"If We Could But Journey Back ..."

That opening line from Bing Crosby's narration for Ichabod and Mr. Toad seems entirely appropriate for this glimpse of what must have been a happy day for an anxious throng of patrons attending RKO's stellar tandem bill of Mighty Joe Young and Isle Of The Dead. It's 1953, and re-issues were filling the product gap in theaters nationwide. RKO may have leaned harder on the oldies than anyone. They seem to have squeezed every dime out of these pics before finally dumping them on television in 1956. It's worth noting that RKO did a brand-new campaign for both features, as well as ten different TV spots for Mighty Joe Young (the spot promotion had been a big success for the 1952 encore of King Kong). The pair was probably sold to exhibitors at a flat rental.Depending on the territory, these could have been had for as little as $20 each. Judging by the crowd above, there must have been some nice profits in the venerable old shows.