Four Star Theatre

I believe this was a porno house for a while. I remember seeing "The Wild Bunch" here in 70mm and 4 track stereo.

This theatre is a sister to the UA Pasadena. The UA Four Star was operated by Fox West Coast theatres during the 30's thru the 40's. After that United Artists theatres ran the house. During the 60's it played many first run hits like "The Graduate". When UA pulled out of the Four Star, Michell Bros. from San Francisco leased this house and the UA Inglewood for adult films. Just before the transfer to Michell Bros., UA pulled all the 70mm equipment and replaced it with 35mm. For about the next 10 years the Four Star would remain a adult house. During the the very late 70's thru the late 80's the Four Star ran 3rd run and Indian films. During the 90's the Four Star ran 2nd run and classic films. During the 90's the Four Star was re-equipped to run 70mm. The Norelco DP-70 projectors came from the old Fox Wilshire theatre down the street. The Fox Wilshire stopped playing movies in around 1977. During it's last years as a theatre. It would run classic films on the Big Screen. Before the last transfer the DP-70 projectors would find a new home at the Warner Grand in San Pedro, Ca.. Today the Four Star is a Church. If you sat right in front of the theatre, you can see on the facade of the theatre the words and an art deco design. (Unity Artisty).

The architects for this theater were Walker & Eisen, along with C.A. Balch.

anyone know the address of this theater?

The Four Star Theatre is located at 5112 Wilshire Blvd.. The marquee in the picture is long gone. You can still see the Unity & Artisty on the facade.

To see a 1938 photo (LA Public Library) of the premier of "In Old Chicago" at the Four Star Theater go here:
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044831.jpg

The Last Picture Show played here on first run. I think the long run of The Graduate was at the Fine Arts further down Wilshire, but may be wrong.

Wasn't this also the theatre where Jane Fonda, after viewing one of her own movies (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?)slipped and fell in the parking lot when returning to her car, and broke her leg, and perhaps sued?

"The Graduate" opened at the Four Star Theatre and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They" was over at the Picwood Theatre in West Los Angeles. The Picwood Theatre had a large parking lot behind the theatre.

This was a great theater. I attended a 70mm festival there in 1992 and saw "The Road Warrior" and "Deliverance."

The auditorium was quite large and the screen was pretty big. The distinct thing I remember about this theater was its lack of air conditioning! The festival was held during the middle of summer, and it was quite uncomfortable watching movies there. But it was still a treat to visit this once classic theater.

The Four Star Theatre was an independent theatre at that time and the owner did not repair or operate the air conditioning for the theatre. The sister theatre to this one was the UA Pasadena Theatre.

Someone long ago said: "SteveP > Jun 13, 2003 1:31 AM EDT
'The first press preview of "Gone With The Wind" was held at the Four Star in 1939'."

In the late 1960's I was lucky enough to attend the Four Star Theatre twice, both times for exclusive engagements. One of the films was "The Graduate", which showed the artificiality of nearby Beverly Hills society so well and of course features the songs of Simon and Garfunkel, and the other was "The Lion in Winter", which featured brilliant performances by Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. These were two of the most finest movies I ever saw, and the big screen and excellent stereo sound system of the Four Star were perfect for both events.

Today, the former Four Star is a church, called "The Oasis". Painted green and white, it is one of the finest examples of pure Art Deco architecture ever built in Los Angeles. This seems fitting, as it is located just about a mile east of the famous "Miracle Mile" on Wilshire Blvd.

L. Thomas:

Actually, the Miracle Mile, (thus named in the 1920s by its developer, A.W. Ross), extends from Sycamore Street (one block east of La Brea) westward to Fairfax Avenue, so the Four Star is virtually at its doorstep. See a brief description of the area in The Larchmont Chronicle.

I never attended the Four Star, but I have a good idea of what it was like, as I went to several movies at the almost identical U.A. Pasadena. It was a nice building, but leg room was minimal, so closely packed were the seats.

http://imagesrvr.epnet.com/embimages/imh/mptv/full/mptv56480015.jpg

Source: MPTV
Caption: Four Star Theater 1921 Copyright John Swope Trust / MPTV

If MPTV says that the picture at the link above is from 1921, they are mistaken. The plans for the United Artist's Four Star Theatre weren't even announced until mid-1931. The United Artists Company didn't even exist yet in 1921. Their first theatre opened in 1927:
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/489/

The Four Star was one of several California theatres designed for the company by Walker and Eisen with C.E. Balch, associated, in the early 1930s. Most are now gone. The one in Berkeley is still open, though it has been multiplexed:
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1915/

On the marquee of the theatre, it has "The Shiek" as the "A feature and "Where there's a Will" as the "B" feature. This could be a reissue of "The Shiek" and they doubled it up with the only feature. Because the other feature is from 1936.

Because sometimes I've seen with reissue photos of theatres. They see only the main feature's title and take that as being when the photo has been taken. The studio's would release their older films from time to time. Since reissues are harder to date, sometime mistakes happen, like in that picture.

Good catch guys. I normally use the imdb to date photos based on the movies on the marquee but in this instance I didn't check since I thought that I could trust the MPTV. Who woulda thought!?

I used to go here a lot in the mid-80's as it had cool double features of 2nd and 3rd run films for real cheap.

From the California State Library:

http://helios.library.ca.gov/soca/laci/1991-0717.jpg

Another premier night:

http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics50/00044826.jpg

I had my first kiss in the back row of the Four Star - during Where The Boys Are. I also saw The Angry Red Planet there, and Pepe, and a real oddity called Behind The Great Wall, which was a documentary that had been retrofitted with smells to compete with Scent of Mystery in Smell-o-Vision, that was playing down the street at the Ritz. Behind the Great Wall was in Aromarama. I continued to go to the Four Star all during the 80s when they were a revival house. And yes, for a short time they went porno, and Behind The Green Door ran there for quite a while.

I made a mini radio documentary about LA cinemas which featured the Four Star for BBC radio back in 1996, when I was a correspondent in LA. I also recorded a "From Our Own Correspondent" for the World Service and BBC Radio 4 about the man who ran it. He'd grown up working in cinemas in the mid West, where his own father was a theatre manager. And he had turned the Four Star into a revival house in the early 90s I think, with old friends running the projector and the concession stand. They installed a proper silver screen and had an impressively eclectic programme. Lots of William Holden, too, as that was his favourite actor. Sadly, as other contributors have pointed out, the landlord sold the property to a south American church and it closed in 97, I think. It was a privilege to have met the team who ran this place with such passion and love of film.

Here is a 1976 lawsuit against the Mitchell Brothers. Apparently there were some improper goings-on during the features:
http://tinyurl.com/y9dup6

When I lived in Los Angeles in 1982, the Four Star was a revival house. It was a great place to see old movies because it still had the look of a movie house from decades earlier, so you felt as if you had been transported back to when the films were knew. I particularly remember a double bill of Preminger's Laura and John M. Stahl's Leave Her To Heaven, the latter shown in a breathtakingly pristine Technicolor print.

What company operated the FOUR STAR during the '90s?

Well the owner was Lou Federichi (sp), and during it's final run as a revival house it was subleased to a former projectonist from Mann's Chinese Theatre. Who ran it with his son during that short time. Then it was sold sometime after to the church the current owners.

This place was awesome for its double-feature presentations and discount nights. I was a preteen when I frequent the Four Star Theatre in the 80's. Some of the movies I remember seeing there was a re-release of E.T., The Terminator, Fletch, Rambo III, Rocky IV, Scrooged, The Great Outdoors, My Stepmother Is An Alien, and Back To The Beach. Not to mention I used to sneak Burger King inside because the food was cheaper from next door ;) Then, I remember a period when they would host Indian film festivals (blah). One day I would move away from the Wilshre / La Brea area for San Fernando Valley in the early 90's. From time to time I would re-visit the area I used to live. I later noticed Four Star Theatre had closed its doors and turned into aa a church (sigh).

Apparently the building is no longer a church but a general theatre venue. The signage now says "Oasis Theatre" (as opposed to "Oasis Christian Center") and there are big ad banners on the wall announcing its availability to be booked for concerts, plays, and films.

The former Fox Wilshire Theatre's Norelco AA 70MM/35mm projectors that were installed in the Four Star during the 1980s were removed. And installed in the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, Ca.. So they would have to install new or they might of put back the old 35mm only projector back in.

I may be wrong but were some of the theatre scenes in "Night of the Comet" (1984) shot at the Four Star?

Here is March 1975 ad from the LA Times. Kids always welcome with ID:
http://tinyurl.com/36tpsb

Here is an early forties ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/3y63fz

Kirk, the scenes were shot over at the El Rey Theatre down the street. It was the lobby and booth scenes and behind the theatre in the alley.

Oasis Theater (formerly Four Star), October 18, 2007:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/laOasisTheaterOct182007002a.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/laOasisTheaterOct182007005.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/laOasisTheaterOct182007006a.jpg

Carnation restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor was across the street from this baby. Me, my sister, and father used to go here in the early 70's, and eat burgers and ice cream across the street. This took me awhile to find the name of the Four Star. Thanks Cinema Treasures, you brought some joy to a couple of 40-50 somethings ;)

I may call the number on the side of the building and go see what the interior looks like.

Per the photos taken in October, it's not a church anymore.

During the 90s, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films occasionally screened at the Four Star. One weekend we gathered there to see The Crow 2, but the studio made a mistake and sent us the original Crow instead. As it turns out, they did us a favor, because I later learned that the sequel is terrible, but what was memorable about the whole experience was this: if you remember The Crow, it's raining for much of the film. And at that time, the Four Star's roof was in terrible shape, and it was raining outside. For the entire movie, we could hear water pouring down somewhere behind the screen as an accompaniment to the movie's soundtrack.

Have any live shows actually been booked here yet under the new name?

Here is an October 1950 ad for a Nancy Reagan film, per the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2k7j9e

The Next Voice You Hear with James Whitmore and Nancy Davis was released in June of 1950.

Here is a February 1935 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2sh9on

Baboona was a documentary with Martin and Osa Johnson that was released in January of 1935.

This is a Church of some sort now...

http://www.oasisla.org

Looks like it is both a church and a theatre, from that link.

Saw restored Lawrence of Arabia and You Only Live Twice here. Great theater. Remember seeing King of New York here too, so it did show new films as late as 1989.

The Oasis Christian Center is responsible for (literally) defacing this iconic landmark when they purchased the building. I work nearby, and used to walk that stretch of Wilshire Boulevard daily during lunch break. I always looked up at the Four Star to admire its perfect Art Deco styling (fairly common along the Miracle Mile), and most especially its exceptional bas-relief sculpture (unmatched on the Miracle Mile, and perhaps the finest I've ever seen). One day, I was horrified to find that the surface had been sand-blasted to the point of unrecognizability, and a mason was now chipping-in with a chisel and then troweling mortar into what remained.

The problem? Nipples. A muse, a goddess, I'm not sure what she was, but lovely and lithe, she graced the central panel, her nudity barely concealed behind a diaphanous drapery pressed up against her slender form by an invisible zephyr. On that same breeze, a banner floated, bearing a slogan of some sort in Latin or Greek I think, about art meeting science (and referring to cinema). It was all very tasteful to a person of civilized upbringing, the effect Grecian and Classical. But to the prurient-minded, the tips of her nipples, hardly noticeable to the rest of us, were just too… impertinent. This so deeply offended the puritanical instincts of the new “owners” of the building, that without asking permission, or even considering less drastic measures, such as troweling-in a removable plaster or simply covering it with some kind of sheathing, in a single afternoon these self-proclaimed soul-savers destroyed the soul of an architectural monument.

I was horrified. I was certain that an architectural crime had been committed, but it was, at that point, too late. My own distaste for all forms of organized religion was greatly increased on that day. Soon, the “owners” placed a “Hollywood Walk of Fame” star (of sorts), in “honor” of Jesus, into the sidewalk at the entrance. The star is unsymmetrical, unpretty, and quite frankly tacky (the whole idea is tacky). I have to admit that I’ve been secretly delighted, on many of my usual strolls down this stretch, to find this star is evidently the deliberate target of spillers-of-Coke, droppers-of-chewing-gum and whatnot, mostly from the Burger King next door. (“Whatnot” includes French-fries, chocolate malts, and liquids that best remain undescribed). It is not that I don’t admire Jesus and his teachings. It’s just the symmetric irony visited upon the oh-so-earnest pinheads who destroyed the Four Star: too thick-headed and zealous to recognize beauty, they deface a landmark. In the same spirit of not seeing the blatantly obvious, they prove too thick-headed to recognize the implicit insult of putting their Savior’s name underfoot. Then they fight an ongoing war with a broom and a mop, against the legions of people who can’t resist showing a little bit of their own disrespect.

-Brett S.

Did they violate any local historic preservation ordinance by doing this?

Ron,

I wish I knew... and I literally RAN back to my office and tried to find out if there was someone I could call. But I didn't know how to find information fast enough to put a stop to the destruction. The mason I referred to was a middle-aged Mexican who spoke no English. He was just putting food on his table, and probably had no larger view of what he was doing. It was all over in an afternoon. If it was illegal, they got away with it.

Strangely, I later met and became friends one of the contractors who was involved in this unfortunate affair. He had a "yard" in my neighborhood, filled with interesting "junk". I paid him thousands of dollars to refurbish my house before I sold it. At one point, touring his yard, I came across some interesting iron grill-work. "Art Deco?" I asked. "Yes, from the Four Star Theater on Wilshire", he replied. He's a very nice guy and a deeply Christian. I didn't hold it against him, whatever was his part in diminishing the Four Star. At least he saved the grillwork -he could see it had beauty and didn't deserve "recycling" as mere iron.

-Brett

Even if you weren't able to prevent it, it might still be worth pursuing. If the city fined the church for doing this, it would deter other owners of historic buildings from doing similar things.

Those muses were standard on a few UA theatres of that era. So they are not one of a kind items. You can still the muses on the former UA Theatre in Pasadena (retail) and the former UA Alamenda in East Los Angeles (retail).

The second line shoulkd say " You can still see the muses on..."

William,

I looked at the pics of the UA Pasadena, and while definitely similar, I think the Four Star on Wilshire was possibly different. It might truly have been one of a kind... the UA Pasadena looks a bit "stiffer" stylistically than I recall the Wilshire example. But it's been a long time, and memory plays tricks with the details. Now I'm curious! Unfortunately, unless we can dig up some fairly high resolution photographs, we won't know.

-Brett

Brett all the UA's in Southern California had slightly different facades. Depending on the size of property the company bought. But those relief panels "Unity" and "Artistry" with the muses were standard designs UA used in the Four Star, UA Pasadena, UA Alameda, UA Long Beach and UA Inglewood Theatres. It's just like those Gold Rush panels that Fox West Coast Theatres used in some of their theatres.

William,

Yes, for one thing, the "nearly naked" woman was on the left panel, not the right as at Pasadena. I think perhaps her arms were upraised as well, and the pose less "stiff". And even if this particular relief panel had an exact duplicate somewhere else, that still doesn't give those who bought the building a right to destroy it. Do you think there are high quality photos somewhere? It's a shame that with the terabytes and petabytes of mostly worthless photos on the Web, that what images I've seen of these disappearing treasures are grainy JPEGs compressed to about 70Kb. With the price of storage these days, that's like selling sand by the teaspoon and gravel by the individual pebble. It's entirely possible that whatever photos were scanned once at low resolution, a decade ago, are themselves forever lost (how may documents are scanned so the original can be destroyed?) Some of our preservation efforts should be directed not at the buildings themselves, but the images and newspaper clippings that recorded them in their heyday.

As it is, the best image I have of the Four Star, as inaccurate as it may be, is the one in my head. As you might surmise from my first entry, perhaps the one in my head is more beautiful than the original ever was. But I kinda doubt it. And at least the builting itself wasn't demolished. Despite the perhaps unwitting "architectural crime" committed by the "owners", at least the building is being maintained structurally, and vagrants and vandals kept out.

-Brett

Here is a January 1947 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/48wen8

January must have been a busy month.

I'm no film historian, but I think 1947 was one of the last years where television had not put a dent in movie attendance. Probably through 1950 or so, then the decline began.

The average weekly attendance at U.S. Theatres for 1946, 1947 & 1948 was estimated at 90 million people. During the war it was around 85 million. 1949 hit 70 million people and 1950 60 million people. By 1954 it was estimated at 49.2 million for weely attendance. Foe 1947 the U.S. film theatres gross was estimated at $1,565,000,000.. During that year there was a total of 486 releases from major and independent companies. The big studios put out 249 features. The average U.S. Theatre admission cost was around 33.4 cents, 7.0 tax for a total of .40.4 cents. (40 cents). Film theatres in the U.S was around 18,607 .

Very interesting. Thanks for the information

That is interesting.

Here are some October 2008 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/46m7tl
http://tinyurl.com/3z33ka

From the LA Times, June 1, 1939:

A pedestrial bandit yesterday held up Maurice Sherman, assistant manager of the Four Star Theater, 5112 Wilshire Boulevard, as he was walking to a nearby bank, and robbed him of $90. Sherman said the bandit fled south on Sycamore Avenue after warning him to continue walking east on Wilshire Boulevard.

Crime is everywhere.

Here is a November 1938 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/55pqtt

Here is part of an LA Times article dated 1/27/76:

The controversial Four Star Theater has resumed operations under a state Supreme Court stay of a Los Angeles Superior Court injunction which closed its doors last December 2. Superior Judge Harry Hupp had shut down the theater at the request of the Los Angeles city attorney's office under the state's 1913 Red Light Abatement Act, designed to combat "lewdness or prostitution".

The theater at 5112 Wilshire Boulevard is owned by Chief U.S. District Judge Albert Lee Stephens, Jr. and two of his daughters. However, it is leased to a theater chain and subleased over the Stephens' family's protests to a group which is showing X-rated movies.

Police chief Edward M. Davis has complained of numerous arrests for lewd conduct in the theater. Hupp emphasized his decision was based on lewd activity and not the content of the movies.

The theatre chain was United Artists Theatres and the subleased party was the Mitchell Brothers which showed adult films there along with a few other locations in Los Angeles area.

Here is part of the injunction from 1976:

Four Star Theatre is a theatre and related property located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The property is leased by its owners to United Artists Theatres of California, Inc., and subleased by United Artists to James and Artie Mitchell and corporations controlled by them. The sublease calls for rent of $48,000 per year, runs to August 30, 1977, is for the purpose of conducting a theatre, covers furniture, fixtures and equipment, and vests the right of possession in the sublessee.

The Mitchell group operates the theatre, catering to devotees of "X-rated" films. During the calendar year 1974, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department observed over 30 acts of public masturbation by patrons of the theatre. Employees of the Mitchell group were instructed to cause a warning of the presence of officers in the theatre to be flashed on the screen whenever their presence was known. While ushers sometimes patrolled the aisles, the patrol was sporadic at best except when police officers were known to be present.

Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cgwts4

Here is a November 1974 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/r7a5kb

Here is an October 1952 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/kj2mv8

I'll bet that alot of people on here remember that one. LOL

Here is a January 1960 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/nxh6xo

I went by this place today. Did the church move out as stated above? There is a sign on the side with their web address -- the Oasis Christian Center. That site lists "service" times. And there's still a star (a la Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame) on the sidewalk out front that reads "Jesus Christ the Son of God."

Great Behind The Great Wall ad - I was, of course, there and saw and smelled the film. And a few weeks later I was at the Ritz seeing and smelling Scent of Mystery.

Here is a March 1977 ad from the LAT:
http://tinyurl.com/nvnhey

Here is a 1984 night shot:
http://tinyurl.com/ybuuvqv

This is a 2009 photo of the Oasis.