1955 Richmond, Virginia
Dale Cohen
Born 1941
Richmond, Virginia
Interviewed on 2/7/24
by Drew Beckmen
I asked some friends because they were the same age as me or older. Everybody agrees: I used to go sometimes and sit through two movies or the same movie twice. It was a full afternoon of entertainment.
Both theaters that I mostly went to—the Loew’s Theater and the Byrd Theater—had organs that came up to stage level, and every movie had a newsreel because that was the main way of getting the news. There was no CNN.
It was very, very opulent. The theaters were gorgeous, and the theater that was not downtown—the Byrd Theater—is still there from what I read. At the movies, we were always quiet and good. There was no smoking that I remember. No smoking or drinking or funny business at movies in the afternoon. The seats were very comfortable and cushy. It wasn’t reclining, but the theater was a very comfortable environment.
I used to take the bus because I lived in the suburbs of Richmond, not downtown. I really wanted to go to Thomas Jefferson High School, which was the city high school that all of my Sunday school friends went to. My parents wouldn’t pay the $200 to send me to Thomas Jefferson because we didn’t pay taxes for the city of Richmond, so I was the only Jewish student in my suburban high school.
I used to work in downtown Richmond on Monday night, Friday night, and all day Saturday, so I would go to the movies on the bus either on Friday or Sunday.
I never remember going to the movies on a date. I went to the movies with my brother, which was mostly for cowboys and “Indians,” or I went to the movies with a girlfriend. They were all daytime activities; it was not an evening event. I don’t remember ever going to the movies in the evening.
The one movie that I remember—the one that I was really dragging my mind for until I remembered—was Foxfire with Jeff Chandler and Jane Russel. I just loved that movie, and I watched it as many times as I could find it in the theaters. I liked Rock Hudson, Ginger Rogers, and Fred Astaire, and all those other people also. I don’t remember the plot. All I remember is I love Jeff Chandler, and I didn’t notice the graininess.
I think the concession stands were pretty much the same as today. We used to buy our tickets outside of the ticket booths, which they still have at some theaters today. And there were mezzanines in most of the movie theaters. One of the women I talked to said she used to go to this movie theater that was cheap—it was only 15 cents. The others were more like 65 cents.
I don’t remember any ushers at all. There were just no minorities in the movie theaters. There was just no integration at all. Up north, I think there was a separate section. They had mezzanines and some of the theaters sat the Black people upstairs, but I never experienced them.
When I called my friend Marlene, she remembers going to the movies as a wonderful activity, and I do too. We would often sit through two features or the same feature twice. They would play it once and then they would rewind it and play it. I don’t know if we had to buy another ticket or not, but I never did that. I was on a strict monetary budget.
Dale Cohen is my maternal grandmother.
