Circle Cinemas

American Repertory Theatre is definitely putting on a Punchdrunk show next season, but it will not be Faust. It will be “Sleep No More, an immersive production inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, told through the lens of a Hitchcock thriller.”

Whether it will take place at the Circle, I don’t know. The ART’s web page says only “An extraordinary, unexpected location will be exquisitely transformed into an installation of cinematic scenes that evoke the world of Macbeth.” I guess they’ll announce the actual location some time in the fall.

I looked at your article over at Universal Hub, Ron. Thanks.

I also saw the film “Love Story” at the Circle years ago.

Here’s hoping that they build another theatre instead of luxury condos or a parking lot, and that they build a theatre that doesn’t play the same schlocky stuff in the way of movies that most of the theatres these days play.

I remember the Circle Cinemas (along with other now-defunct cinemas) with a somewhat sad fondness. It was a beautiful theatre before it got “twinned”, and I saw some very nice films there, before and after it was “twinned'.

The Great Race
Chinatown
Superman I and Superman II
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Munich
Zodiac

to name afew. Just as often as not, as kids, my sister and I would attend movies there with or without family or friends, and then eat in the Howard Johnson’s afterwards.
Harry Potter and the Phoenix

I couldn’t figure that out, Ron. I looked at the people in the pictures, thinking that maybe they were members of some sort of theatrical company, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The most oblique comments which accompany the photographs include one mentioning that an opening at the parking garage ‘could be enclosed with plastic and made into cornfield’ (huh?) and another that the cabinets and desk in one of the offices ‘could be struck’ – all kind of weird, at least on the surface…

A random set of photographs of the Circle Cinemas, taken in mid-October: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31393958@N02/

Thanks, Ron for the correction on my posting. I gues my own nostalgia for The Circle got the best of me (too)!

A long letter from James Bodge in yesterday’s Boston Globe City Weekly: The Circle was grand as long as it lasted

In the final analysis, how many twinnings of single-screen theatres ever improved on the originals? Younger moviegoers on this site who are nostalgic over what they saw at “the cinemas” on hard ticket really missed out on experiencing “Boston’s Finest Suburban Theatre” as Ron Newman noted above the original theatre boasted. We did have a couple of nice theatres nearby – the Coolidge Corner and Allston that were built in the old-time movie palace style (but smaller) 20’s and 30’s. But when the Circle was opened in 1940 it was unique, the hopeful beginning of a new era in modern movie theatre buildings. But I don’t believe that one single-screen theatre was built in Boston after the Circle went up; and it stood alone in that department for too many years – it wasn’t until the megaplexes were built many years later. And the first of those were mostly inadequate from the beginning (Newton, for instance). But the Circle? Imagine – in the 40’s – reclining seats, air conditioning (they called it air-cooled, I think) a clean modern look without any frou-frou, a luxurious house curtain that was opened and closed between every single portion of the program (which often included a travelogue, a comedy short, cartoons, newsreel, previews and …. a double feature until (when?) maybe the mid 50s. Now that’s nostalgia! The first time I set foot in the Cinemas (1966) was the last time I went there. I hate to throw cold water on the young ones here, but …. good riddance.

Here’s a photo of the marquee on the now-closed theatre.

The 1-4 side says

CIRCLE CINEMAS

1965 to 2008

while the 5-7 side says

THANK YOU FOR
OVER 40 YEARS
OF PATRONAGE AND
MOVIE MEMORIES

This is a classy thing to do. So many local cinemas have closed unceremoniously with no ‘goodbye’ of any kind to their long-time customers.

(But, once again, the theatre opened in 1940, not 1965.)

What do the small signs say?

The letters-in-circles signs on top of the current building look the same as the ones on the marquees in the 1941 photo.

Sol Israel’s Globe article is now online.

The printed version has a photo that unfortunately is not online. It is captioned “The community moveihouse opened in 1940”, and shows two marquees both reading

BOSTON’S FINEST SUBURBAN THEATRE
GRAND OPENING
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12

A circular logo for the M&P chain is next to the word CIRCLE, where each letter is on its own separate circular sign.

I’m a correspondent for The Boston Globe, and I’ll be covering the closing day of the cinema tomorrow.

If you have been a patron or employee of the cinema and have any information about the theater that you think I ought to know, or if you have any old photos of the cinema, I would appreciate it if you could email me –

Thank you!

Lots of blog comments from people who remember the theatre here:

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