You Probably Forgot About This Classic Movie Theater Candy

In the '40s, during the heyday of drive-ins and red carpet movie premieres, the experience wasn't complete without popcorn and an assortment of shareable candies. With fewer and fewer folks seeing movies on the big screen, so many classic movie theater candies are slipping away from our memories. Raisinets, M&M's, and Milk Duds still seem to be going strong, but younger generations haven't even heard of some all-time chocolatey favorites like Sno-Caps and, drum roll, Flicks. The small morsels of silky chocolate were stacked in a Mentos-like tube for easy mouth popping in dark theaters. The mouth-melting chocolate was delicious, sure, but the appeal lay more in the vessel. With a light flick of the thumb, the chocolates popped right out of the tin foil tube, sort of like Pez without the cute dispenser.

Flicks first entered the candy scene in the early 1900s and was made in San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square by the eponymous legendary chocolatier. They were a West Coast favorite for decades, but in the '80s, the candy maker halted production. Not for lack of dedicated buyers, but the packaging was simply too expensive. The fact that Flicks were a one-handed treat was half the appeal, so Ghirardelli ditched the brand, and no one saw them for decades.

Jim Tjerrild, the current CEO of Flicks Candy Co., has been right in the center of the candy business for decades, and without him, Flicks would have probably stayed in the past. Before heading Flicks Candy Co., Tjerrild ran a manufacturing company specializing in chocolate equipment. In the early 2000s, he was fixing up a dated machine at Ghirardelli when he spotted the same hefty contraption that once produced his favorite chocolate candy: Flicks.

After some back and forth, Tjerrild eventually bought the Flicks trademark in 2004, along with the original machine used in their production, and set out on his own to bring his favorite candy back to the movie theaters. According to the Flicks Candy website, the nostalgic chocolate wafers are still sold today, but in a very limited supply. The candy crew takes special orders for just milk or dark chocolate Flicks each holiday season. Pre-order requests kick off in September each year, and with Flicks' steadfast fan club, they likely go quick. 

There are seemingly endless sweet and salty snack combos that feel quintessential to the movie theater experience. For those who toss classics like Reese's Pieces and Buncha Crunch right into their popcorn bowl, Flicks are another great contender.