{"id":8129,"date":"2022-02-14T12:21:29","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T17:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.dlg.galileo.usg.edu\/?p=8129"},"modified":"2024-11-19T12:02:12","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T17:02:12","slug":"jimmy-carter-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.dlg.galileo.usg.edu\/?p=8129","title":{"rendered":"The Rylander Theatre Collection Brings Viewers to Cinephile Jimmy Carter\u2019s Childhood Landmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2020, the Digital Library of Georgia partnered with the Rylander Theatre, providing $7500 worth of services as part of its <\/span>collaborative digitization grant program<\/span><\/a>. Together, they built and described <\/span>Rylander Theatre Special Collections<\/span><\/a>, a digital collection covering the theater\u2019s \u201cfirst life\u201d spanning 1921-1957. The collection includes rare photographs of the building and the small businesses in its Americus business neighborhood, as well as membership cards, numerous souvenir programs, theater posters, coupon books, fliers, and handbills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacob A. Ross, a park ranger at the <\/span>Jimmy Carter National Historical Park<\/span><\/a> in Plains, Georgia, notes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI consider the Rylander Theatre\u2019s history to be part of President Carter\u2019s history, as the young Carter would often attend shows at the theatre during the same era these items were created.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

United States presidents have often intermingled with motion picture culture throughout history. Former presidential appearances in Hollywood films include Donald Trump\u2019s cameo in <\/span>Home Alone 2<\/span><\/i> (1992)<\/span><\/a>, Bill Clinton in <\/span>First Kid <\/span><\/i>(1996)<\/span><\/a>, or the actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan\u2019s performances in <\/span>Alice in Movieland <\/span><\/i>(1940)<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>It\u2019s a Great Feeling <\/span><\/i>(1949)<\/span><\/a>. However, former president Jimmy Carter holds the crown for the most movies watched at the White House Family Theater, <\/span>with 480 films seen during his 4-year term<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carter, now 97, served as the United States\u2019 president from 1977 to 1981. Before being elected president, Carter served in the U.S. Navy under <\/span>Admiral Hyman Rickover<\/span><\/a>, who led the U.S. nuclear submarine program; two terms in the <\/span>Georgia Senate<\/span><\/a> (1963-1967, pp. 382-383 of PDF); and one term as <\/span>Georgia\u2019s governor<\/span><\/a> (1971-1975, pp. 27-28 of PDF). Defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election, in 1982, Carter and former first lady <\/span>Rosalynn Carter<\/span><\/a> established <\/span>the Carter Center<\/span><\/a>, a non-partisan public policy organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Away from the high-stakes environment of Carter\u2019s numerous careers, his secret love for movies was born in Americus, Georgia\u2019s Rylander Theatre. After leaving his childhood town of Plains, Carter attended <\/span>Georgia Southwestern College<\/span><\/a> (later renamed <\/span>Georgia Southwestern State University<\/span><\/a>) in Americus, where he found the historic theater and soon became its most celebrated patron.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his college years, Carter would often attend the Rylander Theatre\u2019s movie screenings since it was one of the first establishments to show \u201ctalkies,\u201d or movies with sound, that had transitioned from silent film between 1926-1930. These films, shown during the theater\u2019s \u201cfirst life\u201d (1921-1951), were part of a program that included musicals, vaudeville shows, and silent films. Many advertisements for these events are available in historical issues of the <\/span>Americus Times-Recorder<\/span><\/i><\/a> in the Digital Library of Georgia\u2019s <\/span>Georgia Historic Newspapers<\/span><\/a> portal and digitized through the National Digital Newspaper Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carter\u2019s passion for cinema grew during his term in the Oval Office. As a result, the genre or meaning behind a specific movie he watched would often coincide with key events during his presidency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some movies that President Carter watched during his term in office (with links to his diary entries on those days):<\/span><\/p>\n