Brattle Theatre

During the fifties and sixties, and especially during the summer months, the Brattle was the venue that helped propel "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca" to the top of the best films of all time. The bar downstairs was named after "Casablanca".

The theater's web site is:
http://www.brattlefilm.org/

The programming is primarily double features of classic Hollywood and foreign films, with a different program each weekday day. Occasionally, this schedule is interrupted by a week-long first-run film.

The theatre no longer has concerts, but a local bookstore occasionally hosts lectures by authors here.

This theatre is a treasure. I attended screenings here a few times over the years while visiting firnds in Boston. Why cant someone do this in New York? Heres hoping the Brattle goes on forever !!!!

I've been going here sporadically since 1962. The first film I saw at the Brattle was Michelangelo Antonioni's LE AMICHE...rarely if ever shown, or even known, any more. The theatre incorporates a rear-projection system with the projector behind the screen rather than behind the auditorium. They can show both 16mm and 35mm prints and are meticulous about respecting a film's aspect ratio, particularly crucial when showing older classics so that part of the frame is not cut off in projection. Thus SINGIN'IN THE RAIN looked fabulous here. The hall was larger and roomier before the building was partitioned and given over to chic shops a couple of decades ago. It was also much nicer entering from Brattle Street through a direct front entrance covered by an awning.

According to their 1990 100-year souvenir program book (i.e. 100 years since Brattle Hall had opened) the first film shown when they became a cinema in 1953 was the German THE CAPTAIN FROM KOPENICK.

For the record, a showing I attended last Sunday of the 1929 silent PICADILLY was shown in an incorrect 1:1.66 aspect ratio, causing heads and bottom of frame to be sliced off. When I protested at the end of the first showing, it was still not corrected by the second showing. The Brattle has proper lenses, aperture plates, and maskings to show films on this type in a 1:1.33 ratio(actually even that's too wide for this silent). Very bad indeed!

My memory is that they showed nothing but Bogart movies, ever. It was right around the corner from IFIF (International Federation for Internal Freedom) where recently-retired professors Leary and Alpert set up shop.
Incidentally, the only other theater I ever heard of using rear-projection was the short-lived Old Post Office Cinema in East Hampton NY, owned by Ritchie Westley (who also had Mattituck, Hampton Arts and Suffolk Theater) in the early 1980s or so. Is this common?

No it's not common although there were a few NY houses that had it. Century's Avalon in Brooklyn, Theatre 80 St Marks in the East Village and I think one or two of the Trans-Lux houses when they only ran newsreels.

The Brattle still continues its tradition of holding Bogart retrospectives during Harvard exams. Their double feature programming during the rest of the year is diverse and enjoyable, and they sporadically have live acts on their stage, though usually as part of a fundraiser event. I attended a trailer screening in August 2003 that had a local band play in between segments, which was fun -- though I kinda wished they'd had more trailers.

I saw many films at the Brattle in the 60s, and marvelled at the rear projection screen. The theater at the time was owned by Bryant Halliday and Cyrus Harvey; they popularized the films of Ingmar Bergman thru' their company Janus Films. I also saw the Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee films there. The rear projection screen had one problem-they could only show older films and foreign stuff, since the curved cinemascope thing would be distorted. They bought the University in the early 60s, renamed it the Harvard Sq, and that gave them a place to show wide screen stuff. The coffee shop in the basement, 'The Blue Parrot' was named for the rival bar in Casablanca.

Last year, the Brattle changed its scheduling policy; they no longer show a different double feature every night, nor do they still devote days of the week to particular genres or themes (e.g. Film Noir Mondays). They described their changed policy on this page.

Boris, the Brattle did indeed show CinemaScope anamorphic films in the 1960s and beyond. I can recall seeing "Jules and Jim," "The 400 Blows," "La Dolce Vita"...all Scope ratio films...and others here during that period. And they show them today, via rear projection and without distortion...e.g. "The Leopard" and the revival of "La Dolce Vita."

This is one of very few movie theatres in the Boston area that still has a balcony (albeit a very small one).

I suggest changing the "Function:" field to indicate more clearly that movies are the primary use of this theatre. Foreign films, independent films, classic films, film festivals, and revival films all apply better than "Concerts" or "Special Events".

Here is a photo of the Brattle as it appears now. The entrance to the cinema is down the staircase to the left. The former entrance was from that windowed area behind the right tree. There used to be a canopy leading to the street. The steps in the center of the building used to be an exit when they led directly to/from the auditorium. Afterward the auditorium size was reduced and the area carved up into more commercial establishments and leading to this present configuration. The "old Brattle" was much nicer, in my opinion.

The 1990 Brattle Theatre booklet commemorating the centennial of Brattle Hall says that the theatre was opened in 1953 by Cy Harvey, Jr. and Bryant Holiday. It also says that the first film shown was the German The Captain from Köpenick. Now, a version of that film with Heinz Rühmann, made in 1956, opened in the U.S. in 1958. So either the listed year of opening is incorrect, or else they opened with the 1931 version (!) directed by Richard Oswald. Harvey and Holiday founded Janus Films in 1955 to distribute foreign films nationally. Here is an old photo of the Brattle before its opening.

Also, the description says the theatre is located on the "second floor." Actually, it is the first floor and just a few steps in or out originally. But now that the entrance is on the left, from the basement area, and you have to walk down some steps from the street, then up a full flight to get into the hall, it seems like the second floor. From the front exits used after films, it's still only a couple of steps or so to get out. The level of the auditorium has not changed, but the rear end has been severed.

Gerlad--

Thanks for the photos, old and new. I attended the Brattle only a few times (memorably for "Zero pout conduit" in the mid-'70s), but whenever I found myself in the neighborhood, I'd drop into the Casablanca for a beer. Nearly always I'd bump into someone I knew from some other part of the world (a really small world), or else I'd find myself deep into conversation with a stanger who knew more about movies than me.

I think the entrance change was made to give the theatre at least some lobby and concession space (though both are still tiny).

I think the change was made also because there is no direct way possible into the auditorium from street level because of the added shops, unless you go in from the exit to the right of the screen. So out of necessity they had to devise this circuitous down-from-under rat-route. I hate it. The entrance from the front right was much better. In those days, if I remember correctly, there was just the ticket booth in the entrance and they didn't sell snacks at all. In the earlier years they had single features, usually one show at 7:30 and one at 9:30 plus earlier ones on weekends. I'm still curious about knowing clearly whether they opened with the 1931 version of The Captain from Köpenick, if they opened in 1953.

Here is a 1963 Brattle Theatre "Summer Film Festival" program flyer. Because it is tall, I had to reproduce it in two parts. Here they are:

TOP HALF
BOTTOM HALF

Some mouth-watering films. The only one I went to was Ashes and Diamonds, but I have seen almost all of these movies at one time or another in various places.

Here is a Harvard Crimson review of the first film to play at the Brattle when it opened in 1953: the 1931 German film The Captain from Koepenick.

In 1952 owner Bryant Haliday received a phone threat when he planned to convert the Brattle Theatre into a cinema, according to a pice in the Harvard Crimson.

In 1929, decades before the Brattle would become a cinema in 1953, there was a presentation of a locally-produced film on the History of Massachusetts. This Harvard Crimson piece notes that it would be shown here as well as at the Fine Arts Theatre in Boston.

The Brattle Theatre is in imminent danger of closing if it does not raise $400,000 by the end of this year.

It is truly embarassing that nearby Harvard University has the largest endowment of any university in the world and has not yet stepped up to the plate to save something so valuable to the greater Cambridge community. If the Brattle closes, that will be the final nail in the coffin of Harvard Square. It is sickening.

The Haravd Film Archive has coordinated film series screenings with the Brattle. So, the University's film group (not the business office, as far as I know) has worked with them. The theater is a non-profit, and it sits in the heart of Harvard University. Students are among the main patrons. But yes, I think you're right. So far there has been no report that the University has offered any fianancial assistance.

The Brattle has given to Harvard - its students and faculty.

Harvard, it appears, can save the Brattle. But will they?

For a world-class institution that professess to be giving (at least, that's what Hollywood would like us to believe, seeing as how they're so in love with the place) they're looking pretty darn stingy right now.

When I first became aware of the Brattle Theatre around 1950, it was a live playhouse. Then it went over to films and by the end of the 1950s it was a well-established feature in the Harvard Square area. It's most unfortunate that it has come upon hard times.

Just a quick update on the plight of the Brattle and the fundraising drive. The Brattle was able to raise $200,000 by the end of 2005, and while that is only half of the goal, they were able to negotiate an extension of the lease until 2007.

The Brattle is not out of the woods yet, they desperately need to raise the additional $300,000 within this year. Please check out the Brattle webpage (listed above) to donate money to the cause and to check out the current fundraising events.

Brattle Hall is shown on this 1916 map. It is near the top right corner of the map, the rightmost building on the south side of Brattle Street.

Both it and the Brattle House next door are shown as owned by the "Camb. Social Union". It appears that the buildings were connected at that time; they no longer are. The Brattle House now belongs to the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.

From an invitation to a Brattle Theatre donor appreciation screening that I attended yesterday:

"The Brattle has recently acquired films from the famed Off-The-Wall
collection. Off-The-Wall Cinema screened rare footage from rock groups like
the Rolling Stones, silent films, short subjects and classic animated
shorts. From its inception in 1976 to finally closing ten years later,
Off-The-Wall Cinema primarily made its home in Central Square, Cambridge.
Many folks, including Brattle Creative Director Ned Hinkle, have fond
memories of these screenings.

The Brattle Film Foundation is thrilled to add these wonderful shorts and
rarities to our collection."

The entire collection is in 16mm, and had sat in various people's basements for at least a decade before the Brattle acquired it.

At yesterday's screening, the Brattle showed these films (and maybe a few others that I don't remember):

- A Datsun TV commercial starring Salvador Dali
- An equally strange Levi's commercial from the 1960s or early 70s
- a Faith Hubley animated short. I think it was Windy Day, from 1967
- a Louis Armstrong concert performance short subject
- a Popeye vs. Sindbad cartoon
- Three Pathé newsreels from 1964, featuring the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Dave Clark Five

At the back of the theatre, the Brattle displayed a few signs, advetisements, and newspaper articles from Off the Wall. I had forgotten that Off The Wall had one last run in 1994-95, showing films on Monday nights at the Middle East Upstairs in Central Square. A Boston Globe article from 1994, celebrating Off The Wall's 20th anniversary, said that Off The Wall started on Friday, December 13, 1974.

As part of Harvard Square Oktoberfest, the Brattle will have a free screening of Off The Wall films on Sunday, October 8, from noon to 2:30 pm.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982

Brattle Hall ** (added 1982 - Building - #82001925)
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
Historic Significance: Event
Area of Significance: Social History, Entertainment/Recreation, Education
Period of Significance: 1875-1899
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture, Social
Historic Sub-function: Civic, Theater
Current Function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Exterior photo here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12494104@N00/424154712/

The Brattle Theater is having an Anime Festival!

http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/tbaf/

i have a long,long history with the Brattle. I went regularly as a student in the 70's, and I still go to this day, now with my daughter, who is as much a cinefreak as I ever was! A great thing to pass along to your children. Sometimes I think I can see the ghost of the student I was lounging in one of the seats in the fifth row where I always sat. Long live the Brattle, in whatever incarnation.

They replaced their theater seats in 2001. I was one of the fans of the theater who lined up to cart away a row of the old "flip up" seats. I took a row of five seats home with me. The seats are 90% covered in duct tape, but the backs and the hardware all work fine. They replaced the seats with modern metal & plastic seats, which are only a moderate improvement on the old ones.

The Brattle Theatre is "back from the brink," according to this Boston Globe article.

There is a great way to help the brattle, just by searching! Check out this link:

http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=812588

On February 16th, the Brattle celebrated its 55th anniversary as a movie theater!

I saw a wonderful revival showing of Ingmar Bergman's Monika here a few weeks ago in a magnificent restored 35mm print. This is the Brattle at its best!

The Brattle Theatre, which is also a wonderful repertory arts movie house, is another movie house that I enjoy freqenting when there's a good older classic film playing. I've seen some James Bond movies there, as well as Easy Rider, Gimme Shelter & Monterey Pops as a double feature, Raging Bull, Night at the Opera, Yellow Submarine, Georgy Girl, Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, and, not withstanding afew others, last but not least, I've seen several screenings of my alltiime favorite film, West Side Story at the Brattle. Just this past may, when the 90th Anniversary of United Artists Films series arrived, they showed both an afternoon and an evening screening of West Side Story. Since WSS is a hard film for me to resist, I attended both screenings. Since the Brattle Theatre and the Somerville Theatre are the only two theatres in this area left that have balconies, I always love sitting on the balcony when I view the film West Side Story.

I also might add that I'm glad that the Brattle Theatre was renovated. The chairs are far more comfortable, and, even though some chairs were taken out of the theatre when it received a facelift, so to speak, it's well worth it, imo.

I have a program for the old Boston Opera House on Huntington Ave. for the week of December 24, 1951. The attraction on stage was a touring production of the great musical of the 1920s "The Student Prince" by Sigmund Romberg. Near the back of the program is an ad for the Brattle Theatre Company, Harvard Sq.,Cambridge. "Two Comedies for the Holidays!"-- "A Phoenix Too Frequent" by Christopher Fry and "The Long Christmas Dinner" by Thornton Wilder. The plays were on stage thru New Year's Eve. I don't know if these were 2 full-length plays presented on alternate nights, or if they were 2 short plays presented on the same program.

When I saw Once Upon a Time in the West here, it was one of the best memories of going to the movies. Seeing that 35mm print was like seeing the film for the first time as if it just came out. I love the Brattle, and would love to get a job there some day, even doing concession.

Does anyone know anything about Boston's Projectionist Union?

I would love to get in contact with them about getting a job, if able to.

The theater I work for in NH just closed down, but I would love to get a job at another great theater. Check out the Ioka Theater in Exeter, NH. It is a forgotton gem hidden in the small town of Exeter, NH.

There are occasional and infrequent live performances at the Brattle. On Jan. 18 there will be a concert by "Department of Eagles".

Just out of curiosity, what kind of a group is "Department of Eagles"? I've never heard of them before.

The Brattle Theatre--yes..another great old theatre. We need it to stay open..forever and ever.

As of June 10, the Brattle Theatre now sells beer from Cambridge Brewing Company. They will soon begin selling wine as well.