South County Cinema

South County Cinema. I worked there from 8/84 to 8/87 (showing when I started: "Revenge Of The Nerds" and "Body Double").

I grew up in that neighborhood, and used to go to movies there all the time (first one I remember- "The Million Dollar Duck").

South County Cinema was originally a one-screener, but in the late 70s was divided into 2 screens.

Oddly enough, General Cinemas had another theater that was 100% identical in design- Northland Cinema, in North St. Louis County.

As late as 1985 the theater was still drawing pretty big crowds. Around that time, Wehrenberg opened a new multi-screen complex just a few miles down Lemay Ferry Rd., which began to sap audience from South County Cinema.

Finally, in 1987, General Cinemas decided to open an 8 screen theater across the street, the "Lindbergh 8". The new cinema did poor business for a few years, before becoming a "bargain house" with 2 dollar tickets and second run shows. The South County Cinema closed in 1988.

The management, from 1984 on:

1983-1985: Maggie Wild (assistant managers Greg Aubuchon, Jeff Ziele) 1985-1987: Dan McCann (assistant managers Jeff Ziele, Dennis Jauer, Doug Clemons) 1987: Dave McCann (Dan's brother) (assistant managers Doug Clemons, Chris Hogan) 1987-1988: Dennis Barlow (assistant manager Dave Toole)

On a personal note, I gotta say, I was real sad to see the South County Cinema close. I know it was just an ugly, generic box, but I grew up going to the movies there, and had a lot of fun working there.

I love this web site!

The South County (or CINEMA South County as the generic sign was supposed to read) CINEMA was one of a series of such cinemas designed by Maurice D. Sornick of Massapequa Park, NY in the early '60s. The others known were the BIG TOWN CINEMA, Mesquite Texas, the CINEMA WESTLANE (which ended its days as the SOUTHTOWN 5&6) in West Allis (Milwaukee), Wis., and the NORTHLAND CINEMA, Jennings, MO., as mentioned above. A unique item of decor ties all these together aside from their structural duplication: the use of the then new abstract plastic grillework called "Sculpta-Grille", a design by sculptor Richard Harvey, of the Harvey Design Workshop, Lynbrook, LI, NY. The pattern of the 40-ft. wide by 10-ft high wall of grillework on the lobby mezzanine was called "#C-10 Contemporary" and resembled nothing so much as "dinosaur bones" as they were called in the Milwaukee area CINEMA. Further information may be had about such grillework from the Theatre Historical Society of America (www.HistoricTheatres.org), in Elmhurst, ILL.

The South County Cinema was demolished to make way for a new Bank on it's location.

I'm looking for employees who worked at Sunset Hills Cinema in the mid-1980s. Doug Clemons was the chief of staff before he went to South County Cinema. I worked there from about 1984 to 1986.

I have many great memories from the 70's and 80's regarding this theatre. I worked in the mall right behind the cinema (at Record Bar now long gone as well) and spent alot of my childhood / teen years there seeing movies with family, friends and dates. I remember countless Disney re-releases, For Your Eyes Only, skipped out of school early to catch Return of the Jedi on opening day with my friend Kevin... I also fondly remember a re-vival showing of House Of Wax in 3D starring Vincent Price. Not all my memories revolve around the movies though. I remember they always had great video games in the lobby too, I played Sinistar there for the first time. Spent many hours in the parking lot one night using their pay phone after my friend Bob locked his keys in his car. Stuff like that didn't seem so important back in the day, but just seeing the facade of the cinema again and the big square lettering on the sign really takes me back. It's a shame it's gone now.

During the run of "The Million Dollar Duck", someone climbed up onto the Lindbergh Blvd pylon sign one night, removed an "F" from another title, and used it to replace the "D" in the last word. It had a lot of passing motorists laughing the next morning.

We had the same Million Dollar Duck story at the Westgate Cinema City in Cleveland - and whoever did it also broke open the timer box on the pylon and lit it up. The local police called the manager and made him come there to change the sign at 4 in the morning...

The bank has been there forever. We had to walk a whole twenty feet from the front doors of the theatre to drop the deposits in the night drop. The restaurant (macaroni grill, if I remember correctly from my last drive past) is actually on the site where the theatre stood.

I remember this place from the 60's. Saw Raquel Welch in 'One Million Years BC' and Jane Fonda's striptease in 'Barbarella'. Great stuff when you were 15 or 16.

Hi GCC alumni. I worked at the South County Cinema for 1 1/2 years ('86-'87). We could fill a theatre back then if we had a decent flick. The projectionists at that time were Doward Dawson and Joe Chilton. One of my favorite memories from those days were the South County vs Sunset Hills software games.

My first memory of this cinema was when I was about 7 years old. My mother took my brother and me to see a Planet of the Apes movie. My last memory was walking around the parking lot after the theatre was demolished. I picked up a piece of the rubble and I still have it :-)

I have another nice souvenir from that Cinema- one day while I was working there, I found an original "Grand Opening" brochure for the Cinema.

Hello all. I worked at South County Cinema from 04/83 to 08/87. The two movies there when I started were "Spring Break" and "Max Dugan Returns". I was hired for the rush expected with the opening of "Return of the Jedi". Many applied for a job there at this time, and I had the luck of knowing someone who worked there who put in a good word for me. I loved working there and will never forget the black bowtie and blue jacket I had to wear. Sometimes the theater was busy and bustling with movie-goers, and sometimes it was just dead. I made many friends there and coached our theater's softball team. It was just for fun and we only played pick-up games with teams from surrounding theaters. I worked for Maggie Wild and Dan McCann. If anyone reading this worked with me there at any time and remembers me, please either post here or drop me an e-mail at jeff66aug@hotmail.com I love to reminisce about my theater days - they were great! Live on Lotta Lemon... ---Jeff Cassell

Lotta Lemon. Softball games. Denise's red VW convertible. Dan McCann's undeniable physical resemblance to Hagar the Horrible. Doward sleeping on a cot in the projection room. Those god-awful Bissell carpet sweepers. When Doug made me go with him to a party at Buffy From Sunset Hills's house and when we got there with a trunk full of booze there were 3 guys sitting around watching TV. Those parties at the old 66 Drive In on Watson road. The time Maggie and Greg didn't show up to play soccer at 11pm at the old Soccerhaus, so 3 employees who will remain nameless broke into the theater and called them from the pay phone in the lobby. When Ron Watermon got in trouble for telling Roxanne's little brother he was the manager.

Memories... Lotta Lemon flavored Memories... of the way it were...

Dave's Omni, Roxanne's sweet-natured personality, blue jackets that were never washed, sweatin' it out in the popcorn room, cleaning seat-backs, 1985 4-ever, one day we'll use that ticket box in the vestibule!, Mike Batey Memorial Field, Rob the super-softball-sub from Sunset Hills, hmmmm what's in the damaged candy box?, "please exit to your left" - "but sir I have to use the bathroom!".

I once knew a guy who could recite the last few lines of "Revenge of the Nerds" verbatim on demand. Glad to know he's still around. Rickoshea, I have made copies of a couple of DVD's for you that contain priceless footage of cinema softball games played at Love and Stacy Parks circa 1985, as well as a get-together at Roxanne's and Objects softball at Forest Park featuring Doward Dawson in bright yellow shorts and matching baseball jersey. Contact me at jeff66aug@charter.net and I will get them to you somehow.

Lotta Lemon Classic- check your e-mail!

Theatre opened November 23, 1966 (the same day as the Northland) with "The Liquidator."

When plans were announced to built the theatre in 1964, the architect listed was Maurice Sornik. However, when the theatre was under construction the architect mentioned was Kenneth Balk.

Initial seating capacity (as a single screen venue) was 1000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQQzrYr3nuI

Why is there a Texaco sign? Was there one behind it? I thought it was right along the edge of Lemay Ferry?

Did this theater close in 1987? When exactly did this close? Anyone know what the last movies were that were shown?

Theatre division into 2-screens occurred in late 1976.

Looks close to the one we had here in New Jersey, the Menlo Park. Twinned in Sept 1976, it too did great business up till about 1989. Then the mall across the street was being renovated and a 12 screen Cineplex Odeon put us out of business. Ours was demolished in early 1992 for a Macoroni Grill. Ahh, those old GCC twins. They were the best.

Interesting, movie534, that your theatre was replaced by a Macaroni Grill. Guess what is on the site of the South County...a Macaroni Grill! Leads one to wonder if GCC was in the restaurant business along with everything else. If the restaurant serves Pepsi, and not Coke, there might be a connection.

General Cinema sold the Pepsi operations long before they went bankrupt. The proceeds of the Pepsi sale is what they used to buy Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. They had been in the restaurant business back in the 60s, owning Richards Drive-In, Peter Pan Snack Shops and Amy Joy Donut shops (Amy Joy is Richard A. Smith's daughter). They also had the food operations in the various bowling alleys that they owned. Today, all they (the Smith family) are involved in is the Nieman Marcus-Bergdorf Goodman stores and a small asset management firm.

Correction: They are no longer involved with the Neiman Marcus Group.

Anybody from circa 1967-1980. Good times were had by all!
craig111@hotmail.com

There is a Bank on the site of the old South County Cinema, the Macaroni Grill is east of the Bank closer to Lemay Ferry.

The bank is where it always was.Used to make deposits from cinema.Macaroni grill is where the cinema was.

I opened this theatre in 1966. Wilton J Colonna was the Manager and Laurabel Finley was the Assistant. Colonna came from the Manchester Drive-In and Laurabel was from the Airway Drive-in and Manchester.
Actual seat count was closer to 909.
This was General Cinema unit #509.
Some of the original guys were Dan Schuhwerk, Tom Hubbard, Gary Moll, Joe Voyles. The gals with the sweets were Andrea Jo Frenz, Connie Holzum, Pat Holzum, Linda Weismiller, Bonnie Schaefer, Vickie D'Alessandro, Janet Johannes. I will strain my brain and come up with another 25 early employees.
South County Bank opened in 1963 on the site of the USBank, right next door.
The Texaco station was behind the theatre on top of the hill, later a donut shop and an optical shop, and a McDonald's was built up there.
I worked there 1966 to 1969, with a break of 5 months in there.
-gary

After a little brain strain, I have come up with these additional employees from the early years: Mike Vujnich, Mike "Mouse" Montana, Ron Hoffman, Linda Bridges, Lynn Kohl, Rose Weaver and daughter Dawn Weaver, Mike Wagner, Gloria Overturf, Lynn Snitzer, Laurie Rolfes, Sherry Schuhwerk, Christa Moll, Walter Appelbaum, Carol Hoppe. themayor23@yahoo.com

I will concede to the bank but the theatre was not where the Macaroni Gril is now. The theatre was down the drive from Lemay Ferry not on the corner where Macaroni is.

I believe everyone except Chuck1231. He's wrong on every post he's made about every single theater. Chuck, please go through your old posts and edit them. Every user has pointed out to the fact that you're wrong about everything

I have been reminded that Terri Schwartz was working at South County during the Funny Girl run.
Chuck1231: If you call the USBank at South County and ask to speak with Walter Schmittgens, he can confirm the exact location of the Cinema in relation to the bank. He has worked at that location since South County Bank opened in November 1963 and knows the lay of the land.

When the South County Cinema was a wonderful one screen showplace in 1975 it was one of the lucky places to play "Jaws" that summer to packed houses. I recall the shark teeth on the marquee and the "Jaws" wording in between - wish someone would post a picture!

Sensurround was introduced in St. Louis at the South County for "Earthquake" in 1974 and it was so loud the first weekend that the Exit lights blinked which made several patrons understandably nervous. The Sensurround gadget took out the last two rows of seats on the left and right sides.

In 1977 when the South County was split in two, the theatre lost its simple lustre and was no longer the fun place it had been. When Sensurround returned in 1977 for "Rollercoaster" the patrons in the unfortunate other part of the theatre that was seeing "The Rescuers" got a full blast of Sensurround whenever the rumble scenes of "Rollercoaster" would take place.

When it was a single screen place, the screen itself had a magical blue glow in between shows that was Perfect for "Jaws" and other films.

"The Andromeda Strain" in 1971 and "Midway" in Sensurround in 1976 were two memorable attractions at the South County.

The first weekend of "Jaws" the crowds went completely around the South County theatre. The modern blockbuster film phenomenon was born. "Jaws" played at the South County from June all the way through September of 1975.

The single screen South County Cinema was, in its own way, a St. Louis theatre paradise.