Comments from raysson

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raysson
raysson commented about Northgate Twin Theatres on Feb 16, 2009 at 9:37 am

A lot of family-oriented films played here at the Northgate,including a lot of Disney movies. I remember seeing “The Apple Dumpling Gang” as a kid when it was a single screen theatre back in 1975. Other Disney films that played here were “The Black Hole”,“Return to Witch Mountain”,“The Devil and Max Devlin”,and “The Love Bug”. It also played reissued or re-released Disney classics like “Old Yeller”,“The Parent Trap”,
“Fantasia”,“Treasure Island”,“Fantasia”,“Robin Hood”,
“The Aristocats”,“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”,
“Cinderella”,“Alice In Wonderland”,“Peter Pan”,along
with “Lady and the Tramp”,and “Sleeping Beauty”. The Northgate also showed at one time the re-released of Disney’s “Song of the South”.

I remember other movies that played at the Northgate:
“Raiders of the Lost Ark”,“Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan”,“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”,“E.T.”,
“Back to the Future”,“Rambo:First Blood Part II”,
“The Outlaw Josey Wales”,“Every Which Way But Loose”,
“Smokey and the Bandit”,“Grizzly Adams”,“Ordinary People”,“All the Right Moves”,and at one time showed the controversial flick “Making Love”. It was also a showcase for grindhouse movies as well…My parents saw “Shaft In Africa” here back in 1973,and also the reissue of classics like “Doctor Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia” played here when they were re-re-released back in the 70’s and 80’s.

I do recall the lines snaked around the theatre all the way towards Sears Department Store one afternoon when the Northgate showed “Superman:The Movie” to record breaking crowds opening weekend in December of 1978. The same can said when “Saturday Night Fever” played at the Northgate to packed audiences in December of 1977.

raysson
raysson commented about Fox Drive-In on Feb 15, 2009 at 1:17 pm

The drive-in was destroyed in 1989 due to Hurricane Hugo.

raysson
raysson commented about Riverview Twin Cinema on Feb 15, 2009 at 1:15 pm

RIVERVIEW CINEMA:
A grindhouse movie theatre that showed it all….

Blaxploitation-this theatre was KNOWN for showing a lot of black cinema flicks………

Adult Films (XXX-rated)…porn(mostly shown during the businessmen’s lunch special and on Friday and Saturday nights during its midnight flicks,under tight security)when it was a single screen theatre during the 1970’s and early to mid-1980’s

Martial Arts/Kung Fu Movies….a lot of kung-fu flicks played here and some of them came from studios of Shaw Brothers and some of these were damn good,which brought in the record crowds who came to see them!!!

Independent

First-Run Features

raysson
raysson commented about Northgate Twin Theatres on Feb 15, 2009 at 1:05 pm

FYI:
The Northgate Shopping Center in Durham opened in 1960 as a strip shopping plaza by W. Kenan Rand Jr.
The stores that it had was a Thalhimers Department Store, Roses,
Kerr Drugs,Robbins,The Young Men’s Shop,Tharrington’s Men Store,
Hahn Shoes,and the Record Bar. The strip island section consisted of the Northgate Barber Shop,NCNB Bank and Mayberry’s Ice Cream Parlor. It was anchored by Colonial Stores/Big Star Foods which was a full-service supermarket that was incredibly huge! All that change in 1974,when the Northgate Shopping Center became Durham’s first enclosed mall.

The Northgate Theatre was on the opposite end of the shopping center. It opened in 1962 as a single screen theatre and remain that way until 1976 when the original auditorium was split in two making it a twin cinema until it closed its doors in 1985 after more than 23 years in business,due to construction and expansion of Northgate Mall.

raysson
raysson commented about Cardinal Theater on Feb 14, 2009 at 5:04 pm

The Cardinal Theatre was owned and operated by ABC Southeastern Theatres and later on by Plitt Theatres before it became part of the Carmike Cinemas chain.

raysson
raysson commented about Carmike Brynn Marr 3 on Feb 14, 2009 at 5:00 pm

Opened in 1975 and was operated by the Stewart and Everett Theatre chain as a twin cinema.
Known as the Brynn Marr 1 & 2.
The opening features were “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” with Jack Lemmon that played in screen one while screen two shown “The Four Musketeers” with Charlton Heston and Richard Chamberlain.

raysson
raysson commented about Center Theatre on Feb 13, 2009 at 11:24 am

Was also known as the Center Theatre during the 1950’s and 1960’s where numerous protests took place during the civil rights movement.

raysson
raysson commented about Elm Theatre on Feb 13, 2009 at 11:21 am

FYI: The Criterion Theatre was one of several Downtown Greensboro cinemas that was the subject of the famous civil rights protests that emerged during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The theatre was about two blocks down from the famous Woolworth’s Department Store where the sit-in began at the height of the civil rights movement.

raysson
raysson commented about Stadium 10 at Northgate on Feb 13, 2009 at 11:12 am

Renamed the Theatres at Northgate 10,which is owned and operated under East Coast Entertainment. The theatre opened in 2005 in the former Belk-Leggett Department Store during the renovation of the Northgate Mall. The theatre is at the intersection of West Club Boulevard and Gregson Street near Interstate 85 in Durham.

raysson
raysson commented about Henderson Mall Cinema on Feb 13, 2009 at 11:05 am

This theatre was owned and operated under the Carmike Cinemas chain which at one time was the only theatre operating in the town.

The theatre was inside the shopping mall,which was very small and was near two major department stores:
Belk-Leggett and Roses. The mall has gone down in recent years,but the Roses Department Store stilll stands in Henderson Mall. The Belk’s moved over the Marketplace Center off Dabney Drive @ Interstate 85.
The shopping center still stands,but the mall cinema closed years ago. The only movie theatre that still stands in Henderson is the Marketplace 6.

raysson
raysson commented about Capri Theater on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:32 pm

Was owned and operated under the Stewart and Everett Theatre chain,which also operated the Village Theatre and the Freedom Mall Cinemas. Carmike acquired the Capri when S&E folded,and at the time was the only theatre chain under Carmike Cinemas that survived along the construction and renovation of Independence Blvd. I heard the cinema has been transformed into a nightclub.

Carmike also owned and operated Town Cinema 6 and University Place.

raysson
raysson commented about Town Cinema 6 on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Carmike Cinemas also operated the Capri Theatres off Independence Blvd.,which was a triplex. It also operated the Matthews Festival 10,which is on the other side of Independence Blvd. going towards Monroe(which is at the intersection of N.C. 51 and U.S. 74),which Carmike acquired from Cineplex Odeon,which was a 10-screen theatre.

Also Town Cinema 6 and University Place was also under Carmike Cinemas.

raysson
raysson commented about AMC Park Terrace 6 on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:17 pm

the world premiere of Steven Spielburg’s masterpiece “The Color Purple” took place at the Park Terrace in November of 1985. It was the second of two North Carolina premieres that this movie had. The other world premiere took place in Raleigh that same year.

raysson
raysson commented about AMC Park Terrace 6 on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Was also part of ABC Southeastern Theatres chain during the 1970’s.

raysson
raysson commented about Cinemark Movie Bistro Charlotte on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Owned and operated by Carolina Cinemas,which also owns and operated the Hollywood Theatres in Asheville,and the Raleigh Grande Cinemas in Raleigh.

raysson
raysson commented about Pleasant Valley Promenade 7 on Feb 2, 2009 at 3:09 pm

Once was reinstated as a discount theatre at one time to give competition to Blue Ridge Cinemas which was over on the other side of Raleigh near the state fairgrounds. The discount part of Pleasant Valley 7 didn’t work,and it closed for good after that. The area where the cinema used to be is now a Gold’s Gym.

raysson
raysson commented about AMC Park Terrace 6 on Feb 1, 2009 at 1:15 pm

The Empire Strikes Back played at the Park Terrace to capacity crowds in 1980. I think the original auditorium seated over 800 top 900. At the time it was a three-screened cinema with the largest auditorium still around with its huge widescreen.

Was at one time part of the Plitt Theatres chain and later on Cineplex-Odeon.

raysson
raysson commented about University Cinemas 6 on Feb 1, 2009 at 1:08 pm

University Place was owned and operated by Carmike Cinemas. Carmike also operated other theatres in the Charlotte area: The Capri and Town and Country Cinemas.

University Place was never operated under General Cinema Theatres.

General Cinema Theatres owned and operated:
Charlottetowne Mall Cinemas I-II-III-IV
Eastland Mall Cinemas I-II-III
Southpark Mall Cinemas I-II-III(aka Southpark Mall Cinemas 1 & 2)
Tower Place Cinemas Eight

raysson
raysson commented about North Hills Stadium 14 Theatres on Feb 1, 2009 at 12:46 pm

The cinema opened in 2004,at the time the renovation was being done at North Hills. The theatre is on the upper level of the shopping center facing Main Street off Six Forks Road. The theatre sits on the opposite end of North Hills,where part of the shopping mall used to be(formerly the mall space that once was Ivey’s Department Store,aka Dillard’s)

raysson
raysson commented about IMAX Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum on Feb 1, 2009 at 12:43 pm

The first movie theatre to be erected in Downtown Raleigh since the closing of the Ambassador Theatre in the late 1970’s. The IMAX Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum is a masterpiece of cinema.

raysson
raysson commented about Anson/Wadesboro Community Theatre on Jan 31, 2009 at 5:31 pm

At one time during its heyday….The Ansonia Theatre was the only moviehouse operating in town.

raysson
raysson commented about Carolina Theatre on Jan 31, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Where it was formerly “The Gap” and was at one time a local bank at that intersection of East Franklin Street and Columbia Street.

Who remembers at one time there was a Texaco Gas Station at the corner next door to the theatre?

raysson
raysson commented about IMAX Theatre at Marbles Kids Museum on Jan 26, 2009 at 11:08 am

This theatre is showing in the IMAX format the re-released of “The Dark Knight” at IMAX Exploris.
It also shows a lot of nature documentaries including IMAX format of films presented. Some of them are very National Geographic like.

raysson
raysson commented about Bow Tie Cinemas to show Inauguration on Jan 18, 2009 at 12:54 pm

NORTH CAROLINA: free live broadcast of the inauguration of President Barack Obama will be Tuesday, January 20,2009 at the Galaxy Cinemas in Cary. The doors of the theatre will open at 9:30am,but the show will start at 10am.

raysson
raysson commented about A look back at the year 1979: the year of science fiction on Jan 9, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Also released in 1979,another science fiction horror movie titled THE DARK that was produced by Dick Clark and starred Cathy Lee Crosby.

FYI: Disney’s THE BLACK HOLE came out in November of 1979,around the Thanksgiving weekend and was the first ever “PG” rated film the studio produced.
Paramount’s sci-fi blockbuster STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE came out in December of 1979 at the height of the X-Mas season. Did you know that the first “Trek” movie had a “G” rating?