Hayworth Theatre

The Vagabond is a very small theatre located 1 1/2 blocks west of MacArthur park on Wilshire Blvd. . This theatre seated less than 200 people. The Vagabond was one of Los Angeles's first art and classic theatres during the early 70's. This theatre had painted murals from classic silent movies on it's side walls. During the early 90's the Vagabond tried to return to the good old days of revival, but the area around the theatre got worse and the VCR hit. Also during the early 90's the Vagabond had a small revival of 3D movies (they installed a silver screen and ran a few months worth of classic 3D.) Currently the Vagabond has been a travel agents office and a church. Next to the Vagabond is a good Mexican restaurant called La Fondas . If you go east on Wilshire Blvd. on the other side of MacArthur park you will see the Westlake theatre and about 1 1/2 blocks south of the Westlake is the Park theatre (now a swap meet type store, like the Westlake).

In the 1950s, the Vagabond screened many films from England and I can recall seeing "Folly to be Wise," starring Alistair Sim, at that venue. These were "small" films that played virtually nowhere else in greater Los Angeles at that time.

07/21/04 Wednesday Bill Sims
This was a place where I could see many otherwise unavailable movies! EVERY year was a pairing of Singin' in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz, both of which are always at the top of "best" lists. Stars of the movies would often make an appearance. George Cukor, a stellar director, was scheduled to appear at the premiere of his restored 1954 A Star is Born. Unfortunately, he passed away the night before. I had wanted to see him, not to talk with him, respecting his privacy.
There were many 3-D movies, including two that stand out in my mind - Kiss Me, Kate and Miss Sadie Thompson. This and the Vista were the only places that I knew that showed movies in 3-D. Kiss Me, Kate, when originally released was shown in the "flat screen" version, but here you could see it in magnificant 3-D. And the prints for any movie shown were made fresh from the negatives, whenever possible.
I knew the area was not wonderful, and I would often walk the short distance from my apartment. I never felt threatened about the locals in the neighborhood! Perhaps it was just youthful innocense, but, whatever, I enyoyed going to that wonderful place.

I lived near Beverly Hills so pilgrimages to the Vagabond were always adventures (from 1982 -1986). After Vermont Street, the further East you drove down Wilshire Blvd. towards the Vagabond, the more you prayed to God for protection and forgiveness. On many occasions I parked on side streets between office buildings on Wilshire Blvd. and feared that I wouldn't make it back to my car after leaving the Vagabond late at night (at least I got to see two classic movies).

However, back in those days classic movie patrons were dedicated and courageous people. The Vagabond showed many pristine 20th Century Fox 35mm prints and it's where I began my appreciation of their colorful musicals and Betty Grable.

While the Vagabond was the most rundown of all the revival houses I attended in my ten years in LA (compared to the Encore, Nuart, Sherman, Fox Venice, Vista, New Beverly, Tiffany, etc.), the prints were outstanding and the patrons interesting (I met several Directors there, including Rouben Mamoulian).

Come to think of it, I did have a lot of courage when I patronized revival houses in LA.

Owned by the same character that operated the Tiffany, I had the immense surprise of being the projectionist one Saturday evening when a privately owned copy (the owner's) of a nitrate print trailer for "On the 20th Century" ran through the projector and burst into cadmium yellow flames. Imagine the thrill of an audience turning to see these flames in the booth. Imagine my thrill of being rushed to an emergency room and having a Hollywood hospital have to call the Denver Poison Control Center to find out how to treat inhalation of nitrate fumes (it turns to nitric acid in the lungs). So that's what "safety film" means!
On a side note, the Tiffany was also used for 3D projection because of the direct line from booth to screen, something that is rare to find in most theaters that aim down to a screen.

Sinclair, did you know Tommy's print was a nitrate print when you ran it? Are you ok?

RE: Tiffany's direct line of sight: 3D movies weren't the only benefit...
the Rocky Horror audience spelled out J-A-N-E-T with marquee letters held aloft in the projector's beam, to create the name spelled out in shadows along the bottom of the screen, in time with the opening song.

With regards to the Tiffany, I remember seeing a doubleheader of
SCARFACE and HELL'S ANGELS there about 1981. This was remarkable since both were Howard Hugh's productions that hadn't been seen on the big screen in years (and both prints were pristine).

Too bad video destroyed classic revival houses.

...and what puts you in better holiday spirits than SCARFACE and HELL'S ANGELS for a Christmas double feature?
[Tiffany, Christmas week, 1979]

I remember enjoying a double bill of Pigskin Parade & Mother Wore Tights here when visiting Los Angeles, on July 18, 1977. It was unfortunately the only time I went to any movies here.

This theater is where I saw the restored version of "King Kong" for the first time. I also remember seeing "Frankenstein Created Woman" here but I don't remember if they played together.

I worked at the Vagabond and the Tiffany in 1979 while a film student at USC. The Vagabond was great, got to see so many old films. The characters that came to that cinema every night were so classic downtown LA types of the period. There was a guy who would come with a huge 35mm camera around his neck, sit towards the front, and every so often raise his camera quickly and photograph the images on the screen. I saw him sometimes at other theaters too. There were the drunk older men who would snooze away the night, one I felt bad for one night when he showed up with scabs all over his head from being beaten up in nearby Echo Park.
Often "old movie stars" came in to see their films, or current celebs came in to watch. The owner, Tommy Cooper, had these large poster boards behind the concession stand that we would have any film person we recognized autograph. The ones that were filled up were mounted, but there was always one loose for people to sign until there was no more space. Those must be worth so much money now! BTW, I have an LP that Tommy had recorded, singing show tunes. Don't know whatever happened to his musical career.
The only nights I didn't really like to work there were the nights before the movies changed, and I, the young girl, not whatever man was around, had to climb the ladder outside in the deserted dark and change the marquee, with the big red plastic letters that I always had a hard time with fitting the metal connectors in the slots. Not to mention the fact that we sometimes didn't have enough of the required letters for some titles and I had to get creative with spelling or abbreviating. And we always had double features. So there I was, going into the creepy little room outside the theater that housed the marquee letters spread out all over the floor, step around them like mines as not to crack them, pick out the letters not already on the marquee, get the ladder and spend the rest of the night going up and down. Next door was a Mexican restaurant for Japanese tourists who would come by the busload and stand outside and watch me when they came out from dinner. And there were the lone men walking around, stopping to watch me and ask me questions. I'm glad they didn't make me do it at the Tiffany too, the boys did it. Don't think I would've wanted to deal with the drunken hords on Sunset Strip!

Ticketseller, you've got guts to agree to change those letters, even in 1979 (hope you were always wearing slacks). I couldn't resist patronizing the Vagabond because of those incredible double features of pristine 35mm prints. Now that you mention it, there were a lot of strange people who attended movies at the Vagabond (I even remember those drunks and annoying snoring sleepers you mentioned). And hanging out in that small lobby between features was AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER as well!

Yeah, I would get REAL NERVOUS after I passed MacArthur Park (can anyone imagine what it looked like in the 30s and 40s -- what a shame it became a dump) and Echo Park.

Somewhere along the line the church moved out and the marquee has been retrimmed in green neon, now called The Hayworth(!) Apparently now it's theatrical presentations. Very strange.

http://www.circustheatricals.com/

I remember going multiple times to see "El Topo" at the Vagabond. It may have been the first LA theater to run that astounding film. Also, my first viewings of Fellini's "Juliet of the Spirits" and Antononi's "Red Desert" where at that place. I believe they a huge painting of the steps scene from "Battleship Potemkin" on the side walls inside the theater.

The neighborhood wasn't so bad in the early 70s.

It looks like the Vagabond was in trouble for showing obscene films in the late fifties. I wonder what the standard for obscenity was back then:
http://tinyurl.com/yzoxvq

Same problem as above in 1957:

Exhibitors Obtain Court Permission to Show Film

Movie exhibitors have obtained court permission to continue showing the film "Fire Under Her Skin," which has been labeled obscene by Los Angeles police. Superior Judge Kurt Kauffman issued an order temporarily restraining Police Chief William Parker from interfering with exhibition of the French picture pending a hearing on Dec. 12.

In a petition for injunction, Mayfair Pictures, distributors of the film, complained that police raided the Vagabond Theater on November 29 and confiscated the print. At that time, two theater executives, Sydney Linden and Roger Quijada, were charged with violating the city’s ordinance against showing obscene and indecent movies. In an affidavit filed with the suit, Mayfair president Robert Rosener admitted that the film “is not a great work of art.” "But it is not obscene," he said. “It deals with sex but no more than any number of other foreign motion pictures that have been shown every day in every state of the Union.”

This theatre should be changed from closed to Open!

Now called The Hayworth, since February 25, 2006, they have been showing live theatre. There is a 99 seat theatre, a 42 seat theater, and a 49 seat theater. Obviously, they have renovated the place. They state the architect was Stiles O. Clements and the place opened in 1926.

www.thehayworth.com/aboutus

It's fantastic that they've brought this place back from the shadows...now if only somebody would do this for some of the movie palaces on Broadway!

Perhaps the only way for L.A's Broadway theaters to survive is to jazz up the rent of these scum-bag shops, harras the winos and beggars and up-grade the street lights... then the American element of patrons may think about returning... but the entertainment industry and younger generations has moved on to other districts!

In case you weren't aware, since 1999 the residental population of downtown has skyrocketed, from under 10,000, going up to almost 40,000 by 2010. Right now we have only one four plex theatre in the actual downtown area, the Laemmle Grande 4 plex, a bland boxy multiplex built in the late 1970's. It's also completely separated from the "Historic Theater District" on Broadway by 5 blocks.

Many of the new people moving to new lofts downtown since 1999 are "Americans" as you put it, and have an average income of over $90,000 per year. Downtown is no longer the exclusive residence of homeless and ddrug addicts. This demographic is CRYING out for some movie theaters, and the old places are just sitting there boarded up.

I'm only asking for ONE of the shuttered places on Broadway to open up again with first run fare, or even second run would be okay. In English. I'd have no problem with someone showing films in Spanish, as long I had somewhere to patronize. I hear that the Million Dollar Theater might be hosting occasional concerts again soon, but that's not what I'm asking for. I want movies! And the equivalent of a city of 40,000 people should have more than one cinema.

And apparently you haven't been downtown for a while. They have installed new streetlights and street furniture. Come down to Main Street and check them out. It's a lot less scary.

There was talk and plans for a new multi-plex tobe built nearby the Stapes center in the Downtown Los Angeles. That plex would put opening any of those Broadway Theatres for first run movies in a turn around. Because the plex would have the most to offer their patrons with a one stop safe place to park/eat/see a movie area. I know Broadway has changed over the last few years.

There are two chains with plans to open in the Downtown Los Angeles area. AMC Downtown (planned at 14) on Grand Ave. (Music Center/Disney) and the Regal Flagship (12 or 14) at the LA Live.

That's great that we're getting some megaplexes, but I guess I am very impatient. Those won't be running for at least 18 more months. And they won't have the history and character of the places on Broadway.

Oh well, the Linda Lea should be open in about six months. That's only two four blocks from where I live. At least I can watch some Japanese movies over there. Hope they have subtitles.

I saw ALL ABOUT EVE for the first time here at the Vagabond. Changed my life!

Here is an April 1972 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2hqu5h

Used to go to the Vagabond in the late 70's and 80's when there were such a thing as revival theaters in Los Angeles. I recall seeing an uncut version of the 1933 original version of "King Kong" there - complete with the scene where Kong pops a guy into his mouth and them spits out his clothes! Good times. Recently I watched the 1980 film "The Formula" with Marlon Brando and Gecorge C. Scott. Not much to the film (other then Brando's weird performance), but there is a scene at the beginning that shows Scott leaving the Vagabond after seeing a film there. Check it out.

This is a recent photo of The Hayworth.

Just read a interview where Michael Connelly, the great writer, talks about going to the Vagabond during his first week in LA in the 1980's and catching a double feature of Chinatown and The Long Goodbye.

So nobody has a photo of the exterior of the Vagabond? I am trying to find out if it was always called THE VAGABOND, or if it was re-christened into that when in 1946 Joe Chastek (previously owner of the Zamboanga nightclub on Slauson) opened his "Vagabond's House" Polynesian restaurant next door (which later became La Fonda):

http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=28990&forum=1&14

He took the name from Don Blanding's poem "Vagabond's House", which was published in 1928, two years after the building which houses the theatre was built. It seems likely to me that the theatre had another name when it opened in 1926, and then was renamed.

will this post

Here is a July 1957 ad.

An item in the May 27, 1950, issue of Boxoffice Magazine provides some information about this theater. It became a film house, and was renamed the Vagabond, in 1950. Before that, it had been a legitimate house called the Masque Theatre. After being enlarged and completely remodeled, it became the fifth art house in a small, local chain operated by Herb Rosener. The other theaters in the chain were the Laurel, Esquire, Studio, and Sunset Theatres.

To expand on my comment just above, the May 20, 1950, issue of Boxoffice says that the architect for the conversion of the Masque into the Vagabond was Dwight Gibbs. In addition, the item says that Herb Rosener also owned five theaters in San Francisco and one in Portland, but it doesn't name them.

Thanks for that info. So it is confirmed that the theater was named Vagabond because of being next door to the Vagabond's House restaurant, which was named after the Don Blanding poem. The link I posted above has a 1950 architectural rendering of the theater at the end.

Here are some photos taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/c695jq
http://tinyurl.com/cqp9ar
http://tinyurl.com/cpr98s
http://tinyurl.com/dl7kpn
http://tinyurl.com/cggwv2

I went to the Vagabond several times in the late 70s and early to mid 80s. It was the sister theatre at the time to the Tiffany. You could pick up schedules at either theatre for both. Often attending the old movies were elderly people, some of whom I suspect were actually in the films. They wouldn't have had any other way of seeing them except when they were shown on TV (and even then, cut up and interspliced with Cal Worthington commercials). Some memorable occasions come to mind: Mel Torme showed up for Good News. He talked for about ten minutes about the film before it started, then was interrupted by an old woman who shouted "Sing something for us, Mel!" "Hey, lady, this is FREE," he growled back. Saul Chaplin was there for a roadshow print of "Star!" He still seemed bruised by the film's failure. Another time I went to see "Invitation to the Dance". An old man came out of the previous screening and warned my friend and I in the lobby "It's two hours of sheer tedium."

Someone's odd idea of decorating the Vagabond was to paint stark, high-constrast giant stills from Potemkin on the walls, so right next to the screen was the famous shot of a woman screaming as her baby carriage rolled down the Odessa steps. this was a bit jarring when just to the right was, say, Betty Grable singing a song of love and romance. I also remember the theatre sometimes stunk of garbage because of a dumpster located just behind the building.

Overall, I avoided the Vagabond because at that time I merely had to walk to the Tiffany to see pretty much the same fare. See my post for the Tiffany for more stories.

1982 Photo

1983 Photo

I lived in Hollywood in 1977. My buddy Rick called me one afternoon to say that (can't remember his first name) Cooper struck a new 35mm print of "Gone With The Wind" and they were showing it at the Vagabond. No one had seen the original print in years. The opening was cut and reprinted as a series of stills for 70mm prints back in the 1960's. I don't recall who showed up that night, but I do remember Kleig lights. When the film opened with those sliding credits, the younger members of the audience who had never seen the film gasped. As I recall, this same person was responsible for reviving several films, including "Wizard of Oz" and "Singing in the Rain."

No fake owls on the marquee in the 1980s photos.

Maybe they were camera shy.

Oh man, thank you for those 1982/83 photos! I'd been trying to dredge up my own vague memories of the look of the place, and those are a life-saver. Thanks, too, for the reminder about the stills painted on the walls!

The years I most attended the Vagabond were 1975-79, and I wish I'd gone way more than I did. Like others have said, I remember it as "the" premier revival house in terms of print and projection standards. In particular, I remember a "North by Northwest" that blew my friends and me away. I also recall thinking it had the most uncomfortable seats anywhere. Sadly, I never went next door to eat in La Fonda.

I didn't have a car in those years, so the bus was my usual transportation. I remember coming out of the Vagabond late at night and waiting for it, while enjoying what seemed a dignified old neighborhood. With the obvious exception of MacArthur Park and points east, I felt no sense of danger at all there.

While I'm happy to learn that the place was preserved and is now a live theater, at least, the shocking/sad thing about those photos is what looks like a totally empty block to the west. Hate that.

(That last comment refers to a much more recent picture posted above, not the 1982/83 ones.)

This is a 1980s flyer for a 3D film festival.