1948 Algoma, Wisonsin
Gerald Englebert
Year born: 1941
Movie seen in Algoma, Wisconsin
Interviewed on Monday, January 28 2019
By Maria Lee
Superfighter Dozens [Editor’s Note: due to inconsistent phone connection and difficulty hearing certain words, this may not be the exact title]. Yep, that was the one. I was probably around seven or eight years old, so I’d say I watched it around 1948, maybe 1949. It was warm and sunny out that day, so I’d say it was either summer or fall. It was a comedy, you know; in fact, they made quite a few movies in that series around that time period. A couple of them were already out before the one that I watched was released. I don’t remember much about the content or who acted in it because I was so young; in fact, I’m surprised that I remember the experience at all. I do remember that the movie was absolutely hilarious, though!
I watched it at The Majestic, which was a theatre in Algoma. It’s really big; it probably seated a couple hundred people. It was 11-12 miles away from my home, or maybe 16 miles, I don’t really remember. I went to the theater with my great uncle John, my father, and two of my brothers. My great uncle John liked to watch the Superfighters Dozens movies, which is why we decided to watch that specific film that day. I remember waiting in line outside the theater, in front of the ticket window. After we finally got the tickets we walked into The Majestic. I clutched my ticket tightly in hand for fear that I would accidentally drop it or lose it, and when the man standing inside the theater reached out his hand to collect it I reluctantly gave him the crumpled piece of paper. There were no ushers, but there was a concession. I got really excited and, tugging on my father’s hand, ran there as fast as I could. But all they had was popcorn; no soda, no nothing. We bought popcorn and had no other choice but to chug it down with water while we watched the movie (chuckle). It wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but at least we had something to snack on!
I remember there were around fifty or sixty people in the theater when we watched Superfighter Dozens. I thought the place would be more filled, but I guess we just watched the movie a bit of a time after it was released. It was a pretty well-known movie back in the day, you know. I was nonetheless really astonished at how large the theater was; I hadn’t known what to expect. We sat down in the middle of the theater, halfway between the screen and the back, because great uncle John was kind of hard of hearing. Also, if you sit up front, the screen is too high so it’s harder to watch the movie. You have to choose a good spot; I’d say the middle is the best. The dialogue and jokes that the actors said during the movie were pretty funny. It was a family show, so everything was appropriate for young children like me (although I didn’t understand some of the jokes because the actors were talking too quickly). The audience burst out in laughter numerous times throughout the film, and being amongst their energy and excitement was a really new and fun experience for me.
I don’t remember how long Superfighter Dozens was, but it took three hours total to get to the theater, watch the movie, and get back home. Subtracting transportation time, I’d say we watched for around two hours. We ended up going back to the The Majestic quite a few times after that day to watch the rest of the shows in the series. I probably went back seven or eight times and ended up watching them all. I wish I could remember the content and the jokes they used in the film, but the fact that I remember this much about it at all probably proves how funny and memorable the experience was for me. Ah, if only I could watch it again!
