cents an hour, free movies, and one Suicide Sundae a week at the Beachcomber next door. Can’t beat that.”

- Pike Meade, retired Coronado school teacher

“Next door to the theatre was a popular hangout called the Beachcomber. It was the main place where High School and Junior High kids would meet. It even had its own door to the entrance of the theatre. It was a great place for lunch but only if you wanted Hamburgers, Sundays, ice cream or cherry Cokes, but what else was there to eat? When Burt Cramer, the owner of the theatre, wasn’t looking we would sneak our friends in thru the alley door of the theatre, but woe to the guy who got caught. One movie was very memorable. After watching “The Thing,” [1951] we were all too scared to walk home, and that was a matinee! The Village Theatre was really a great place of entertainment and provided some fantastic memories.”

- Dr. Vince Flynn

“I worked as the popcorn girl in 195657 for 75 cents an hour. I served plain popcorn for 10 cents and buttered (real butter) for 25 cents. Mr. Kramer wouldn’t let us sit during the quiet periods, so we always had to be cleaning the glass or something.”

- Marilyn Moyle-Rees, retired musician

“We used to ride our bikes up and down the aisles while they were putting final touches on the original theater (1947) and Mr. Kramer would get so mad at us. Those were the days.”

- Tommy Keck, former TV news photographer

“In the early fifties the left side of the theatre was for the junior high students, the right side for the high school students and the center was delegated for the ‘Old people.’ There were troublemakers on the junior high side that thought it was funny to roll glass soda bottle down the slope under the seats. Poor Burt Kramer, the theater manager. He hated the junior high section.”

- Ky Winchester Roberts

“My allowance for mowing the lawn was 25 cents a week in the mid 50’s, which got me a 15-cent ticket and two of the 5-cent items at the snack bar. At the Saturday matinee, often during the Flash Gordon serial, everyone would start throwing food at kids we didn’t particularly like. The projectionist would stop the film, and the theatre manager would come up front and, yell at us to stop, and threaten to throw us all out. His cue was usually when somebody threw a popcorn box at the screen. The screen was sacred! What fun!”

- Terence G Goodbody

“When we were kids (1960s) they would show surf movies. You never heard such noise from a crowd. We would flick bottle caps at the screen, sometimes sailing over the heads of the crowd up into the screen. The longest trajectories got the most applause.”

- John Gillem, retired contractor

“There was a great ice cream parlor called the Beachcomber next door where the dry cleaner is now. They specialized in ‘Suicide Sundaes.’ If you could eat two, you got the third for free. My friend from high school Patty Murphy (Jepson) worked the box office at the Village Theater and snuck us in sometimes. We necked with our boyfriends in the back row and necked in the front row. It was a typical smalltown theater, which I’ve missed like crazy.”

- Jane Reynolds-Meade