Silent Movie Theatre

A great place in the 40's -70's to see great silent movie programs. Run by a sweet couple, she'd sell candy and he'd run the projector. It's been renovated to nicer then it ever was, and the silent movies look great. Also they have a pianist playing along live to the movies. Highly recommended!!!

I'll never forget the time I went to this wonderful place in 1973 to see a Silent Screen Comedians Film Festival, and when I went to the lobby, I met a charming old gentleman whom I had seen seated in the flickering darkness enjoying some silent slapstick by Laurel & Hardy. He and I struck up a conversation, and since I had just started Film School, I wanted to get a firsthand look at cinema history. The gent I spoke with told me he used to work with Laurel & Hardy, and Hal Roach. I asked him what his name was, and he said, "Marvin Hatley". He then put on a 1930s-era bowler hat, like L&H sported in all their films, and started whistling the "Cuckoo Song" to me! I was nearly bowled over by that, because I had seen many sound Laurel & Hardy comedies when they were first run on television in the early 1950s, and here I was talking to the man who was the music director for Hal Roach, and had written the "Cuckoo Song"! I saw him one more time after that, in 1986, just before his passing, at a Hollywood meeting of the "Sons of the Desert", the Laurel & Hardy Fan Club, where he sold me an autographed copy of a record album he had made, "Music for Laurel & Hardy".

Wow, what a unique name. Does it still do silent movies?

Indeed this theatre still shows silent movies. Visit www.silentmovietheatre.com for a schedule of films and a photo tour. It is well worth a visit!

Wow, it does still show silent movies! History repeats itself!

was that sarcasm?

The Silent Movie theatre is apparently for sale. Here is an article:
http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2003_09_28.html

This is a must see for any and all movie buffs. An educational experience especially for kids. This is where it all began for me as a youngster when my father took me to all the early greats from Elmo Lincoln, the first Tarzan, to Ben Turpin,Charlie Chaplin,and of course Laurel and Hardy.Thanks Dad !

when i was 13 my parents thought it was a good gift for my birthday to go see a silent movie,well being it my birthday and all me and my friends went to break in to the old picfair theatre (about 2 miles away)which they were about to tare down.i was late coming home and put on punishment,so no silent movie for the birthday boy.well it turns out that that night when we were suppose to go to the silent movies there was a killing where some wacko killed the owner,funny how things work out.

Here is a story about a guy who throws parties here
http://www.wallyontheweb.com/ScreeningRoom.html

took my kids to the Silent Movie Theatre while they were growing up in the '90s. Keaton, Chaplin, Robin Hood-- wonderful movie experiences for the next generation.

Upcoming film festival:
http://www.emerson.edu/emersontoday/index.cfm?view=ShowArticle&articleID=671

For many years I attended the Cinecon convention held during the Labor Day weekend in Hollywood. Almost at once, it became a ritual to head to California from New York the night before the convention started to take in the Wednesday night show at the Silent Movie. Sometimes the late Larry Austin would be at the ticket window welcoming patrons, other times he would be in the lobby chatting ambily among the regulars and first timers. Then the show would begin. The organist would start playing "Pomp and Circumstance", while Larry, well-dressed and head held high, would descend down the aisle to introduce the picture. Sometimes I would see my fellow conventioneers in the audience for either Wednesday's or Monday's show, some of them "bookending" the convention with trips to the Silent Movie. I stopped going to Cinecon after it became too pricey for me around the same time Larry was murdered. I haven't been to California since, but hopefully the next time I go (I do have family out there), I plan to see what the Silent Movie is like today.

Here is a photo of the Silent Movie Theater.

Here is another photo of the Silent Movie Theater.

NPR's Morning Edition is right now broadcasting a feature about the Silent Movie theatre. If you don't catch it on the radio, try listening to it from this page.

Fairfax Avenue is changing rapidly. Some of the older businesses that catered to the local Jewish clientele are closing up and being replaced by trendy boutiques and galleries. It remains to be seen if the theater will survive the gentrification process.

This theater has been sold. The new owners will show silent films as well as more recent pictures. The theater will probably de-emphasize the silent film aspect. Whether the theater's name will change is unknown.

The Silent Movie Theatre celebrates it's 65th anniversary this month, February 2007. Showing more silent films on a more regular basis than the previous owner, it's still going strong. Silent movies are shown on Thursday nights and sometimes on Sundays. Tickets are available at the door for $10 cash. For a complete schedule, just call 323-655-2520. The venue is still available to be rented for Weddings, Birthdays, Private Dates, Concerts, and Independent Film Screenings. For more information, go to www.SilentMovieTheatre.com and click on EVENTS.

The Silent Movie Theatre celebrates it's 65th anniversary this month, February 2007. Showing more silent films on a more regular basis than the previous owner, it's still going strong. Silent movies are shown on Thursday nights and sometimes on Sundays. Tickets are available at the door for $10 cash. For a complete schedule, just call 323-655-2520. The venue is still available to be rented for Weddings, Birthdays, Private Dates, Concerts, and Independent Film Screenings. For more information, go to www.SilentMovieTheatre.com and click on EVENTS.

Here is an older photo from the LAPL:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028662.jpg

Here is an interesting article about the Silent Movie Theater:
http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL123.htm

This is a recent close-up view of the Silent Movie Theater.

Here is a recent night view.

This is an October 25, 2007 article about the Silent Movie Theater.

There was a lengthy article in the LA Weekly as well. A very ambitious program is planned.

Will the name of this theatre remain the same?

Here is an interior view.

I've never been inside this theater in the 23 years I've been in LA. I guess silent films are not my thing.

Silent films are not my favorite either. And I'm not very fond of movies with subtitles.

Here is a March 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2duc5y

This photo shows some of the owners since the 1940s:
http://tinyurl.com/5ays3y

Here is another article about the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/6jsxvs

Here's a brief video clip from YouTube showing Bob Mitchell playing the organ at the Silent Movie Theatre. Bob Mitchell's career as an organist began when, at the age of twelve, he was hired to play Christmas carols between movies during the holiday season at the Strand Theatre in Pasadena, California. Soon he was accompanying the movies themselves, and his temporary holiday engagement stretched into a four year tenure as the Strand's organist.

He has been playing the organ at the Silent Movie Theatre since 1990.

Updating my comments from Sep 28, 2005, this past week I went to the Silent Movie Theatre for the first time since Larry Austin's sad demise. The ticket taker, soda seller, and rah-rah girl for the evening was a young lady named Mo, who bears a striking resemblence to Natalie Portman (and yes, she tells me she gets that all the time). The people who own the theatre now, called the Cinefamily, run it as a sort of mix of the old with a dash of Melrose chic. The silents are now shown only on Wednesdays, but are hewed to a monthly theme. But best of all, Bob Mitchell, who must be close to 100, God bless him, still plays the organ at the theatre now and then. And shame on you ken mc and Lost Memory for your cavalier attitudes on silent movies. Without them, we wouldn't have the movies as we know them today!

I don't denigrate the importance of silent movies. I just don't like watching them.

If you enjoy silent movies, good for you. I don't enjoy watching them. And I don't feel any shame for expressing my opinion.

My apologies, gents. But how did you two find out so fast? I've looked everywhere for a "Inform me when others mention my name" option on this site!

when the theatre is listed as part of your "favorites" list, an email automatically goes to you.

A photo I took last week of the Silent Movie Theatre can be seen here. Too bad part of the lighting was burnt out.

Wow what a great place. Im hope I get to see it sometime. Great pics as usual Lost Memory.

This was once a fairly classy joint...it's sad to see how the current management has let it go to seed. It's dirty, needs a repainting, the neon sign is broken - as if no one cares. Their schedule is overloaded with artsy obscurities that seem to be programmed mostly for hipster approval - forget entertainment. It's as if the powers that be are ashamed of the theater's history. Well, at least they'll throw you a free beer!

LA Times today notes passing of Bob Mitchell, long time organist who played at this theater and Strand in Pasadena, the latter in the 1920s. He was also organist at Dodger Stadium when it opened in 1962.

If you to the link in Joe Vogel's post from April 22, 2008 from YouTube. You can see a few clips of Bob Mitchell playing the organ at the Silent Movie Theatre.

RIP

There was an article in the Sunday LA Times about repertory cinema in LA. The name of theater is now Cinefamily. The website is www.cinefamily.org

Ken, that page says "CineFamily at the Silent Theatre." So it seems like a marketing thing and the name hasn't really changed.

OK, I guess the name stays the same. Easier to find it under Silent Theater anyway.

The Related Websites link still works and shows the same information as the link that you posted.