Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

This is the second story I’ve written about my favorite theatre. You may have visited it during the recent heat wave, but as far as I’m concerned the Somerville Theatre has always been cool.

This Ville of ours is an ever changing place (observant aren’t I?). Most of the stores, restaurants and bars from our childhood are gone. But there’s one place that’s still here and has remained virtually unchanged. I’m talking about The Somerville Theatre in Davis Square.

I remember my mother taking my brother and sister and me to see The Sound of Music there in 1965. I was 12 years old. We had a 5-minute walk from our house.

Many of us have great memories of the theatre. I’ve put together some more of my friends’ remembrances.

“In the 1930s when my mother was a little girl, she and all her friends from Warwick Street would collect bottles to return them for a penny. A movie ticket was 10 cents but because it was during the depression, their families couldn’t even afford a dime to send their kids to the movies. They would collect enough of them so that all the children could go to the movies on Saturday. They would stay there all day because there were several short films. The kids today have no idea how easy they have it! Later, it became the standing Saturday night date for my mother and father.”

Here’s another recollection: “Going to Gorin’s first to get the long sleeve of popcorn for 25 cents and candy for the Saturday matinee. Kids running up and down the aisles before, during and after the movie. Someone throwing trash in the path of the projected movie so it would show up on the screen. Basically a Somerville kid free for all, that happened to be showing a movie (or 2) at the same time!”

Many friends revealed that their first kiss happened at The Somerville Theatre, no doubt in the balcony. Another friend shares: “So many Saturday afternoons with all our friends! Popcorn showered from the balcony. (Watching) Friday the 13th! Oh, was that walk home scary!”

Three generations of my family worked at the theatre. My dad worked there around 1935 when movies like Top Hat and Mutiny On the Bounty we’re shown. Charlie Chan, W.C. Fields and Shirley Temple movies were big then also. I worked at the theatre around 1972 when M*A*S*H, The Owl and the Pussycat, Tora, Tora, Tora and Patton came out. I had fun putting, let’s say, “silly” words up on the marquee while my friends watched. My son worked at the theatre around 2014 with movies like The Lego Movie, Godzilla, Jersey Boys, and Birdman.

My friend Ian Judge is the manager of our beloved Somerville Theatre. He has lots of interesting historic bits of info about the theatre. He’s also a nice guy.

It’s so comforting to still have a place like The Somerville Theatre that was such a memorable part of our upbringing in Somerville. It’s comforting and important that it’s remained for so long, especially when you look around at all the destruction and construction in our city. Decent prices, nice staff and the best popcorn anywhere (real butter) make The Somerville Theatre one of our favorite places. I sound like Yelp!

Some classic movies my generation saw there were ET, A Hard Day’s Night, Goldfinger, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Ben Hur, King Kong, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jaws, The Love Bug, Bullit, Omega Man, The Good the Bad and the Ugly (the movie, not City Hall), James Bond and Elvis flicks, and classic horror movies (no, not live streaming of City Council meetings!) Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. Don’t forget … The Blob! (insert your own joke here!)

The Somerville Theatre remains a treasure trove of memories for us old Somerville people. And please, no tossing popcorn, candy or people off the balcony!