Main Street Cinema/Tobacco Shop - September 1966
I just finished scanning a large batch of slides from September of 1966 - I like them because they are nice and clear, have great color, and mixed in the bunch are a few unusual views. You'll have to wait for those!
First up for today is our photographer's first attempt at taking a nice picture of his wife in front of the Main Street Cinema. But a Surrey came along and almost ruined the shot. Who among us has not had a photo ruined by a passing surrey?
I know I've said it before, but I miss the days when the Main Street Cinema showed films of famous silent comedians rather than just Mickey Mouse short subjects. I guess they eventually had to pay some sort of licensing fee to the current owners of the films, and that was the end of that.
Now for "take two": hubby took a few steps back so as to include some architectural details. Hello, tobacco store Indian! The actual tobacco store looks to be about eight feet wide, though of course it actually continued to the right (as you can see).
A tour guide is marching toward Main Street Station - she's probably done for the day.
As usual, I can't help wondering what might be in that colorful shopping bag. Whatever it is, I want it! Gimme gimme. A CM stands in the shade at the entrance to the Cinema, presumably to take "A" tickets from guests.
28 comments:
I don't think that cast member will take anything less than a "B" ticket! And we can see "Tillie" sitting in the ticket booth. I wonder if she has been there since opening day?
Of course, I suppose he'd take 20 cents if you offered it to him. Hey, I think we can actually see cigarette butts sticking up out of that ashtray! Taste them! Taste them! Come on and taste them! Yuck!
Major-
Any movie theatre that advertises "Suspense; Pathos; Hilarity; and Action" - which is only half of it - gets my immediate attention. And... make that a B Coupon-! That surprised the heck out of me, too. [Must'a been all that pathos-!]
As for what m'lady has squirreled-away in her shopping bag, undoubtedly it's chock-full of wax flowers.
Thanks, Major.
A is a singular definite article and should not be used with plural nouns. The sentence should read either "A CM stands in the shade at the entrance to the Cinema, presumably to take a ticket from guests" or "to take tickets from guests." I'm surprised your teachers didn't learn you better grammar.
I always thought having the Mickey Mouse cartoons playing at the Main Street Cinema was kind of inauthentic considering they were from 1928 on forward. Wasn't Disneyland's Main Street representing the 1890's to 1910's?
I wonder if any of the Imagineers ever thought of making their own silent movies for the Main Street Cinema. Walt Disney Productions was a movie studio company after all. For fun, they could've even filmed the "silent" movies around Main Street, U.S.A., areas of Frontierland and the Jungle Cruise for settings as sort of an in-house reference to Disneyland.
My fave today is the Fine Tobacco Shop image. To get to the heart of the matter where there's smoke. Where there's smoke! Thanks, Major.
Those pesky surreys have ruined a fair amount of shots, I'll wager. That being said, Main Street is pleasantly uncrowded today, and the Tobacco Shop beckons us to come in and smoke up a storm. What is it, that missy tour guild has in her hand? Looks like a magic wand. Those glasses are so cool, the Chief can't take his eyes off of them. The bag is thin, so I am voting T shirt. Thanks Major.
The tricky thing about the surreys (at that time anyway) is that the horses were extremely quiet, having been trained for an all horse ninja movie that never made it to production. Disney got them for a steal, but had to discontinue using them after several guests were silently trampled. You can't make this stuff up! (or maybe you can...)
Another charming detail revealed on GDB that I don't recall seeing before--that sunny window above the Tobacco Shop.
The Main Street Cinema may be the first multiplex. Silent film lovers must smack their lips looking at the lineup of star talent on display. In the August '63 National Geographic photo, D. W. Griffith's "Fighting Blood" is advertised; I finally saw this short film a few years back at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, very impressive. Daveland's blog revealed that Lubitsch's excellent "Lady Windermere's Fan" was playing at the Cinema in 1958; it is wonderful that the park offered that kind of entertainment then.
K. Martinez, that is an fine idea, the studio making their own variety of silent films. Willing guests could be the stars, as they were in some Universal Studios exhibits.
TokyoMagic!, that CM will take my “A” ticket, and LIKE IT! I guess I should have actually looked at the photo though. The weird thing is that I have earlier ticket books that have the cinema listed as an “A” ticket. Seems amazing that it was ever considered a “B”!
TokyoMagic!, I take cigarette butts out of ashtrays, and when I get home, I remove the remaining tobacco and make my own cigarettes. I save hundreds of dollars a year!
Nanook, I had to look; if the Main Street Cinema was a “B” ticket, what in the world was an “A”?? Because, sorry cinema, it’s nice, but not the most exciting thing. You walk in, you look around for a few minutes at most, and walk out. I’m glad it’s there though, don’t fill it with plush characters, Disney. When I have time later this afternoon I’m going to look through my ticket books and see when it changed to a “B”.
Chuck, I used “Take the A Train” as my reference, since I am new to these Earth languages.
K. Martinez, it might be kind of fun if the cinema started showing the old “Laugh-O-Grams”, early “Alice” comedies, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons - all pre-Mickey Mouse. That’s an interesting question about making their own silent movies; the funny thing is that it seems to be harder to make them feel authentic than one might suppose. Maybe if the cinema was more of a draw they’d make the effort, but I can’t seem them doing it these days, sadly.
Jonathan, that photo is why I am sponsoring a bill to have all surreys banned in the US. Think of the children! I think the tour guide has her riding crop (which is not kinky at all) in her hand. You’re right, the bag doesn’t seem to weigh very much. So mysterious.
Stuart Powley, now I want to see a Disney movie about horse ninjas. Culturally sensitive, of course. There would be plenty of fighting (and throwing stars!), but at the end they would learn that friendship is the most important thing.
I pulled a couple shifts taking those A tickets in the 70s. I can tell you that a full shift at the Treehouse was far more interesting than on Main Street as you were in the middle of all the activity...not hiding in the shadows away from Tillie. As one very young guest one day said to me after realizing that Tillie wasn't real..."You have to be a dummy to work here!". I agreed while smiling with his parents...and shortly thereafter my request to return to the Westside was granted. KS
I think I went in the Main Street only once in all my visits, mostly for the air conditioning as I recall. I enjoyed the cartoons, but it wasn't enough of a draw when all of Disneyland awaited outside.
It's sort of ironic that any film produced before 1923 (I'm sure there are some) would be in the public domain, while Disney has been aggressive in changing laws to keep Mickey under copyright. This cinema would be like the Tomorrowland theater with Captain Eo and "Honey, I Shrunk...etc". Hard to believe a media company would run the same show over and over for 30 years and not make something new to change the bill.
I read somewhere (probably MAD Magazine) that fear of marauding bands of surreys was a spur to development of the internal combustion engine, enabling riders to outrun the fringed demons. This may not have been completely historically accurate. But the horses undoubtedly use perfect grammar.
Dad collected matchbook covers, but was not a smoker. I do recall visiting the tobacco shop with him, and I still have a Tobacconist matchbook. I fear it might have staple holes in the cover from mounting in an album. Probably reduces it's value to a collector, but I won't sell at any price.
Thanks Major.
JG
@KS that is a funny. Like you, I truly enjoyed working the Treehouse. As we used to say, "The Treehouse wan't the most popular attraction at Disneyland, but we were next to it." ;-) We were in the middle of more action standing there in our corduroy knickerbockers and wild patterned vest... listening to the Swisskapolka!
I like this photo because it was before my mentor, Van A. France, received his window above the Tobacco shop. Gosh, I miss him!
Also, is that a Hookah in the window behind the Tour Guide? I wonder what imported cigarettes they sold in 1966? You can also see a slight hint of that familiar sign next to the Tobacco shop warned us about, "that dirty weed."
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
My wife and I met in a film class in college working on a silent, B&W tribute to silent melodramas, and it really was a challenge trying to make it look authentic.
We were fortunate in that I knew the head of the university's costume shop, the costume shop had a lot of period clothing (including an authentic wedding dress from 1918!), there was a heritage railroad nearby that had passenger equipment from the 1910s, and my grandmother lived in town and had a house that looked period-appropriate inside.
My wife tried to approximate on-camera makeup styles of the period, and we shot the whole thing at 18 fps and projected it at 24 fps to simulate the fast, jerky motion seen when silent films are projected through sound projectors.
There is a horrific goof in the middle of the film where my wife is tied up on the tracks in a close-up and then a long shot (unintentionally, and not for comic effect) reveals that we are in the middle of a university town's business district in 1991, and if you know what you're looking for you can see the edge of a diesel locomotive in the background of another shot, but for the most part, I guess things look close enough for modern audiences. If nothing else, I got a wife out of the deal.
Main Street Cinema showed silent movies and steamboat Willie untill 1985 when it began showing early Mickey Mouse cartoons only. But the theater has showcased other films including MICKEY’S BIG BREAK - a film first debuting in Walt Disney World’s Main Street Cinema. Twice Disneyland’s Cinema has also featured Disneyland Consyructiin films and rare early color Disneyland scenes for two anniversary’s.
When Magic Journeys was Being shown in Tomorrowland’s SPACE PLACE , there was a serious proposal to redo the Main Street Cinema into a larger movie palace of the “teens” and feature the 3-D film there. Thank god that never happened!!
Has anyone seen the recently color change to The Main Street Cinema!?? It’s god-awful!!! I think it’s suppose to be Mickey Mouse colors - hopefully it isn’t permanent. Whoever came up with the color scheme should NOT be in a career fiend if atchutectural color and should resign from WDI.
Yes, Main Street USA at both DL & WDW represents 1890-1910. Paris’ Main Street was modernized a bit to be 1900-1915 and Tokyo’s World Bazzar is a general “ turn-of-the-Century America” based more of style that period focus.
Disneyland is the last park with a operating Main Street Cinema - so visit it as much as you can before it becomes some crap PIXAR PICTURE PALACE or a store extension like in the other parks.
Let us not forget, that The Perils of Sandy "played" in the Main St. Cinema back in 1974. Synopsis - Sandy Duncan gets tied to the Nature's Wonderland Mine Train tracks. Will she be set free in time before the little mine train runs over her? Only John Davidson, Ted Knight, Lorne Greene, Doc Severinsen, Ruth Buzzi, and Ernest Borgnine know for sure!
Here is the link for "Sandy Duncan in Disneyland." The black and white clip begins at the 7:40 mark: Sandy Duncan In Disneyland
Mike Cozart, Yes I've seen the paint job on the Main Street Cinema earlier in the year and to say it looks horrendous is an understatement.
https://i.redd.it/ndnns818pnn11.jpg
As one fellow GDB'r would say, they ruin everything.
TM!, that was awesome! Thanks for sharing that. That's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind when talking about Disney making "silent" movies for the Main Street Cinema.
Stefano, I think that most people don’t notice the sheer level of detail on Main Street. Walt’s designers really did an amazing job with this “land”. Like you, I never noticed that circular window! My understanding is that early nickelodeons had a multi-screen arrangement much like the Main Street Cinema, but I don’t know if that is true.
KS, I believe you when you say a shift at the Treehouse was more interesting. The Main Street Cinema position looks REAL boring! After that, did you primarily work on the “Westside” of the park? No Tomorrowland gigs?
JG, I went in out of curiosity, but only one time I think, and by then it was all Mickey cartoons. I love that they have kept the odd little cinema there, even though it must not get many visitors. As for copyright laws, didn’t a bunch of stuff become public domain very recently? Not sure if Steamboat Willie has fallen into that category. I have several Tobacco Shop matchbooks, but am lacking a rare one that I keep getting outbid on!
Matthew, you had me at “corduroy knickerbockers”. I just found a photo that I believe Van Arsdale France is in (along with some other notables) - at the World’s Fair. Stay tuned. Gosh, I can’t tell if that’s a hookah, or a lamp without a lamp shade. It would be bizarre to see a hookah at Disneyland.
Chuck, yes, I think that many factors contributed to the look we associate with silent films. Lenses, film stocks, slightly undercranked cameras, etc. So fun that you and your future wife worked on a silent film together. I wonder if schools still have things like authentic props from 1918? The “horrific goof” sounds like an intentional gag, but you said it was unintentional, so I believe you! I helped a friend with some awful little short films, he even did some animation - the first time I ever tried to make a figure move. It was fun, but as I said, the films were awful.
Mike Cozart, aha, 1985 is the date that it all changed. Your mention of the movie palace and 3D films reminds me of when somebody told me that there was a proposal to redo Main Street and make it a 50’s town. I’m SO glad that never happened. Maybe “Back to the Future” had just been a smash hit, or it was just part of the 50’s fad from “Happy Days”, etc. I have not seen the color change to the cinema, and now I’m afraid to look. And I truly am worried that some genius will decide that the valuable real estate that the cinema uses could be used to sell snacks or merch. NOOOOOOOO….
TokyoMagic!, how could I ever forget The Perils of Sandy? You know I am Sandy’s #1 fan. I actually really do remember it, it’s wonderfully bad, and yet, I can only love it. Because SANDY.
K. Martinez, THOSE BRICKS! MY EYES! AIEEEEE!
K. Martinez, Sandy Duncan better be a Disney Legend, or I am going to flip a table.
I'd be happy if the WDW Main Street Cinema showed any shorts at all, instead of being a shop that sold animation art.
Steamboat Willie was not included in the recent public domain release. Disney will fight hard to ensure that the term of copyright will always be (current year - creation of Mickey Mouse) + 1
Oh, gosh-
The Main St. Cinema just looks just God-awful "wrapped-up" in bricks. (Do you suppose it came in rolls, and it was simply 'unfurled' overnight, in a cheap attempt to modernize-?) Bring back spray, tex-coating-!!
I think even "Z Brick" would look more realistic than that! I wonder if they still make it? They used to give it away as a consolation prize on game shows in the seventies.
Major...Once I returned to Adventure/Frontierland (as it was called back then), I never looked back. And Matthew...you spoke eloquently about the good 'ol Treehouse. Here's to the memory of Earl Archer...or as we called him..Mr Treehouse. KS
@Ken & Tokyo. My goodness, that brick is awful.
What are they thinking, or can we dignify with that term the mental process that produced such a result? Simply ghastly.
Tokyo, Z-brick as such is no longer marketed, but the adhered brick (and stone) veneer market is thriving. Most products are looking very much like the real thing, the breakdown comes in installation, where the joints and corners aren't quite right, or the designers handle the material like wallpaper instead of a mass.
The barf on that wall looks more like a glazed tile to my eye, but, brick or tile, it's a war crime.
JG
Chuck, that sounds awesome! I'm a big silent film fan and wish I could have seen yours!
Dean, I hear you on the WDW Cinema. Makes me sad even to see the marquee these days.
@KS thanks for the shout out. To the memory of Mr. Treehouse, Earl Archer. Here, here!
Now, I must admit the name sounds familiar; however, I came a little after you to the Park (1986).
Always your pal,
Yep. I started 1969. KS
@KS - Gosh I admire you skippers! You had the pressure of someone giving up an 'E' coupon / ticket to ride your boats. The pressure must have been great to really perform.
As for us, every ride was already paid for (no tickets), pressure was still great... but if they didn't like it... they could go stand in line again and get another skipper without giving up a valuable 'E' ticket.
@Marjor - I am excited for all your posts... but now will be on the look out for a Van France post.
Always your pal,
Matt
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