The Urban Archeologist:100 years ago a movie was 15 Cents!!

In 1914, 15 cents was a lot of money. I remember my father telling me what he got for 15 cents at a movie theater as a boy, and the list of perks went on for a while. Those were the days.

Today, for not much more you can find memories of those movies at a local estate sale or antique shop. It's worth the trip, because if you hit it right you can also find a piece of local history.

The movie flyers for "Officer 666" from 1914 and “Captain Alvarez” are real gems, they each offer four pages, including pictures and the entire story (spoiler alert!) on the back. The front claims the movie is in 5 and 6 parts, which could mean it is a serial, or maybe 5 or 6 reels long.

when a piece of ephemera lists the location, that in this case no longer exists, it becomes evidence. It is now a piece to research and share with the local historical society in the hopes that I can find out more about it.

Along with these movie fliers were also some playbills from 1928. click here to look at "Sinner" and see if you can find the interesting ad within for "Naughty Cinderella" or "Getting Gerties Garter!"