I heard from someone that rather than going to the cinema to watch a particular film with a set start time, back in the 50s/60s and before, people would just go to the cinema and watch whatever was playing, and start watching it from whatever point in the screening, often watching multiple films in one sitting.
So the cinema was more about the outing than the actual film, and most films were unremarkable.
Incidentally, I recently was watching "12 Angry Men" (1957), and there's a description of the film going experience from Juror 4 which seems quite strange to the modern ear and made me think about what I had heard:
Juror 4; Monday night? Monday night... my wife and I went to the movies.
Juror #8: What did you see?
Juror #4: "The Scarlet Circle". A whodunit.
Juror #8: What was the second feature?
Juror #4: "The"... I'll tell you in a minute..."The... Remarkable Mrs." something... "Bainbridge". "The Remarkable Mrs. Bainbridge".
Juror #8: Who was in "The Amazing Mrs. Bainbridge"?
Juror #4: Barbara... Long, I think it was. A dark, very pretty girl. Ling or... Long, or something....I'd never heard of them before. It was a very inexpensive second feature, with unknown...[actors]
Could someone explain this? Does anyone have some more details about how going to the cinema worked in the Golden Age of Hollywood?
And how did it work with second features? AKA B films? I assume they weren't promoted at all.
*Edit: Some people are assuming I am very young and don't understand pre-internet media. I am not. I am asking specifically about the cinema experience BEFORE the 1970-80s, when movies didn't have start times and second features/newsreels were a thing.
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