Art Films

Long before there were DVD's or Cable TV, there were movie theatres showing "art films". These films mainly came from Europe and contained nudity. The adult situations couldn't be compared to today's "adult films", but they were strong enough not to allow children to view. There were a few theatres in Columbia that showed these films, but the main one was the Five Points Theatre on Harden St. These films were shown in the late 1960's at the same theatre that would show childrens summer movies like cowboys and Tarzan. During the summer, parents would drop off their kids to see these movies. Many were sponsored by schools. But, during the fall and winter, this theatre would show art films. My brother was approx. 8 years older than me, so he was in college, when I turned 13. He didn't know it, but I found an old college ID of his. I changed a couple of dates on the ID and put my picture over his, and I was off to the theatre to see the art films. The ID worked, since I had to be over 18 to be admitted. I don't remember all of the titles, but two especially stood out--"I, A Woman" and "Seventeen", which had a tagline "17 for people over 18". It was a coming of age activity for me in my early teens. That is, until two things happened. The first was when I showed up at the Five Points theatre to see a movie and a strange girl was at the box office. I showed my fake ID, and the girl said, "Oh, I know your mother. She teaches me in Sunday School." I about freaked out. I tried to keep my cool, but underneath I was thinking "Busted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I went in that theatre, but I never went back. My mother never said anything, but I figured she knew. The second event was at the Palmetto Theatre downtown. They were showing "Fanny Hill". I went there as a 16 year old, and you needed to be 18 to see it. I began to pull out my fake ID, and the guy at the box office asked for my draft card. My what? I didn't have a draft card. Guys that were 18 had draft cards, and you had to carry it with you wherever you went. He knew that. I told him I left it at home. I didn't have it, and I didn't get it to the theatre. During my fake ID days, I had people tell me I looked young for my age. My stock answer was, "Yes, that's what everybody says." When I finally turned 18 legally, it was kind of anti-climatic. The danger of being discovered was gone. So where the art films. They were replaced by stronger things, but that's another story for another day.