You sure did, but to clarify, the only roadshow I recall seeing prior to West Side Story which was still in its roadshow engagement when I saw it in early 1963, was Around the World in 80 Days in 1956. It was a group thing, but can't recall if it was with a class or with fellow newspaper carriers. I went on a lot of trips with both groups in those days.Mister Tee wrote:You started out ahead of me, but I jumped ahead at some point.
I worked as an usher and later concession stand attendant and manager while in high school and two years of college from early-1960 to mid-1963 and saw just about everything that wasn't a roadshow whether at the theatre I worked or at another one. I did see two Oscar winners in their initial runs during this period - The Apartment and Tom Jones.
I spent 1966 and the first half of 1997 in Germany. I was the Operations Sergeant and Training NCO for a major supply company. I used to conduct training classes and show training films in the theatre a few feet from my barracks on Saturday mornings. It was the same theatre that I saw most of the films they showed on Friday and Saturday nights. They were about six months behind their U.S. commercial releases.
I may have seen The Sound of Music as soon as it opened in 1965, but I don't recall having seen it before that showing in Richmond later that year, which would have been before the Oscars. I'm fairly certain I saw Oliver! before the Oscars. I know I saw The Lion in Winter before. By that time, I knew how to get into reserved seat showings without having to buy a ticket in advance.