The Castle Theater. A Neighborhood Destination, Now Gone - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

The Castle Theater. A Neighborhood Destination, Now Gone - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

I read of the recent closing of a business in the near one-hundred-year-old, wonderful Castle Theater, and paused to remember. For years, it was at the core of my young life.

Friday was our night at the movies. We were welcomed by the Castle’s V-shaped, stainless-steel marquee jutting over the sidewalk; its white background laced with black metal strings that held the movie titles. Alongside the doors and encased in glass were the movie posters. Two art deco lions, looking down on the activity below, decorated its façade of porcelain tiles.

The lobby was modest; a ticket counter to the right, a candy counter to the left. Elegant red velvet curtains framed the stage as they draped alongside the screen.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

“Move along, get in, get in!” Ms. G (Mammagool) was the lady who managed the theater, patrolling the aisles with an iron fist that pounded the seats and a flashlight that pierced the darkness. Buxom, stern, glasses pinched on her nose, square-heeled white shoes, and white hair tied in a bun, she ruled with the fear of eviction her mace.

We never missed the Friday night features. In those moments, we became the heroes in the movies. “Take your hat off! Wipe your feet!”

We knew the stars; Weissmuller, Murphy, Rogers, Crabbe, Johnnie Mack Brown, Autry, Cassidy, Widmark, Ladd, Geronimo, Crosby, and Spanky, and we became them. They brought our senses alive.

Oh, for a cartoon. Elmer, Bugs, Donald. More! Please more.

Randolph Scott, Hoot Gibson, Judy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Snow White, Dopey. 3-D glasses. “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

“Quiet! Move in!”

Lamour, Crosby, and Hope. Hedy, Lana, Rita, and Coop. Pathe’ news, Ike and Audie.

“No one in the balcony!” The balcony, where couples smooched, was off-limits per Mamma.

Jujubes, Jujyfruits, Jawbreakers, Junior Mints, Mason Dots, Milky Way, Milk Duds, Root Beer Barrels, Charleston Chew, Snickers, Sen Sens, Squirrel Nuts, Necco Wafers, and . . . popcorn.

Ladies collected dinner sets and encyclopedias on Monday nights. Saturday; two movies for twenty-five cents.

“No gum!”

Black Beauty, Strawberry Roan, Trigger.

“Don’t rest your head on the seat. You’ll get ringworm, and they’ll shave your head.” After the movie, we went to The Creamery for ice cream, a soda.

Ah, the movies. Shared memories with friends when Hoppy won, when Worlds collided, when Abbott ran in fear, when Geronimo was captured, when Randolph fell off his horse, when Gorcey slapped Hall, when Stratton pitched on a wooden leg, when Dizzy (Dan Daily) pitched with Daffy, when Fred (MacMurray?) discovered Flubber. Our heroes were pieced together in adventure fantasies.

A flash. “Take your arm off that girl! No gum! Get your feet off the seat!!”

The weekly serial . . . The Lost Jungle . . . giant warriors.

The Castle Theatre was our ritual. How lucky we were, children of film, fun, friendship, and fantasy mixed with the pleasure of more freedom on Friday nights.

“We were the lucky ones, we first citizens of film,” says Roger Angell

“Get right home!” barked Mamma.

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli is the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  Learn more HERE.