I grew up going to the “kids' Saturday Matinees” in the 1950s. 25-cent admission, unless it was a Disney film, then it was 35. On Summer vacations the matinees were every day. I remember the long one-sheet of all the summer movies, all “kid-friendly” items and lots of cheesy horror. Every so often an actor from one of the movies would show up and take a bow. I remember the “crying room” in the back with a separate entrance for parents with babies – about eight 10 or 12-seat rows with a large window looking out at the screen (the historic Vista Theater in Hollywood also has one, upstairs, now hidden behind curtains). The Panorama was indeed a single-screen theater, as there was no other kind when it was built (as stated above, the Americana Theater down the street was an early convert to multiple screens – in its case seven – but it too began as a single-screen). I remember the lines around the Panorama for Oscar Cow “Gigi” in 1958 and for “West Side Story” in 1961. Every Saturday I would call the theater to find out that day’s matinee, and still remember the number – EMpire 2-1167.
I grew up going to the “kids' Saturday Matinees” in the 1950s. 25-cent admission, unless it was a Disney film, then it was 35. On Summer vacations the matinees were every day. I remember the long one-sheet of all the summer movies, all “kid-friendly” items and lots of cheesy horror. Every so often an actor from one of the movies would show up and take a bow. I remember the “crying room” in the back with a separate entrance for parents with babies – about eight 10 or 12-seat rows with a large window looking out at the screen (the historic Vista Theater in Hollywood also has one, upstairs, now hidden behind curtains). The Panorama was indeed a single-screen theater, as there was no other kind when it was built (as stated above, the Americana Theater down the street was an early convert to multiple screens – in its case seven – but it too began as a single-screen). I remember the lines around the Panorama for Oscar Cow “Gigi” in 1958 and for “West Side Story” in 1961. Every Saturday I would call the theater to find out that day’s matinee, and still remember the number – EMpire 2-1167.