It's Less About Movies Than Money


Charley Chase did a take-off on Bank Nights in his 1936 comedy short, Neighborhood House. Here’s a real one from that same year, and it looks as though the mechanics of giveaways and cash awards are taking preference over the offerings on the screen. This was bingo with a movie ticket, and the chance of picking up $150 after watching The Walking Dead must have been pretty irresistible to folks who might not attend the Boris Karloff thriller on its own considerable merits. I’d not feel cheated in the wake of a Bank Night loss, for look at those shorts they offered with the Saturday show --- Phil Harris in Double Or Nothing, a Looney Tune, Plane Dippy, Chapter 11 of Mascot’s Adventures Of Rex and Rinty, plus a newsreel. Who ever got all this plus $150 would have been one very happy patron that night!