Today’s column is a nostalgic quiz covering downtown Johnson City movie theatres and favorite motion pictures that were projected on their big screens. Older residents can readily recall four movie houses that entertained the masses.
Some of these businesses later changed ownership and acquired new names.
Theatres
Over time, 11 movie theatres occupied 5 downtown Johnson City locations: 1. Sevier (113-117 Spring), 2. Majestic (239 E. Main), 3. Tennessee (148 W. Main), 4. Liberty (221 E. Main) and 5. State (236 E. Main opposite the Majestic).
Now comes the hard part. These locations were also the site of six additional movie houses: A. Edisonia, B. Capital, C. Grand, D. Deluxe, E. Capri and F. Criterion. Test your wit by matching the numbered locations with the lettered theatre names.
The second part of the quiz deals with 10 favorite movies that I first viewed at one of the downtown establishments. Match each numbered movie title with its corresponding lettered final scene descriptor.
Movies
1. The African Queen (1951, Bogart, Hepburn).
2. Citizen Kane (1941, Wells, Cotton).
3. Gone With The Wind (1939, Leigh, Gable).
4. The Grapes of Wrath (1940, Fonda, Carradine).
5. High Noon (1952, Cooper, Kelly).
6. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, Stewart, Reed).
7. Sergeant York (1941, Cooper, Brennan).
8. Shane (1953, Ladd, Arthur, Heflin, Palance, De Wilde).
9. Singing In The Rain (1952, Kelly, Reynolds, O’Conner).
10. The Wizard Of Oz (1939, Garland, Bolger, Lahr, Haley, Morgan).
Final Scenes
A. George sees an inscription in a book that reads, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings.”
B. After being thrown into the river from an explosion, Rosie wants to know which way is the east shore. Charlie answers, “The way we’re swimming, old girl.”
C. Alvin looks out over his vast farm and utters the words, “The Lord shore does move in mysterious ways.”
D. A family determines to survive the depression years: “They can’t wipe us out. They can’t lick us. We’ll go on forever, Paw, cause we’re the people.”
E. After telling a young boy goodbye, the lone rider heels his horse and gallops away to the lad’s tearful voice admonishing him to “come back, come back.”
F. A little girl arrives home from adventures in a magical land with the appreciation that “There’s no place like home.”
G. The anonymity of the word “Rosebud” goes up in smoke and forever eradicates a mystery surrounding the death of a famous newspaper publisher.
H. Two people standing at the base of a billboard look up to a picture of Don and Kathy while a background song reaches a soaring finale.
I. After a suspenseful climax, Kane opens the door, fires at Henderson, drops his badge into the dust and rides out of town with Amy.
J. The heroine boldly proclaims, “I can’t let him go. There must be some way to bring him back because, after all, tomorrow is another day.”
Answers: Part 1 Theatres: 1-(none), 2-C, 3-DBE, 4-(none) and 5-AF. Part 2 Movies: 1B, 2G, 3J, 4D, 5I, 6A, 7C, 8E, 9H and 10F.