THE 1950s — The
Casino Theatre is now primarily a movie house.
Ads from August 1952 in "This Week in the Poconos" don't
state a price for the movies, but they do indicate two
shows every night, Monday through Saturday, and the
features changing every other day.
Note the ad (click to view larger image) boasts
"This Theatre Comfortably Cool." Air conditioning was
just starting to boom as an industry. Chances are, the
Casino didn't have it yet . . . otherwise the ad would
say so! But the Casino needed to compete with other local
movie houses such as The Sherman in Stroudsburg, which
was bragging about its air conditioning.
In 1952, most movies were still being filmed in black and
white. "Francis Goes to West Point" (the third of seven
movies made about a talking Army mule) , "Pat and Mike"
and "Carbine Williams" are all black and white features.
"The Story of Will Rogers" is notably indicated as being
in Technicolor. The push for color films was soon to
begin, provoked by the growing prevalence of television,
which would remain primarily black and white for years to
come. (Color TV did not take off until the mid 1960s.)
Note that the movie times are 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. "D.S.T."
throughout the week. Daylight Savings Time was used
across the country during World War II, but after the war
its use varied among states and localities. It wasn't
standarized in the U.S. until 1966 — that's why people
used the "D.S.T." designation.
In 1952: Harry S Truman is president, but announces
he won't seek reelection. (Dwight D. Eisenhower is
elected in the fall.) Elizabeth II becomes queen of
England at age 25 upon the death of her father, George
VI. The United States is in the throes of the Cold War
with the Soviet Union. Prime Minister Winston Churchill
announces that the United Kingdom has an atomic bomb; the
U.S. detonates the first hydrogen bomb. The Academy Award
for Best Picture of 1952 went to "The Greatest Show on
Earth."