Unicorn Theatre

The Unicorn was a tiny theater in the back of a bookstore. I know I went there at least twice as a kid. I remember seeing Monty Python’s “And Now for Something Completely Different” – this would have been around ‘76 or '77, I think.

Yeah I messed up I knew it was Rollerbogie when I read Rollerball may have had too many cocktails that night.

I can’t believe Tlsloews made that goof he was a theatre manager in those days.

Tlsloews, that is “ROLLERBOGIE” playing with Linda Blair. I thought i was losing my mind.Jimmy Cann was in ROLLERBALL with John Houseman.It had the bad release date as “JAWS” and played across the street at the Imperial. the Miller had “ROLLERBALL” and got the folks that couldn’t get a ticket to Bruce the Shark.

I am Guys. I usually buy instead of rent.

Zardoz was the speed of prevailing traffic at the time, hippy John Boorman, heady futuristic-yet-reactionary sf, and great English-style set design out of Ken Russell and back-to-the-Earth rhetoric. Would be a great double bill with the original Rollerball. Connery and Charlotte Rampling both half-naked, can’t be all bad!

I was about twenty-two when I checked “Zardoz” out during it’s first run and it may very well have been at the Unicorn or some other San Diego “art” theater. As I recall, it played off and on for at least a month…perhaps more “meaningful” and “insightful” as seen through my “college-haze”, but I did purchase DVD when it came out and there’s quite a decent commentary with John Boorman throughout the film. Granted, the “wiZARD of OZ” thing was pretty much a give-away from nearly the start and it’s not the best thing Sean Connery ever did, running around in his red diapers, cool looking boots and that long ponytail wig; but he was trying to break out his “Bond” mode. But ya gotta admit, the flying God-Head itself was rather cool along with those double sided Zardoz-masks…It’s worth a look. Great musical score and art direction.

When considering “Zardoz,” just remember the derivation of the name… wiZARD of OZ. If that kind of clever in your scifi wows you, well then you’ll probably like this ‘er, “film.”

…Actually, No. Not a bomb, really. “Zardoz” (1974 Irish-Made Science Fiction romp) was written and directed by John Boorman, an accomplished and highly thought of director. “Zardoz” has developed quite a cult following and it’s one of those films you either hate or love…I found it amusing in that sort of seventies over-blown way with some interesting ideas. While pretty confusing in parts it’s worth a look. Decent special effects for such a low budget film and how bad can any film be with a giant God-Head flying around to classical music and spewing weapons outta his mouth upon landing? I mean, come on. There’s a lot lot worse trash out there these days with countless infernal remakes (most of which are completely awful)! At least “Zardoz” was trying at a few creative ideas which is more than you can say for most films around today. As I said before, you were always be “entertained” at the Unicorn.

“ZARDOZ” Sean Connery. What a bomb.Played it a week and it was gone and I don’t think to drive-ins.We had doorman who stayed high on Grass.He saw “ZARDOZ” and it completely “Changed his Life”.Go figure. No Roger you weren’t going crazy.Played at {National Hills Theatre,on CT}.

I was introduced to Mithras by my mother when I was barely a teenager. Mom had offbeat tastes in all the arts, and the broad range of books I found there, nestled in their exotic home, made a fertile medium in which my own tastes were free to grow and change.

Later, as an older teen the Unicorn became a regular part of the circuit my friends and I adopted as our afterhours routine. I remember a period of years where the theatre ran a days long movie marathon around New Years. As those days passed we would soon find ourselves inhabiting an unending twilight of altered perception, fueled by the disregard for night and day, combined with the on again / off again hours of film, interspersed with periods away from the theatre to sharpen the experience with a dose of whatever the laboratory was serving that day. Heady.

Many films remembered as if through a veil, such as Far From the Madding Crowd, seen at what must have been 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, followed by Death in Venice. I also vividly remember the climax of a New Years eve showing of Bullitt, when immediately after having shot dead a security guard, the bad guy is caught between two sets of glass doors exiting the airport baggage claim. One set was blocked by the body of the dead guard, in front of the other was McQueen, pistol drawn. Exactly in the quiet moment between McQueen’s fatal gunshot to the bad guy, and the first bystander scream in the movie, the real life clock ticked over to midnight and the theatre erupted into shouts of “Happy New Year!” The timing was uncanny, and unlikely to have come about through sheer coincidence.

It’s all ancient history now, but lives on in the DNA of all of us who were lucky enough to have passed through those spaces then. Thanks for remembering. And a big thanks to Harold Leigh and Harold Darling for giving so much to us all.

For a few years I was a co-owner of the Unicorn Theatre. I had warm experiences with The Sign of the Sun Bookstore near San Diego State College and had a high regard for the way Harold Darling presented his business to the public,he was an artful, intelligent fellow and was the soul of the glory which became the Unicorn in La Jolla. Leigh, a deeply committed film projection enthusiast used to host film nights at his home near the college and this experience with Darling’s vision became the seed of the Unicorn. Early in its operation money became a bit tight and I had a bit of cash from an inheritance which allowed me to enter into a partnership with Darling. I eventually sold my share to Leigh. I too have indelible and fine memories of this place. I recall that while I was involved with it I shared Harold Darling’s intimate enthusiasm for the brilliant sport Jai Alai in Tijuana, eventually becoming an occasional amateur dilletante/player on weekends. I have no regrets but only charming bits of memory of my involvement and was proud to have been close to the magic of the Unicorn, though in fact my contribution was not of any but financial importance. The theatre has such compelling effects on those who have enjoyed it because the best parts of Leigh,Darling and Elizabeth were expressed in its operation and those parts were fine indeed.
Michael G. Kramer

My Father, Harold Darling, was the owner and programmer of the Unicorn Cinema and Mithras Bookstore. I have many fond memories of growing up in a movie theatre and of all the people there, particularly my godmother Elizabeth Rattisseau. Any questions, and/or memories, can be directed to me at Thanks.