Los Feliz 3 Cinemas

This former single screener was triplexed in the early '90s. When you call their recording, they tell you which film is playing on the big screen--i.e., the one that sits where the original screen did, although there are now a minimal number of rows in front of it and you may find yourself craning your neck. Happily, the theater's best feature, its marquee, was maintained in the conversion. The nearby Vista is, of course, the real gem of the neighborhood.

According to my late father, former Disney animator Ed Parks, the Los Feliz was used a number of times for special screenings by the Disney Studio. Thus, it often was reequipped with the very latest in screen and sound presentation technology. These screenings would have taken place during the timeframe of the 40s and 50s, the time when my father worked for Disney.

Los Felix theater is alive and well, 3 screens,

I too enjoyed visiting this theater in the 1960s, where I saw Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" and Federico Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits", my first exposure also to European cinema. Love that Deco Neon facade!

formerly run as a single-screen art house by the local Laemmle chain, taken over by others and triplexed; their current schedule online at http://www.losfeliz.com/online/losfel3.htm

Although the auditoriums may be small in comparison to the movie palaces of yesteryear and many of the multiplexes of today, this theater is a true gem. It is quite accessible in a true neighbor in a city, Los Angeles, that has often had a shortage of traditional neighborhoods. The stretch of Vermont Avenue where the Los Feliz 3 Cinemas is located is very pedestrian friendly and in recent years has seen numerous restaurants and other businesses open up. Having a theater in the area is a great asset.

It's great that the theatre remains there, but the screening rooms are truly tiny - almost uncomfortably so.

When I first moved to the area I went to see a movie at the Los Feliz 3. I won't make that mistake again. There are literally about 8 rows in the theater that I was in, and with inverse stadium seating (each row gets higher and higher as you go toward the screen) there is always someone blocking your view. No matter what is playing there I will not go.

Circa 1965, this theatre showed a series of many Great Garbo films; furing the 60's and 70's it catered to foreign language films, such as "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" or art films. It was one of the houses used as part of a subscription film series of new films in the early 70's. The series included films "The Iceman Cometh", "A Delicate Balance", others.

Barton, that was the American Film Theatre series, funded in part by American Express, in which various directors were commissioned to make films of important plays. Among the others were Brecht's "Galileo" directed by Joseph Losey, Harold Pinter's "Butley" directed by the playwright, Maxwell Anderson's "Lost in the Stars" directed by Daniel Mann, Pinter's "The Homecoming" directed by Peter Hall, John Osborne's "Luther" directed by Guy Green, Jean Genet's "The Maids" directed by Christopher Miles, Eugene Ionesco's "Rhinoceros" directed by Tom O'Horgan, and "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" directed by Denis Heroux. The series did not go into wide release but usually played one theatre in the larger metropolitan areas. The two you mentioned, Albee's "A Delicate Balance" and O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" were directed respectively by Tony Richardson and John Frankenheimer. They were among the best of the bunch.

The El Rey theatre was another that showed this series. I remember standing in line to get in, and Jon Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands joined the line. I believe that was for "The Iceman Cometh". I think I saw the whole series, but not all at the same theatre.

I think I visited this theatre just once, when it was a single-screener. On April 21, 1981 I saw Claude Berri's One Wild Moment.

There are pictures here of the theatre and it's manager. Seems people are very grateful for the early morning "bring along baby" shows.

In thelate 50's through the 60's,70's,80's up until about 1989 it was operated by Laemmle Theatres and was considered their flagship for many years. It was triplexed after they lost the lease.

In the movie "Orgazmo", the front of the theater and marquee are featured in a scene.

I managed the Los Feliz for Max and Bob Laemmle for five years, beginning in 1970. During that period, we were, indeed, the primary art house in the Los Angeles area. Patrons would drive all the way from Long Beach, to line up around the block, say, for the latest first-run Truffaut film, or whatever. The Los Feliz was also celebrity city: Ray Bradbury came to see "King Kong" (the original) for, he told me, his 500th viewing, and Fritz Lang was a fairly regular customer. And, our Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin festivals were sell-outs, as well. The experience is vivid in my memory, so much so that I literally dream about it quite frequently. It was a wonderfully funky neighborhood, and I miss it. (I cannot imagine it as a triplex!)

Here is a photo of the Los Feliz 3 Cinemas.

The exterior of the Los Feliz can be seen briefly in the 1987 episode of "The Twilight Zone", 'The Girl I Married'.

This is a night view of the Los Feliz 3 Cinemas.

Sorry to hear it's been plexed...A beauty--the neighborhood is still full of screenwriters, and with the theater's proximity to Chatterton's Bookstore (which is probably also gone) it was quite a meeting spot for writers.
I'm sure the area under the marquee is still hosting all sorts of impassioned conversations on film. I saw my first foreign film there: Malle's Le Souffle au Coeur--drawn by the newspaper ad picture of the beautiful Lea Massari. My 13 year old self couldn't resist her, even if I sure was baffled by the film's references to Dien Bien Phu and Miles Davis. It was the only time I ever went to the Las Feliz, but as the correspondent above comments, it was as French as 1970s LA got (except for that French language bookstore on Westwood Boulevard).

This theater was around as early as 1940, according to this lawsuit:
http://tinyurl.com/yf765z

I lived across the street from this theatre for a couple of years.

I saw a few shows here before the conversion, when it was a revival house, including a fantastic double feature of "Psych-Out" and "Wild in the Streets."

After the triplexing, it became a first run house, leaning towards the "indie" releases. I saw Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" here, and Ed's associate and bit player Conrad Brooks was hanging around after the movie, peddling a book and autographed photos. Talked with him for several minutes. Nice guy.

There's aren't too many Ed Wood players around any more. One of his regular actresses died recently, I can't recall her name.

Here is a March 1970 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2mq72a

The Arch with Roy Chiao and Lisa Lu has a release date of October 1970. If the ad is from March, then the release date must be wrong.

Or the LA Times is wrong, but they seem to be pretty accurate.

From Nov. 26:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/hwdLosFelizNov262007008.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/hwdLosFelizNov262007005.jpg

Here is a 2008 photo.

Just saw Persepolis in the smallest auditorium (61 seats!!). Although the theatre is small, the staff is great and you can tell they take great pride in their theatre. Plus where else can you see a 1st run movie in LA for $4.50 matinee and $7.50 evening ticket prices? I would, however, be cautious about seeing a scope picture in the smallest auditorium.

The Los Feliz was listed in newspaper listings as early as 1939. It was then an independent neighborhood theater, as were the nearby Vista and Hunley Theatres. The listing gave its location as Vermont and Franklin, about a block north of its actual location.

The Los Angeles County Assessor's Office gives an original construction date of 1934 for the building at 1822 N. Vermont, and the Los Feliz Theatre is listed at this address in the 1936 Los Angeles City Directory.

I attended the Los Feliz many times in the early 1960s, and probably saw more foreign films there than at any other theater aside from the Cinema, on Western Avenue. The Los Feliz never seemed as self-consciously arty as the Cinema. It was more like a friendly neighborhood movie house that happened to show art films. I'm glad it's still there, even if triplexed.

This is a recent night view of the Los Feliz.

The Los Feliz 3 Cinemas, photographed in November 2007:
http://www.you-are-here.com/theatre/los_feliz.html

Here is another recent photo.

Here are a few more photos.

Photo1

Photo2

Photo3

Here are some photos taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/d9ou3f
http://tinyurl.com/d74ojr
http://tinyurl.com/cx68fl

Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dmr4wn

1983 Night Photo

A small night photo of the Los Feliz appeared in Boxoffice of June 29, 1935. The caption attributes the design of the theater to architect Clifford Balch.

It should be UN-triplexed. The small theaters are just too small. Might as well watch the film at home. Nice exterior but a venue to avoid.

I agree. The Los Feliz is awful in its current condition. Back when it was a single screen, it was very nice.