YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO DOWNTOWN
TO GET

ZI

• building make-believe environments,
just as they continue to do in today's
theme parks and in Las Vegas.
The movie house was a bargain-
basement Shangri-La for a mass pub-
lic. While it is too much to say that
the attraction didn't matter, the the-
ater itself was a large part of the expe-
rience, intended to be so by the
exhibitors and expected by the audi-
ence.
It's easy to romanticize about
movie going in the old days, but
thinking back on it with a halfway
objective eye, some customs of that
time would strike today's audiences as
downright barbaric.

THE SHOW NEVER STOPS
Perhaps the greatest contrast to the
present day is the way that most
movie goers used not to worry much
about getting there when the film
began. People arrived whenever they
felt like it; going to the movies was
virtually a drop-in experience.
Performances were continuous,
meaning that intermissions lasted 10
or 15 minutes, to allow trips to the
• refreshment counter. Then the Show
would begin again. You could stay as
long as you wanted and sit through
the whole show again.
These were days of the double fea-
ture. Neighborhood theaters would
routinely offer two attractions for the
price of one. A ritual of going out to
the movies with friends involved
lengthy negotiations so that you
could find a bill where no one had
seen at least one of the attractions.
Someone might end up compromis-
ing: "Oh, that's all right, I don't mind
seeing that movie again."
With arriving in the middle of a
film an accepted practice, theaters
had ushers who would show you to a
seat in the darkened auditorium. You
followed the beam of a flashlight
- pointed toward the floor.
Of course, this meant that people
would be leaving during the course of
a film, too. You might see the last
two-thirds of a movie, sit through the
cartoon, newsreel, the coming attrac-
tions and the second feature, then
watch the first third.
Nobody seemed to think this was a
strange way to follow a story, to the
point that a new expression was
added to the language: This is where
we came in.

• Italian-American Favorites
• Pasta Specialties
• Steaks
• Pizza
• Poultry
• Chops
• Seafood • Cocktails

011#10's Family Restaurant

ti

A Ferndale Favorite Since 1961

Monday to Thursday 11 am. to 2 am.
Friday 11 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.
Saturday 12'noon to 3:30 a.m.
Sunday 12 • noon to 2 a.m.
Woodward at 9 Mile

a meetwatepifsv

N#

Bistro

.

S

C,ONTZNIi;NTAI. CUISINE

r,t2 2MTXEMMEE LV.Fa irjEMSMEZ t= taVZMr,PM MMV ZMLM'SM MZEM MMNMEZE WMM I.:'IjFMMM 'kl sr'Wl.

UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP •

•

W.M.Vqs,

Come and Experience the Adventure of
Inventive Cuisine in a Comfortable Setting

ENJOY OUR GREAT NEW SUNDAY BRUNCH FROM 12-3

Adults $ 15°° 6-12 $7°° up to 6 $4°°

■

Full Bar • Great for Special Occasions
I ALL DINNERS INCLUDE SOUP, SALAD, AND OUR POPULAR APPETIZER PLATE I

Open at 5:00 p.m. Everyday ■ Closed Mondays

1978 Cass Lake (1/2 Mile West of Orchard Lake Rd.) • Keego Harbor

248)683 0170

WE NOW HAVE ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT SUNDAY LUNCH & DINNER

SUNDAY LUNCH BUFET
NOON TO 3:30

$W5

PLENTY OF YARD GOODS
The first time I remember the cur-
tains opening to uncover a blank

(248) 548-5005

wr

Adults

9 & Under
$4159

SUNDAY DINNER BUFFET
5 TO 8:30

$1095

$C95

110

9 & Under

PRIVATE DINING ROOM FOR YOUR NEXT AFFAIR

• ALL CATERING

CELEBRATION
CONNECTION

*DIRECTORY
in our Classified Section

• LUNCHES • EXOTIC DRINKS • COCKTAILS

IN E GREAT WALE

35135 Grand River (Drakeshire Shopping Center)

/

476-9181

11/28

1997

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