Fine Arts Theatre

In the mid-60s to mid-70’s the Fine Arts was one of the premiere art houses in Los Angeles, Films such as BELLE DE JOUR, ZORBA THE GREEK, PERSONA, WOMEN IN LOVE and LAST TANGO IN PARIS all had their first run engagements here and each played several months exclusively. The area isn’t as vibrant and the parking more restrictive now, which has caused the theatre’s bookings to be less stellar than in it’s peak period. The theatre is still as lovely a place to see a movie as ever.

When “The Exorcist” opened in late 1973, the National in Westwood had an exclusive engagement. Almost every showing was sold out well into January of 1974. Mann Theaters was looking for another place to show it. All their large theaters still had contacts with their holiday film and couldn’t break them except the Fine Arts. When the local community found out “The Exorcist” was about to takeover the Fine Arts, they asked the Beverly Hills City Council to enact new street parking laws, which effectively prohibited filmgoers from parking on the street. With all the fuss the film did still quite well there.