IN A PREVIOUS CRISIS, MOVIES TOOK US FAR AWAY

Special to El Rrun-Rrun
No one, not even the writers and movie directors of sci-fi in the Golden Era of movies could have imagined the drama we are living now with this COVID-19.

For one, watching movies in a dark theater is almost impossible where social distancing is to be achieved or regulated. And even if it were, that many people crowded in one building would probably run afoul of the maximum number of people permitted to be together.

That's why the old familiar call of "Take me to the movies!" may be a thing of the past.

That is, except for the comeback being enjoyed by the remaining drive-in theaters in the Rio Grande Valley, like the Mer-Wes Drive in between Mercedes and Weslaco.

Since the advent of the "moving pictures" in the 19th Century, people have been transported from the known to the unknown and have experienced different times and places through film.

With the dawn of Hollywood, movies theaters became more common than ever before – a gathering place for people to enjoy a love story, a mystery, comedy, or murder on the silver screen.

When was the last time you went to the movies and said, “That was a great film?” Some are forgotten soon after they debut, and others make the grade and stay on. Today though, movies are rated according to how much money they generate, and that does not necessarily mean that it is a star-rated movie.

Brownsville movie goers…

As local movie fans made their way during the war years, and soon after, to the Queen, Capitol, Majestic theaters and the Charro Drive Inn, what were they watching?

In the early 1940s a national movie poll was conducted in which Valley citizens participated through their local newspaper. The question was asked: What are the best ten pictures of the year, specifically in 1944?

Rio Grande Valley citizens were asked their opinion in collaboration with a poll being conducted nationally by the Film Daily, a film trade publication which conducted annual surveys of the tastes in films of the nation’s movie fans.

Brownsville Herald publishes movie list…

Below is a partial list of pictures that had been shown in Brownsville between November 1, 1943 up to December 10, 1944:

A Guy name Joe
A lady takes a Chance
Address Unknown
Adventures of Mark Twain
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
And the Angels Sing
Arsenic and old Lace
As Thousands Cheer
Bathing Beauty
Between Two Worlds
Buffalo Bill, Chip of the old Block
Christmas Holiday
Destination Tokyo
Double Indemnity
Fighting Seabees
Gaslight
Going My Way,
Song of Bernadette
Hitler’s Gang
Life Boat
Madame Curie
Shine on Harvest Moon
The Sullivans
Yellow Rose of Texas...

The complete list of movies shown in Brownsville theaters, and published in the Brownsville Herald for voters to select from totaled 100.

Local movie goers did not necessarily cater to the romantic, the frivolous, or the horror type of motion picture. After two weeks, the Brownsville Herald revealed that Valley movie fans chose “Going My Way,” a human-interest picture starring Bing Crosby as their favorite.

Of the scores of votes cast for the top movie of the year, “Going My Way,” received more than 40 per cent of the vote. “Song of Bernadette,” came in next with approximately 20 percent.

Others who were high among the list were: Janie, Madame Curie, A Guy name Joe, Lassie Come Home, White Cliffs of Dover, Up in Arms, Dragon Seed, None Shall Escape and the Adventures of Mark Twain.

The Cost of a movie date?

Toward the end of the depression, and during the war years, Brownsville Rev. William Harry Moore ventured into the Brownsville High School and the junior college to find out about the modern youth. One of the questions he asked, “How much is it going to cost to take a girl to the movies and/or on a date?

The boys responded that an average date should cost $2.92, while the girls disagreed and, said, it should not cost more than $1.45 and included a coke, popcorn and a candy.

And if you really wanted to impress your tootsie-wootsie you could flatter her when you concluded the date with a stop at Den-Russ soda shop for a banana split.

The pharmacy, was located then at the corner of West Elizabeth and Villa Maria Blvd. It opened in 1934 and became a popular hangout for high schools’ students.

Movie building boom….

By 1946, the Brownsville Herald reported that the city was amid a theater-building boom.

Aside from the Capitol, Queen Grande and Mexico theaters other movie houses were born.

The Majestic and the Charro Drive In were completed late in the 1940s, and Roman Ruenes established the third theater in town to be devoted exclusively to the screening of Mexican films.

The Victoria Theater on 14th street, was a quality facility that made a splash during the period of a theater building boom in Brownsville.

Due to social distancing, the conversation today is that the out-door theater is making a comeback. Wouldn’t that be great!

In closing, the question is, how much does it cost to take a date to the movies today? With what it costs today for a bag of popcorn, you could probably take your girl to the movies for a month.