Unlike military bases in the United States, which can be nearly city-sized, Army bases in Germany are smaller, less populated, and often only house one or two units.  There are some big complexes in Germany;  Stuttgart had seven major bases, Mannheim had five or six, and Frankfurt had about ten at one time (not counting one of the biggest Air Force Bases in Europe).  These small bases are mostly former German Army bases, called Kasernes, and date back to or before WWII.  Each Kaserne usually had a small Post Exchange, a snack bar, a barber shop, and a laundry, and many had a theater.  It is the theaters that I want to talk about tonight.  Some theaters, like the ones in the housing areas in Mannheim, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, and other major complexes, are large dedicated buildings with auditorium-style seating, big screens, and snack bars with popcorn machines.  But many of the theaters in smaller Kasernes are set up as morale-boosters.  I have been to movies that were shown on a screen in a garage, or in the basement of a barracks building.  Some of these theaters are pretty primitive and make-shift;  others go out of their way to make the best of it.  
When we lived in Stuttgart, we often went to theaters in other areas in order to see movies that we had missed at our local theater or that hadn't come to us yet.  At our home base, Patch Barracks, we had a theater that would rival any small town's theater in the States.  Robinson Barracks had an even bigger theater.  The town of Ludwigsburg, just a few miles north of Stuttgart, had five or six Kasernes but only a couple of them had theaters.  The huge housing area in Ludwigsburg, Pattonville, had a huge theater...as did Panzer Kaserne in Boblingen, just across the Autobahn from Patch.  Kelly Barracks was on the south side of Stuttgart just north of the Karlsruhe-Munich Autobahn.  Kelly was the Headquarters of the VII Corps and had a pretty nice theater, but it was in the downstairs of the Enlisted Club so a weekend movie was often accompanied by the thumping of the juke box upstairs.  It was right next to the parking area of the Car company motor pool;  in fact, the side exit of the theater let out right into that motor pool.  Now you know about theaters in the Theater (I really do crack myself up...heeheee), I am going to shift gears on you.
A good movie is a huge morale booster for GIs overseas.  They always want to see scenes from "back in the world", as they call the States, and they love to see all the skin and action and just escape reality for a couple of hours.  I love movies, whether I am overseas or not.  I love courtroom dramas, science fiction, action, westerns, military stories,  just all kinds of movies.  A good movie will leave you thinking and feeling things about it for some time.  I was about six when my cousins took me to see the original "House of Wax" with Vincent Price.  After the movie, when we got home, I went outside to play.  My shadow crossed over a boulder that was in front of my aunt's house and scared the crap out of me.  I ran faster than I had ever run in my life, straight to the house and inside and didn't go out again for a few days.  After seeing "Jurassic Park" for the first time, MamaCharlie got a little nervous every time our Lab-Shepherd mix, Bear, yawned or otherwise showed his teeth.  MamieLady was a little lady when we saw "Jaws II;"  then forever after (yes, even to this day), I was not allowed to play the music from the movie in the house...and I loved that sound track.  Lasting impressions.
If I am channel-surfing and come across certain movies, I have to stop and watch..."A Few Good Men"..."Silverado"..."Josie Wales"..."Hombre"..."Private Ryan"..."A Bridge Too Far"..."Battle of Britain"..."Jaws"...just to name a few.  A good movie affects you in subtle ways.  Now that you know  how I feel about movies and about theaters in the Theater...I have a short story that I always remember when one particular movie is on (and it MUST be watched).
We went to Kelly Barracks one evening to see the latest Sci-Fi thriller, "Alien."  "In space, no one can hear you scream."  But in the Enlisted Club over the theater at Kelly Barracks, they can...and did.  For those who are too young to remember, "Alien" set a new standard for spooky movies in the seventies.  It combined all the qualities of "monster in the house" movies from days gone by with the latest techie stuff (it was the seventies, okay?)  It was gritty and captivating and dark and scary...very scary.  When we had gone into the theater it was still fairly light outside, but when the movie was over and they brought up the house lights, just enough so you wouldn't trip on your way out, the side door opened and we all started to leave.  The usual push and shove of the movie-goers rushing to get to their cars before the "traffic jam" got started, came to a complete and sudden stop and you could hear a collective gasp from the crowd.  It was dark outside...very, very dark.  And we were all afraid of the dark...very, very afraid.
I know there are no such things as alien space monsters...but I learned a long time ago that there are things that go bump in the night and some of those things are deadly.  I'll never forget that momentary rush of fear as I stepped into the parking lot that night, MamaCharlie clinging to my arm (as if I could do anything against an alien space monster.)  We both laugh about it now;  in fact, we just did.  But that night we weren't laughing until the car was closed and locked and started and rolling for home.  Then we shared a nervous giggle about it...just to burn off the adrenaline.
Yep, I love movies.  Even when they scare the crap out of ya.