CONCESSION CANDY REDUX

Posted by morlockjeff on January 17, 2009

There are a lot of things I miss about the moviegoing experiences of my youth such as the intimacy of the local neighborhood theatre as opposed to the antiseptic mall Cineplex but most of all I miss the lobby concession stands of the fifties and sixties where candy was much more varied, regional and inexpensive compared to the absurdly overpriced, family size candy packs of today which are usually limited to the same boring, best selling brands. Where are the Necco Skybars, jujubes and Nik-L-Nips?

I also miss those lobby hand-pull candy dispensers where the management would sometimes try to unload an unpopular candy with a simple “?” written on a piece of paper in the display window that would usually turn out to be Boston Baked Beans (candy coated peanuts) or Black Licorice Dollars.

Here are some of my more memorable matinee favorites, many of which weren’t really that good but exerted a strange fascination on some level due to the packaging, the odd flavors or the actual texture of the candies such as Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy. I love the marketing hook on the cover that encourages you to “Crack It Up! Hold bar in palm of hand, Strike against flat surface, Let it melt in your mouth.” Check out the fun Rube Goldberg-like commercial on YouTube.

The taffy was available in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and banana and the main ingredients were corn syrup and sugar. I particularly remember the industrial strength imitation flavoring of the vanilla and banana bars which left a film or coating over your tongue and the inside of your mouth that stayed with you for a while after the last bite. The texture was what really intrigued me because it was hard as a rock until you cracked it and let it soften in the palm of your hand or mouth. The pliable quality of the taffy allowed you to play with it and I can imagine some folk artist mixing a little sand and pebbles with it to create some amazing piece of art. So just imagine what that stuff was doing to your body as you devoured it. Every Bonomo bar I ever ate is still probably inside me, an impenetrable mass that will remain intact after I’m cremated.

Jujubes were another candy that I consistently bought, not because I really liked them, but because I was always trying to analyze the flavor like some scientist in his laboratory. What did it taste like? Despite the fact that the candies were multi-colored and looked as if they would be fruit-flavored, they all had the flavor of some slightly sweet mild soap. Yes, soap. And they were hard little pellets that were murder on your teeth and didn’t dissolve easily in your mouth. I couldn’t stop eating them and they kept me company through THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, KING KONG VS. GODZILLA and many other Saturday afternoon outings.

Much more tasty and just as punishing on my teeth were Julyfruits which were fruit flavored and came in shapes that resembled pineapples, raspberries, grapes, bananas and even pea pods, though the shapes didn’t necessarily match the flavors. These candies were incredibly chewy – a real workout for the jaw – and natural gum and carnauba wax were among the ingredients.

Occasionally I would get a box that was obviously fresh because the candies were soft and easily masticated but usually the Jujyfruits were stale and tough as leather. Looking on the positive side, a box of stale Julyfruits would almost last the entire movie. On the other hand, it was during a matinee of FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON at the Capitol Theatre in Richmond, Virginia when a stale Julyfruit got lodged in one of my teeth and pulled out a loose filling.

There were other favorites along the way such as Black Crows (gummy licorice drops), Mallo Cups (the inside had a creamy, gooey center but it wasn’t marshmallow and the chocolate coating had coconut in it), and the Skybar, which was a chocolate bar in four segments, each one with a distinctly different filling (caramel, peanut, fudge and vanilla nougat).

neccowafers

Sometimes though I’d end up with something boring like a pack of Necco wafers because I liked the colors. And I was always a fool for a gimmick like the Nik-L-Nips, a miniature carton of wax bottles containing different colored sugar water (supposedly fruit flavored). It wasn’t satisfying as a candy and after you drank the contents you were left with a bunch of wax to chew and it didn’t have the texture of gum. It was more like eating birthday candles.

Yes, I miss those teeth-rotting candy concessions of yore and I’m sure dentistry suffered an economical downturn when those items vanished from movie lobbies.

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15 Responses CONCESSION CANDY REDUX

Posted By Ron Grover : January 17, 2009 1:27 pm

I can still remember the saturday morning matinee. It started at about 9:00 a.m. and woul last until about four in the afternoon. We’d see serial movies, cartoons and one or two main features, cost just twenty cents to get in and the management had a squirrel cage that everyone got a chance at. Thee lady would turn the cage and let us grab an envelope, whatever was in there was your prize. Usually twenty cents for candy, which ironically was the price of admission, but once my brother got five dollars in his envelope!

Posted By Medusa : January 17, 2009 4:14 pm

Hilarious recollections, Jeff! Theatres pretty much didn’t sell my favorite candy — Hot Tamales; too incendiary, I guess!

I love that picture of the candy dispensing machine with the icky mystery candy!

Now I have a yen for Necco wafers!! :-)

Posted By suzidoll : January 17, 2009 4:41 pm

Bonomo Turkish Taffy rules!

Posted By Klankabop : January 17, 2009 5:02 pm

Reading this I’m reminded of visiting the Loews Jersey (Jersey City, NJ), which is in the process of restoration. They only show films periodically, often a double-feature on Saturdays (first time I was there they showed The Whole Town’s Talking and Stage Coach, both John Ford films). In the lobby there is a display case of items rediscovered during the renovation: ancient candy wrappers, driver’s licenses, receipts, snapshots, and so on. It definitely feels like a time capsule!

Posted By Jack O. Lantern : January 17, 2009 8:39 pm

Is gum fair game in this? I liked to bring my own gum to the movies, usually blackjack or clove. It would last a long time too and then I’d stick it up under the same seat, starting a collection over the years. Yes, I’m one of those kids.

Posted By Fred : January 17, 2009 9:03 pm

Many of those candies are still manufactured, but you have to look around for them. Sadly, Bonomo Turkish Taffey is long gone (I loved the vanilla, and the silly commercials featuring the brothers Bo, No and Mo). As for JuJu Bees, those were just plain awful. I think you give them too much credit by describing the flavor like soap. You didn’t mention one of my favorites, the ice cream bon bons (not really a candy, but I still find it funny that they would sell ice cream at a freezing, air conditioned movie theater). You also didn’t mention my brother’s favorite Snow Caps, those weird (imitation) chocolate “non pariels” with the barely edible white sprinkles. They were made by the same folks who unleashed Goobers and Raisenets on the world.

Posted By Jeff : January 17, 2009 9:24 pm

Thanks Fred. So I wasn’t crazy. Jujubees tasted worse than soap so why did movie concessions keep stocking them and why did I keep eating them? And yes, I meant to mention Snow Caps which were way down on the list. I only ate them once and after that only observed others consuming them at a dispassionate distance.

Posted By deslily : January 18, 2009 8:36 am

OMG! how pathetic that I remember all of those! loved the turkish taffy (it lasted long ) and Skybars! that one blew me away! I never would have remembered that one on my own! Necco’s are still sold.

wow all this and TCM is running great Cary Grant movies this morning! Just got thru with Arsenic and Old Lace!

thanks for the trip to the OLD OLD candy store! lol

Posted By Richard Harland Smith : January 18, 2009 5:03 pm

There are a lot of things I miss about the moviegoing experiences of my youth

… such as flipping your hair out of your eyes so you can see the picture! Am I right?! Don’t leave me hanging, Jeff.

I can’t tell if you’re laughing.

Box of Dots, please.

Posted By john august smith : January 19, 2009 11:42 am

When I first went(alone) to the movies it was 1940. THe cost 10 cents, the show was a western and a mystery plus a cartoon, a serial, newsreel, short subject and previews. It was the old ATLAS in Wash D.C.(still standing but a church now).From time to time they threw in a comic book with cover torn off.This was the depression and I could not afford candy even at 5 cents! That was 67 years ago and I remember it as if it yesterday. I still go to the movies and the IMAX version of the DARK KNIGHT knocked me out of my seat. Thank you gene and roy and clark and lana and spencer and all the rest for those hundreds of nights at the movies!

Posted By Johnny Acc, Yonkers : January 20, 2009 12:18 pm

Bring Back BONOMO TURKISH TAFFY. Never cracked it, but loved that chocolate. Besides all those great candies, and popcorn with tons of butter on it, if you had enough money, you had to get some Bon Bons. Loved those things.

Posted By Walt Watson : January 20, 2009 4:52 pm

A great trip back. I remeber spraining my tongue trying to dislodge a milkdud from the roof of my mouth, during “On her Magesty’s Secret Service” And since were putting the bad candy on the list. Where are the (Flicks)? A delightful cross between Wax and milk chocolate.

Posted By Molo : January 22, 2009 8:00 pm

I liked the Dots and Jujy Fruits. They lasted a long time. Snowcaps were actually considered a luxury item in my circle. The trick was to get something that would last. The Nik-L-Nip bottles held a strange fascination for me. It was that sudden rush of sugar water. You described them perfectly. After the liquid rush, it was exactly like chewing candle wax.

I smiled at your reference to the old Capitol Theatre in Richmond. It was torn down years ago in hopes the property would lure development. I stil get a twinge of pain every time I drive by that still vacant lot.

Posted By industrial strength : February 3, 2009 3:34 pm

this THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY is really scary

Posted By Mike : September 8, 2009 11:57 am

Bring back the original FLAVORS of JuJuBes!

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