Saturday Matinee – Union City, 1955

Summer Days brings back those Saturday Matinee movies my friends and I would go to one of the theaters to see a double feature film with cartoons included! This memory here is about when we went to the Summit theater one Saturday afternoon.

“The Creature from the Black Lagoon” & “The Thing from Another World”

The five of us came piling into the theater like we owned the place — Me, Buddy, Tommy, Gregory, and Dennis — pockets full of nickels and hearts full of mischief. The air inside was cooler than the street, and the smell of popcorn and damp floors wrapped around us like a blanket.

We headed straight down the aisle to the right side of the screen, where that familiar old concession counter sat. The wood was chipped, the paint faded, but the glass candy case gleamed like a storefront window on Christmas morning.

We pressed up close, taking turns pointing through the glass while the lady behind the counter barked,“One at a time, boys!”!

Buddy got Bon Bons, naturally — always went for the cold stuff.
Gregory asked for a Hershey bar and Dots.
Dennis made a big show of getting Mary Janes like they were cigars.
Tommy grabbed popcorn and a soda, acting cool, even though we all knew he’d be the first to jump.

Me? I got a wax paper cup of cola and a strip of Dots, red licorice. It wasn’t even a question.

We grabbed our seats, middle row, five in a line, already talking over each other about the monster we were about to meet. The lights dimmed, and that projector chugged to life.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon

A group of scientists heads deep into the Amazon jungle, trying to find fossils of some weird prehistoric creature. They end up in this murky, swampy part called the Black Lagoon—a place that Should’ve had a “Turn Back Now” sign nailed to a tree.

What they don’t know is that the Creature is still alive. He’s this scaly, fishy, gill-breathing swamp monster with webbed hands, big claws, and those spooky bulging eyes. He’s been lurking in the water all this time, just waiting. And wouldn’t you know it—they wake him up!

The Thing From Another World Came Next!

The cartoon played after that — Woody Woodpecker or maybe Popeye — then the second feature rolled in with that deep, cold title: THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD!

Everything about it felt heavier. The music. The shadows. The way the men stood in the snow, staring at a shape under the ice “They’re not gonna melt it, are they?” Gregory whispered. “They better not,” Buddy said, through a mouthful of popcorn.

But they did. And when the Thing finally burst through the door, Tommy screamed again, louder this time. We all cracked up!

We were just kids with sticky fingers and wild imaginations. But man, it felt like something more. That theater was our escape hatch. For a quarter, we got monsters, candy, and a memory that’d stick around long after the popcorn ran out.

I don’t remember the exact lines from the movies.
But I remember the sound of Buddy laughing.
I remember Gregory swearing he wouldn’t scream — and didn’t.
And I remember Tommy, red-faced, trying to explain that he just had a tickle in his throat.

It’s true this was a typical day at the movies back in the 1950’s, but I can’t say for sure if it’s word for word in describing our conversations of the time, but as an illustration, it was close to it, to give you a clearer picture of what I remember most about going to the early Saturday matinee in the 1950’s with my friends!

There were a few Theater’s in Union City we went to see films at the time the one I’m talking about in this post was at the summit Theater, there also the Roosevelt theater and the Lincoln theater.

I remember the Typical Ticket Prices were : Children’s Matinee:
$0.10 cents to $.025 cents and that was to see 2 films and cartoons!

Adults: Around $.035 to $.050 cents: Before every movie, they showed upcoming films, and in between the double features there were the cartoons! mostly Warner Bros. Bugs Bunny, Dafty Duck, Elmer Fudd!

Yeah. That was Saturday at the movies in Union City, back in the 1950’s!
The best kind of scary fun. This is a current photo of one of the theaters. The other theaters are no longer there.