Screening of "The Birth of a Nation" Attracts Protesters

[misteranalog]

Schnectady New York is about 130 miles north of New York

http://www.proctors.org/events/100-birth-nation" target="_blank

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article ... 851586.php" target="_blank

I was curious about how big an audience they got for this 1915 silent film........ $5 admission is an okay price

[FrankFay]

Odd- this is in my backyard & I wasn't aware of it happening.

A few years back the Capitol Theater in Rome NY showed it & got a pretty full house- and though there was plenty of controversy & can recall only one really screaming protestor out front. Otherwise the audience was quite respectful.

The second part (where things REALLY get complaint worthy) was watched in a nearly unreal silence, with one break: The scene where the black southern housekeeper & the black northern secretary meet & size each other up got a quick burst of laughter.

[oldposterho]

$5 admission is an okay price

I love this quote by Mr. Griffith from 1915:

My first prediction is that a moving picture will be made within 3 or 4 years for which the entrance money will be $5 and $6 a seat. It's easy to predict that.

--Peter

[misteranalog]

Inflation means that what cost $1 in 1915 costs about $25 a hundred years later,
so....
$5 then X 25 = $125 now, I don't see very many movies at this price level,
$15 or so seems to be the limit at the local mall theaters for a 3-D movie.....

Griffith was right about the upward trend in ticket prices over time....
But a $15 movie ticket for a 3-D movie was about 60 cents in 1915 pre-inflation terms
In 1910 or so an entire working class family lived on about $700 a year.
Most movies were about 5 minutes long, and "nickelodeons" cost a "nickel" hence their name!!!