Memories of Tulsa’s theaters

posted by CSWalczak on November 30, 2009 at 9:43 am

TULSA, OK — In a recent article, columnist David Jones shares memories of Tulsa’s theaters, including the Ritz, Majestic, Orpheum, and Rialto in downtown Tulsa, and the Will Rogers, Delman, and others further away from the city center.

Back in those World War II days, there was a schedule for Hollywood’s product that seemed etched in stone. The four grand theaters were the Ritz, Orpheum, Majestic (just south of Fourth Street on Main) and the Rialto (between Boulder and Main on Third). They were all owned by the same firm, and every Thursday they would change their features. That meant, for a movie-mad tyke like me, the Wednesday Tulsa Tribune was a treasure indeed. Each Wednesday evening would feature lavish advertisements of a quarter page or more enticing fans to the theaters. The Ritz and the Orpheum got the cream of the crop. The Majestic got the best of the lesser product (the B movies) while the Rialto featured Roy Rogers or Hopalong Cassidy or my favorite: “Two-features-two Brought Back to Thrill You Again.”

Most new movies played the downtown theaters a week. Occasionally one would be held over a week. Not until “Quo Vadis” played the Ritz in 1951 did I see a feature last more than two weeks, although I’m told “Gone With The Wind” managed a triple week booking.

The whole article is here in GTR News.