Movie Memory Tarzan -"Orh Eee Orh" Audience Reaction

Hillary Haziran 04, 2022

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This posting is a continuation of *Movie Memory Trail: Make-Shift Cinemas At The CC Part 1

Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie

Movie matinee idol.

Cheering for the hero:

Audiences were different then. In Jumping Jacks, (*Part One of above article) when Martin and Lewis landed safely on the ground after a hilarious air-borne-and-parachute scene, everyone on the basketball court clapped loudly.

Similarly in other movies, like in the Tarzan (Johnny Weismuller) series, the ape-man (as he was known) would utter a deafening signature call before a rescue (video above). So when he rescued Jane from a ferocious animal the audience would react instantly with a deafening cheer.

There were even moments when viewers shouted, "Hee-low-lie-low!" (a Chinese/Hokkein dialect used often in Singapore) which meant, "Hero is here!" (not "hero's lying low"). Tarzan's chimp would do a similar routine on screen. Tarzan movies were popular in the 1940s and re-runs were plentiful in later years.

When Prince Julna (Tony Curtis) in The Prince Who Was A Thief escaped from the wicked assassin's sharp and silvery scimitar, movie patrons brightened up. Some members in the audience even whistled while others heaved a sigh of relief! The experience was fun but more importantly it was interactive.

Rescuing Jane from danger and possible death!

Today it's a different ball-game altogether. If there's action or hilarity on the screen nobody flinches, not for a second. Imagine raising your fist for 007 Daniel Craig in Skyfall as he fought his villain on the speeding train. The audience to-day would probably think you are crazy.

At home it's worse, especially when the Acer Tablet is perched on the chest and you are viewing the movie horizontally 5 inches away from the screen. One private audience member and not a sound.

These movies just go on without end.

Matinees and Serials:

Matinees were movies screened on Sunday mornings at eleven. Movies like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers made in the mid-30s were science fiction serials and shown in 13 parts.

Can you imagine watching a movie without an end because the movie-goer had to come back every Sunday to watch the next episode? Like watching TV at the cinema.

Of course each serial would end at the most exciting part. The film-buff just had to come back the following week to find out what happened to Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers! There's a term for movies like these, cliff-hangers.

I used to watch them week after week, sometimes even crying when my folks would not provide me with coins to see them. It cost fifty cents for each show, cheap today but a lot for a schoolboy like me in the 50s.

BTW, Orh Eee Orh is my song connection for this posting :-)