ONE TIN SOLDIER

The best adjective to describe BILLY JACK would be...phenominal.

BILLY JACK was a character and a movie that captured the spirit of young movie-goers during the early 1970s. These young people returned time after time after time to the local Salisbury theatres (and there were only five screens in the city at the time) to see this independent "sleeper" feature.

It seemed as if BILLY JACK was playing at one of the Salisbury theatres constantly. And as a local theatre manager during this period, it certainly felt that way to me.

BILLY JACK had fourteen Salisbury bookings in a FIVE-year period:

August 18 - 31, 1971 - TERRACE THEATRE

November 24 - 30, 1971 - TERRACE THEATRE

December 3 - 9, 1971 - TERRACE THEATRE

December 23, 1971 - January 1, 1972 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

March 10 - 16, 1972 - CAPITOL THEATRE

June 2 - 15, 1972 - CAPITOL THEATRE

July 7 - 13, 1972 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

November 22 - 28, 1972 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

May 11 - 17, 1973 - TERRACE THEATRE

March 22 - April 4, 1974 - CAPITOL THEATRE

September 20 - 26, 1974 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

September 27 - October 3, 1974 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

September 10 - 16, 1976 - TERRACE THEATRE

October 22 - 28, 1976 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

75 YEARS LATER, THE WIND IS STILL BLOWING

---CLICK ON GWTW IMAGES TO ENLARGE---

BUTCH AND THE KID

"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

Yep, they dynamited trains and were dynamite at the box office.

Twentieth Century Fox released this western on October 1, 1969, and Salisbury was among the cities to get it on opening day. 

Take the genius of pairing Paul Newman with Robert Redford, throw in the smash B. J. Thomas song hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," and it was off to the bank. Fortunately, Butch and the Kid weren't around to stick it up.

During its initial release period, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID had eleven different bookings in Salisbury.

Twentieth Century Fox pulled the movie from release at the end of 1971, and put it in the can until the spring of 1974.

They re-released it after Newman and Redford struck gold again in THE STING, and history repeated itself. From April through December, 1974, Salisbury played "The Hole-in-the-Wall" guys five more times, with each engagement being a full week.

October 1 - 11, 1969 - TERRACE THEATRE

December 25, 1969 - January 7, 1970 - CAPITOL THEATRE

March 18 - 26, 1970 - TERRACE THEATRE

May 15 - 21, 1970 - CAPITOL THEATRE

June 12 - 18, 1970 - CAPITOL THEATRE

August 5 - 11, 1970 - SALISBURY DRIVE-IN THEATRE

December 2 - 8, 1970 - CAPITOL THEATRE

March 19 - 25, 1971 - CAPITOL THEATRE

May 21 - 27, 1971 - TERRACE THEATRE

August 27 - September 2, 1971 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE

November 19 - 23, 1971 - CAPITOL THEATRE

April 26 - May 2, 1974 - TERRACE THEATRE

May 3 - 9, 1974 - CAPITOL THEATRE

July 26 - August 1, 1974 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE

September 27 - October 3, 1974 - TERRACE THEATRE

October 11 - 17, 1974 - THUNDERBIRD DRIVE-IN THEATRE

"What's the matter with you?"

"I can't swim."

"Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya!"

FIFTIES FUN AT THE MOVIES

CAPITOL THEATRE
August 8, 1950

CAPITOL THEATRE
November 19, 1950

HITCHING POST DRIVE-IN THEATRE
November 19, 1950

VICTORY THEATRE
November 19, 1950

CAPITOL THEATRE
February 18, 1951

CAPITOL THEATRE
February 25, 1951

STATE THEATRE
May 23, 1951

STATE THEATRE
July 6, 1951

VICTORY THEATRE
January 27, 1952

CAPITOL THEATRE
May 17, 1953

CAPITOL THEATRE
November 15, 1953

VICTORY THEATRE
January 9, 1955

CENTER THEATRE
February 13, 1955

CENTER THEATRE
September 18, 1955

CENTER THEATRE
December 4, 1955

CAPITOL THEATRE
July 2, 1958

Note ANDY GRIFFITH
personal appearance

CENTER THEATRE
February 8, 1959

CAPITOL THEATRE
November 20, 1959

WEISSMULLER'S JUNGLE JIM YEARS

 JOHNNY WEISSMULLER

1904 - 1984

Discarding his Tarzan loincloth in 1948 after twelve appearances due to age and a salary dispute, Olympian Johnny Weissmuller wasted no time in obtaining another jungle gig. Columbia Pictures signed the Olympic medal winner to a series of B-budgeted Jungle Jim features, based on the popular King Features comic strip character.

The first in the series, aptly titled JUNGLE JIM was on theatre screens the same year as Johnny's final Tarzan adventure.

He would portray Jungle Jim in a total of thirteen kiddie fare films until 1954 when Columbia lost the rights to the character. Not content to stop production of the popular Saturday matinee fillers, Johnny stayed on with Columbia for three more features. No longer able to use the Jungle Jim name, Johnny Weissmuller played a character named...Johnny Weissmuller. King Features couldn't stop him from using that moniker.

Ironically, after stoppage of the Johnny features, Columbia re-acquired the rights to the Jungle Jim character, and Weissmuller moved to the small screen as JUNGLE JIM in 26 half-hour TV episodes.

"Baby Boomers" in the Charlotte area may remember watching the TV show on WSOC weekday afternoons as part of their Jungle Theatre program.

And, the Weissmuller features, both TARZAN and JUNGLE JIM, initially played on WSOC in the Charlotte market during the early-to-mid-sixties. In the Triad market, the TARZANs could be seen on WGHP-High Point, and the JUNGLE JIMs on WFMY-Greensboro.

JUNGLE JIM
1948

THE LOST TRIBE
1949

MARK OF THE GORILLA
1950

CAPTIVE GIRL
1950

PYGMY ISLAND
1950

FURY OF THE CONGO
1951

JUNGLE MANHUNT
1951

JUNGLE JIM IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND
1952

VOODOO TIGER
1952

SAVAGE MUTINY
1953

VALLEY OF HEAD HUNTERS
1953

KILLER APE
1953

JUNGLE MAN-EATERS
1954

CANNIBAL ATTACK
1954

JUNGLE MOON MEN
1954

DEVIL GODDESS
1954