Movie Night

I have heard from former cadets about the movie nights they used to have here. In the back of what's now the Commandant's Department, with popcorn provided, right?

CPT Mostrag, who is handling student activities this year, does try to do Saturday night movies for the cadets, either in the planetarium or one of the new library classrooms. I don't believe he provides popcorn, though. :(

Tuesday nights in the band room, and Saturday nights in the band room or if it was a recent release movie in the GYM, no popcorn in the GYM.

Maj. Straughn ran the projector.

Oh yeah... popcorn and a movie. I remember my Jr. year being one of the cadets who used to work the popcorn stand, never really cared to watch the movies. I remember all of the cadets wanting a "hook up" for free popcorn and/or soda.

Even Jr. School would attend a Sat. night movie at Thompson Gym every now and then. While in Upper School, I remember "Dirty Harry" was shown and when it came time for a "nude" scene, Maj. Straughn would have a index card at the ready...Boooooo. LOL

We would see some great movies, others were not my taste. If they were really good, sometimes the faculty and their families would attend.

There is still a grand old 35mm projection system in the balcony of the Thomas Gym left from when they used to show movies on the huge screen at Thomas Gym. I've often thought about writing a story for the Call To Quarters about those movie nights with the professional projection equipment...if anybody has any info for me, be sure to post and/or email me!

Ah yes, I remember it well............(no popcorn, however) During my four years we had many great movies in the old gym. Only one bad experience. Some flick entitled "The Red Crusader" or some such. Real swashbuckler. After the movie there was general chaos on campus. Guys using red towels for capes brandishing sabers, etc., along with much enthusiasm. Col. Crockett, however, took a dim view of the activities. Since no real culprits could be zeroed in on, all leaves were cancelled the next weekend. One chorus of Memory, please..............
Cheers -JoeK '55

Yep movie night on Tuesday evenings. Only the popcorn wasn't free.

In the gym, no popcorn or drinks.

Alex Figueroa also ran the projector in the Band Annex... I remember seeing Ladyhawk in the Gym. I think I saw a booby before the index card fell. I also remember watching "The Natural" and the film melted.

From 91-95 it was in the back of the commandants office. I belive Cpt Fender was in charge of the operation and some tech geek ran the projector.

Interesting experience, but not very comfortable sitting in those hard plastic chairs.

I remember seeing "RED DAWN" in the gym, and the reels being out of order. Major Straughn's answer to that was to just show them out of order. The view from the balcony wasn't the best either.

Thanks for bringing back some great memories. In 85-86, Wes Stone and I were on the Color Guard and Capt. Fender allowed us to run the operation of the popcorn room. At first it was just soda's, candy bars and popcorn. We convinced Capt. Fender to expand into frozen pizza's. We would go into the mess hall in the afternoon and sauce and cheese then refrigerate the pizza's and then cook them to order in the popcorn room. Ironically, Wes and I both went into the food service industry after college in sales. I remember recruiting our friends to help us work in the room as well. Free popcorn and all of the soda one's bladder could hold-that was living at the Fork! I have seen the numerous posts of the massive cockroaches, but everytime we would unlock the room, we would paper, scissors and rock who was going in first. When you would swing the door open and hit the lights, it was repulsive! Not only would the roaches scatter across the floor, the would fly and buzz your head and actually hum as they flew they were so huge! I do remember the phrase "Hook me up, man, c'mon and hook me up!" with everyone looking for a free soda or popcorn. We loved it because we were allowed to get out of CQ early on Tuesday nights, but then again we lived on the first floor of the Maples on the right. Another post for another thread, but CQ was quite festive living on the first floor of the Maples. Anyone else remember our porch with the hammocks? It was a real screened in porch that became quite the hang out on the weekends and during free time. I think the screening may have been missing. Many hilarious times we had out on the porch with Tommy Daniels, Craig Chamberlain, Boz Bosworth, Judd Hilton, Pierce Whiteside, Wes Stone, myself, Donnie King and countless others. There were several spitoons and ashtrays as several of us had tobacco permits. If anyone else remembers hanging on the porch, please post! Thanks for the memories, it just isn't the same when I try to explain it to my wife about the countless hours we spent talking, joking, goofing off, trying to gross each other out, etc. Oh and yes, we did talk academics from time to time too!

I remember many Saturday nights with Judd on the porch.....I think every time I was in line for a coke, I'd hear come on hook me up man from somebody (mostly Tommy Daniel).

Those pizzas gave Rocco's a run for their business.

WOW the memories I was a member of the Student activities staff I. I graduated as the officer in charge of student activities in 99 and I rember it well. I used to show many a movie in th eback of the commandants office. We once had a fairly large collection of movies up there till a staff member who was dissmissed for stealing and going all over the campus in the tunnels stole most of them. The then Maj. Fender and I aranged for dominoes Pizza to deviler pizzas and we sold them. I so enjoyeded my position on staff i can still to this day remember the price of them . thanks for the memory sam

Supplycapt and I remember the same thing--movies on Saturday night in the Gym. I am not sure it had a name in those days, but it probably did. Yes, 35mm, black and white films, mostly, and except for one memorable one (Bell, Book, and Candle!) they were pretty much about war and had ZERO, and I mean ZERO females in the casts. Honestly, I remember seeing some of the worst films I have ever seen on those nights, but sometimes I would take a snooze even though the chairs were not that comfortable. As for food, no way, no time, not happening. In those days people were pretty much afraid to break any rules as far as I knew, so we did not even miss popcorn and the like. However, the housemothers (OK, now is when you say, "Housemothers??") used to pop some corn every now and then for us who were able to study in the barracks in Jr. School instead of in study hall. You had to make Honor Roll or something to do that. Anyway, popcorn is one smell that I always associate with FUMA as it was a huge treat!

Movie nights were a special event. Movies on Tuesdays meant CQ started immediately after Retreat, would end around 8:00. You had to "sign out" on a clipboard outside your company First Sergeant's door. If you didn't sign out (as the movies usually ended after Tatoo) you would be in a world of trouble. Most of the movies were in the Band Hall. I remember Saturday movies, but only very few of those, were shown in the gym.

Popcorn was available but I never had any money to buy any. The Tuesday movie was before allowance was issued (on Thursday) and the money was always blown by Saturday night. I remember watching Red Sonja, Highlander, The Man with One Red Shoe, Tough Guys, some war movies, and some really bad Sissy Spassek movie that I sat through only because I didn't want to be back in the barracks.

I can't stop laughing.

The stuff you guys all bring up brings a flood of memories back.

I remember Maj. Straughn was showing "The Eiger Sanction" in the Band bldg. There was a scene where the woman was on top of the mountain and she "motivated" Clint Eastwood....that scene required the "index card" and we gave him soooo much grief for putting it up.

Nick

The best Saturday night movie ever....1986 TOP GUN...The barracks were swinging that night. I was on Battalion Staff and remember that about 8-10 cadets got written up between Alpha, Band and Bravo for running around after Taps pretending to be Goose and Cougar. Great Memories. Great memories.