Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I went to the movies this last weekend and saw "Number 23" (or "THE Number 23"). It was good to see Jim Carrey in a serious role for a change. I do like Virginia Madsen, who played his wife.

As the synopsis online will tell you, it's about a wife giving her husband a book about the number 23, and the husband gets obsessed with it, applying it to his life constantly. It sounded like something I'd enjoy.

I thought it was okay. I'd never watch it again, because I know the ending and with this movie once you know the ending there is nothing to make you want to see it again. It was not a waste of money. It was all right.

One thing that they never explained is HOW his wife picked THAT BOOK to give him. It was quite far-fetched, because it was a self-typed manuscript - not even a 'real' book, that she finds in an old book store. And she picks that out of scores of others in there. I think that was the biggest clinker in the movie.

Thanks for the movie tips, Augusta!

You're welcome! It costs so much to see a movie these days, it does help to study up just a little before you choose one. I've seen a lot of just junk at the movies that I wish someone would have warned me about before I wasted time and money. I think the worst movie I ever saw was one that was touted as the best movie - "The Grudge". Boy, did that stink! Makes you wonder how this stuff gets produced.

Movies are a huge ripoff these days. When you figure $10 each for a ticket, that's $20 for a couple, and of course you can't see a movie without a large tub of buttery popcorn...that's about $7, plus a large drink...probably about $5....figure about $35 for a night at the movies!!

When I was a kid, we'd hit the movies for about $2.50 or less...with popcorn and drinks...maybe $5...PLUS we could stay in our seats and see the movie again if we wanted to.

My husband and I never go to the movies anymore. We have a vast collection of tapes and DVD's. We've gotten into the old 1950's and earlier horror and sci fi movies and have several boxed sets of 50 movies to each box. We are eagerly awaiting the shipment of the latest old movie we ordered..."The Crawling Eye"!!!!

SallyG @ Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:57 pm wrote:Movies are a huge ripoff these days. When you figure $10 each for a ticket, that's $20 for a couple, and of course you can't see a movie without a large tub of buttery popcorn...that's about $7, plus a large drink...probably about $5....figure about $35 for a night at the movies!!

When I was a kid, we'd hit the movies for about $2.50 or less...with popcorn and drinks...maybe $5...PLUS we could stay in our seats and see the movie again if we wanted to.

My husband and I never go to the movies anymore. We have a vast collection of tapes and DVD's. We've gotten into the old 1950's and earlier horror and sci fi movies and have several boxed sets of 50 movies to each box. We are eagerly awaiting the shipment of the latest old movie we ordered..."The Crawling Eye"!!!!

Oooo... "The Crawling Eyeball!" I loved that one but I never saw all of it, just the last 20 minutes for some reason. I like Janet Munro. Too bad she died at such a young age.

I haven't seen "23."

You and Augusta are right. The crappiest movies get on screen these days and we have to pay through the nose. What gets me is the studios claiming such and such a film was the biggest "money maker" of all time! Yeah, but they don't tell you how many tickets they sold. When I was a kid we paid about $1.00 for a ticket. Now days it's about, what $10.00? I wonder if the studios add on the price of the popcorn to inflate their "biggest money makers" of all time?

One of my big gripes is the critics who love to blast a good movie. They said "The Sound of Music" would be a major flop. Guess what? I love "Oh, Heavenly Dog" but the critics tear it to shreads. It's a family "feel good" film. I sit and laugh at it and enjoy myself. It's a fun film trying to be fun, it's not trying to be Shakespear.

By the way, we seldom bought popcorn, hot dogs and candy at the theater. Mom always brought them in hidden in a bag inside her over-sized coat or in our own pockets. The hard part was keeping the guilty look off our faces. We did buy the cokes there though. Somehow it justified the "smuggling."

Oh, the good old days.

-1bigsteve (o:

We just walked in clutching our container of caramel corn with our mom and nobody said beans!

We also went to the drive-in a lot.
Elvis Presley movies!

OH! THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS!

I lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, when I was a small boy. We had five theaters within walkling distance. I was extant during the tail-end of the vaudeville craze, so I don't remember very much about that.

What I do remember was I could get into the Greenpoint theater for fifteen cents at the matinee - evening performances went up to a quarter and thirty-five cents on weekends.

Every Tuesday, the Meserole Theater had "Dish Night" - you got the first piece of a set of dishes for the price of admission. If you continued this for about 36 weeks you completed the set. They call this Depression Glass today and it goes for pretty fancy prices.

Didn't sell any candy, popcorn or sodas in the movies then, and no one brought anything in, except maybe a pack of cigarettes if you were going to sit in the balcony.

On weekend dates, you could take your girlfriend to a movie for seventy cents, then spring for a couple of sodas at the community malt shop for30 cents more. You might think that was a cheap date, but not so when you were only pulling down a weekly salary of twelve bucks.

Still - "THEY WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS!"

OH! THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS!

I lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, when I was a small boy. We had five theaters within walkling distance. I was extant during the tail-end of the vaudeville craze, so I don't remember very much about that.

What I do remember was I could get into the Greenpoint theater for fifteen cents at the matinee - evening performances went up to a quarter and thirty-five cents on weekends.

Every Tuesday, the Meserole Theater had "Dish Night" - you got the first piece of a set of dishes for the price of admission. If you continued this for about 36 weeks you completed the set. They call this Depression Glass today and it goes for pretty fancy prices.

Didn't sell any candy, popcorn or sodas in the movies then, and no one brought anything in, except maybe a pack of cigarettes if you were going to sit in the balcony.

On weekend dates, you could take your girlfriend to a movie for seventy cents, then spring for a couple of sodas at the community malt shop for30 cents more. You might think that was a cheap date, but not so when you were only pulling down a weekly salary of twelve bucks.

Still - "THEY WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS!"

Kat @ Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:37 pm wrote:We just walked in clutching our container of caramel corn with our mom and nobody said beans!

We also went to the drive-in a lot.
Elvis Presley movies!

We loved Elvis Presely movies. We probably saw them all in the theater during their original release. "Blue Hawaii" floored me when Elvis sang "Can't Help Falling In Love." I think that was his best song ever. I loved "Follow That Dream." I remember how bright and vivid the color of that fish was that guy caught off that bridge. I don't know why but that is what I remember most about that film, that fish!

It's too bad kids now days don't have any memories of seeing good clean movies with the whole family at a drive-in like we do. Kids today go into indoor theaters and load up on killing, hate and nudity.

-1bigsteve (o:

1bigsteve @ Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:55 am wrote:

Kat @ Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:37 pm wrote:We just walked in clutching our container of caramel corn with our mom and nobody said beans!

We also went to the drive-in a lot.
Elvis Presley movies!

We loved Elvis Presely movies. We probably saw them all in the theater during their original release. "Blue Hawaii" floored me when Elvis sang "Can't Help Falling In Love." I think that was his best song ever. I loved "Follow That Dream." I remember how bright and vivid the color of that fish was that guy caught off that bridge. I don't know why but that is what I remember most about that film, that fish!

It's too bad kids now days don't have any memories of seeing good clean movies with the whole family at a drive-in like we do. Kids today go into indoor theaters and load up on killing, hate and nudity.

-1bigsteve (o:

Isn't that the truth!! That's why I enjoy the old movies...no F-this and F-that...no gory killing scenes...everyone isn't jumping into bed with everyone else....!!! Somewhere along the line, they lost the art of making wonderful and entertaining movies. It's a shame.

Amen, Sally, Amen!

Kids don't have memories of seeing "Swiss Family Robinson", "Parent Trap", "In Search of The Castaways", "Mary Poppins", "Bambi", "Snow White", "The Fighting Prince of Donegal", "The Sound of Music" and a gazillion others. Of course I liked the old horror flicks but they left the blood to your imagination.

One of my dreams is to restore the old drive-in theaters and rerun these older movies so young kids, with their entire families, can experience the magic that we had.

Oh well, it's nice to dream.

-1bigsteve (o:

Bill U - What a delightful post! Thank you for taking us back to those 'good old days'. You are the first person I've known that went to the movies when they were giving out dishes! Are you sure that's "depression glass"? I thought they gave away china.

If you remember the Ralphie "Chrismas Story", there were two other Ralphie movies. One, "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss", was about the family summer vacation. The third was "It Runs in the Family", and in that one the mother (played by Mary Steenburgen) went to the movies on Dish Night. (You can also read about that in Jean Shepard's writings, which are what the movies are based on.)

I wonder if Lizzie went to the movies. I would think she would love them. It would be interesting to know when the first movie theatre was in FR, and how many they had by 1928.

Would it be possible for Lizzie to have a private movie theatre of some sort in her home?

Movie tickets here are like $8.50 tops. Twilight (like 4 pm) is about $6.00. They are starting to show movies on the weekends in the morning, and those are four or six dollars. You get a buck off if you are a student. They were $7.50 a year or two ago. When they went up to $8.50 I started to be more picky as to what I saw.

A large pop with a real big bucket of popcorn is $7.50 with free refills. I can't eat popcorn. And when I could, you never wanted a refill of either.

Gee, the movies don't last long at the theatres. They are out on DVD real fast. I missed seeing "Marie Antoinette" and am waiting for its DVD release, if it isn't out already. I always hoped they'd remake that movie in color! The costumes must be fantastic.

Yes, Sally G and Big Steve - the swearing and the sex is horrific. I notice some movies on Lifetime have been leaving the couple when they close the bedroom door. That's fine. We know what they're doin'. I don't wanna see it. I like what Red Skelton said about that. That he wasn't gonna follow the later trend and make comedy filthy - he prided himself on being a clean comic that audiences still loved. (He was no angel off camera, tho.) I feel the same about writing. It's a sad day when you have to rely on that to make your work 'good'.

I take whole meals into the movies. I carry a big zippered bag, and stop and get two cold pops and shove 'em in there. Then me and whoever's going hit a fast food place and put our order on the top and zip 'er up. Sometimes you can smell the food in that bag, and nobody has ever said a word.

I've had a Big Mac and Fries at the movies. A whole salad. I was sittin' there puttin' on the dressing and mixing it up. Subs. Wendy's. Taco Bell. That was tricky. My son talked me into getting these potatoes, and when I went to eat them found they didn't include any cutlery in the bag. And in the dark I axe-identally got hold of my son's extra spicy something-rolled-up-in-a-tortilla. Aye Carumba!

My daughter says we oughtta get a Boston Market take-out family meal, like ham or something. And pass the gravy, vegetables and hunks of meat to each other in there. I've never had the guts to try that one yet.

My mother was living in Chicago at the time she met my Dad. They got married and then he had to go off to the war, so she spent a lot of time going to the movies by herself while she was waiting for him to come back. She accumulated an entire set of those dishes, and we used them forever.

Bill, What a great story, loved it. Got a question, you mentioned bringing cigarettes in to the movie. Does that mean that people used to be able to smoke while watching a movie in a theatre?

Hi Augusta,

Yes, they had china also. The depression glass wasn't called depression glass at that time of course.it earned that soubriquet when it became a collector's item, many years later.

Double features ( two movies) became the rage. If there was only one feature movie it was usually accompanied by a travelogue, news or a comedy - and of course there were "Coming Attractions," - lots of those.

Lizzie at the movies . . .Hmm....that's interesting. Caplain would probably be the best one to ask for that subject.

I have been collecting information for several years about Fall River movie houses and some of the motion pictures they featured. I have photographs of lots of FR movie houses - hey - maybe a subject for an article in The Hatchet?

Augusta, I would love to have a film of you demolishing one of those six course meals at the local movie house - if you ever decide to market one, put me on the list.

Bobbie: If you wanted to smoke (and practically everyone did) you sat in the second balcony; same price as the orchestra. If you wanted to smoke and be closer to the sceen you sat in the loges, actually the first balsony. You paid a bigger admission price for this privilege.

As I mentioned above, practically everyone smoked at that time. While I was keeping company with my wife, Marjorie, we both smoked so we would sit in the balcony, or if I was flush; the loges. No one thought that smoking was dangerous to your health. The only comments you heard were, "It will stunt your growth." I didn't worry too much about that since I was the tallest guy in our group. Marjorie and I decided to kick the habit at the same time twenty-five years ago - she accomplished it a a day - it took me a year. It's easy to see who had the most will-power in that relationship

Wow, smoking and you got dishes too. What great memories you must have. Would love to see an article in the Hatchet on your Fall River movie house collections. Love your stories!!!!!

Bobbie's impressed by cigarettes and free dishes! I needed that laugh!

Thanks for the stories William!

Oh I am easily amused

I know, I can tell. So am I.

Am laughing about the "Dinner at the Movies" and trying to picture it, Augusta- pass the salt!

Skip Marie Antoinette- it was one of the most appallingly lousy films I ever saw. The characters were loathsome and the lack of acting ability would make you blanche with dismay. There is no dialogue worth repeating, Kirsten Dunst looks self-conscious and wooden throughout the whole thing, picking at her frills and acting juvenile and the dismal lapses between lines is filled in with a lot of ad lib mutterings and music. Ghastly. If you must watch it, turn down the sound and feast upon the sets and costumes- the only thing worthwhile, and I believe which won an Oscar. After Interview With A Vampire, I have never been able to understand how Kirsten has managed to find any role in Hollywood.

You still have the dishes?? I'd think they'd be highly collectible now.

Nah, I got guts, but not enough guts to drag in a 5-course family meal. I might try a large pizza some time. That'd be funny. I never see anybody else bringing in their own food. I'm sure they do, tho.

Thanks for the review on 'Marie Antionette', Shelley. I was dis-heartened to learn before that Kirsten Dunst was playing the lead. Well, Marie A. was just 14 when she came to France. Maybe they were trying to illustrate that she was still very much a child. I wouldn't think she has the face to play Marie A.

In the movie review, it said it had sexual situations in it. I didn't want to take my son to see that - hard telling what that meant. Some PG-13's are more like an R, and some PG-13's don't have hardly anything in it - maybe one word.

I'm gonna rent the movie before I would purchase it.

With the movie prices at the theatres nowadays, they should give out free dishes. And the dining room set to match.

Our town used to have a movie theatre right on Main St. When I was a kid I spent almost every Sat. watching the matinees. Then a very small one opened in the next town & they had Monday night as dollar night. Now just to see a movie we have to travel about 45 minutes. The matinee costs about$7.25, that was the last movie I saw which was awhile ago. I like watching the movies on TCM especially from the 1940's. You couldn't beat Bette Davis or Greer Garson.

Our town used to have a movie theatre right on Main St. When I was a kid I spent almost every Sat. watching the matinees. Then a very small one opened in the next town & they had Monday night as dollar night. Now just to see a movie we have to travel about 45 minutes. The matinee costs about$7.25, that was the last movie I saw which was awhile ago. I like watching the movies on TCM especially from the 1940's. You couldn't beat Bette Davis or Greer Garson.

I love TCM! They play old B&W films like "The Thin Man" series that don't have the filth, blood and sex that other channels play. I love older films. They even play silents now and then at 18 FPS! Yes!!

As Shelby said, when her brother was looking for a movie to watch in "Steel Magnolias", "Something old and black & white." I understand what she means.

-1bigsteve (o:

I just noticed that my 2L bottle of Dr. Pepper has a big # 23 on the front label. How odd.

I knew I had read about the oddities surrounding this prime number years and years ago.
I was casually looking for the reference to it in my "Coincidence" book and my back issues of my Fortean Times magazine.

I did just find the article. It was published in 1977 by Robert Anton Wilson in The Fortean Times, but here I have it in a book collection of past issues- called Fortean Times Issues 16-25 Diary of a Mad Planet.
It is issue #23, pages 32- 35.
Edited for Volume Publication by Paul Sieveking, John Brown Publishing, London, 1995.

I have not seen the movie, nor do I know if the movie relates to this article in any way.
For anyone interested:

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that movie was super sweey wasnt it

Can you rephrase that please? I don't understand what you mean. Thanks!