Loews Cheri
50 Dalton Street,
Boston,
MA
02115
50 Dalton Street,
Boston,
MA
02115
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 63 comments found
I saw Moulin Rouge in 2001. I think it may have been the last film shown there.
Correct. I think Cheri 1 had a Century JJ 35/70mm projector and Cheri 2 had a Norelco AAll 35/70, both with platters. Originally, they had pairs of each before automation. They ran many 70mm films. “Chitty Bang Bang”, “Sleeping Beauty”, dozens of others. Small screens and very sharp image.
I may be wrong but I do believe that 1 and maybe 2 of the Cheri’s were 70 mm equipped. They were a roadshow theatre at times.
ahhh….good times…lots of Berklee students passed through here. I worked there during the school year in the mid-90s. Interesting place. I can’t recall the manager I originally worked for before he was pushed out. From what I recall he was a long-time employee. Looong time and maybe knew someone high up in the chain? He had this thing about hiring young Asian boys. An abundance of them worked there along with a lot of Berklee students and mostly the odd student from somewhere else. Good guys, but it always seemed like an odd hiring swing. They were the big game in town even in the mid-90s as EVERYONE hated that POS Copley. And the biggest theater at the Cheri still was great for opening blockbusters. Lots of nooks and cranies in that place, particularly as theater 4 was set off upstairs with no concession stand or ticket booth. By the time I worked there miscellaneous rolling concessions boxes were left to gather dust in the hallway up there. It was a reasonably fun place to work though, until TOM – now I remember his name – was pushed out for a newer, younger and much cockier guy. They used to do lots of sneak previews and premiers there as well as the Piper-Heisdrick award each year. I remember specifically Harvey Keitel one year (who I only saw from a distance) and Vanessa Redgrave. I was working the door (or the ticket taker spot at the bottom of the stairs really) and she came down by herself, very graceful and unassuming. She was an extraordinarily lovely woman, even to the nutball who was hounding her with questions. Two great (scary) memories were walking in one day back from Spring Break immediately after a robbery occured – complete with gunshot – before the cops came, and having to change that marquee. Which was only accessible through basically a hole in the wall in the adjacent parking garage. After which you had to stand on a rickity ladder almost near the top to change the first movie. Scary as s**t especially when it was windy.
Good Stories from the old employees.
Following up on some of the previous comments about the opening of the Cheri. The first screen opened in February 1966 with “The Chase.” The second screen opened in November of the same year with “The Fortune Cookie.” The third screen (i.e., the smaller auditorium on the upper level with the separate box office) opened in July 1967 with “A Guide to the Married Man.” The source for this info is Variety (back issues are now available online).
I remember that the Cheri became a discount theatre (where one could get in for five dollars a screening), right before it closed down.
Interesting reading.
I worked at the Cheri with member J-Semp, who also made films, including a hilarious “Godzilla” movie. I started working there in April 1970 — about 6 weeks before my 16th birthday. The three films playing on my first day were “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”; “Fellini Satyricon”; and Visconti’s “The Damned” — my first X-rated movie. “Woodstock” opened there in August 1970, I think, and we had hippies sitting on the carpet waiting for each show; the film was 3 ½ hours long and sold out for a very long time. We had midnight shows and early morning shows (9 or 10 a.m.) — and pot smoke wafting through the auditorium at every show.
I have so many wonderful memories of working there — so many kids (high school & college) on the staff. We were a tight crowd and often went to Ken’s in Copley Square after work to get a bite to eat.
I don’t think I saw this in any of the postings: The signs for Theatres 1 & 2 hung from short lengths of chain, and we would switch the signs based on how big the crowds were, because one was larger than the other. The tickets for each film indicated the number of the theater, and to keep proper track of the grosses we’d have to switch the signs when we switched the movie.
Other memories: “Joe,” with Peter Boyle as a nasty, bigoted, hippie-hating, blue collar guy – it came out of nowhere and played for months — still one of the most shocking film experiences I ever had; “Summer of ‘42” — also played for months — audiences loved it — didn’t ring true for me; the dismal Christmas of 1970 when we showed “Where’s Poppa?” and “I Never Sang for My Father” in nearly empty houses (can’t remember what the third film was that Xmas). BTW “Fiddler on the Roof” was another roadshow that played while I was there. I left to work at the Saxon under manager Lenny Barrack (who had a bookie operation in his balcony-level office) and assistant manager Merrill Frank, who had been at the Cheri and moved to the Gary shortly after I got arrived at the Saxon. THere was a tunner behind the Saxon Coke machine tthat connected to the Gary. We would go help them during busy times (the engagements of “Bedknobs & Broomsticks” and “Cabaret” stand out in my mind); and Gary staff would come over and help us when we were busy (“Klute,” “Diary of a Mad Housewife,” and Streisand’s “On a Clear Day…”). We would go over to the Gary on breaks to waych the movies, and I remember “Fortune and Men’s Eyes,” a scary, violent, gay prison movie (even drag queen Michael Greer was frightening) that made me want to rethink being gay (although I couldn’t take my eyes off co-star Zooey Hall — beautiful man!).
The Saxon went through some hard times while I was there — some softcore stuff (“Kamasutra”) and B movies. But I loved the Saxon, and always dreamed of restoring it — which, thankfully, Emerson College has done. People who worked at the SAxon then will remember that in the second balcony (never used due to insufficient fire exits) had one giant speaker (8’ x 8' by my recollection) in the center of the seating that had been used only once for the thunder in the Noah’s Ark scene in John Huston’s “The Bible” — or so I was told. I later worked at the Pi Alley, but that’s another story. Ahh, the memories … All the theaters of my youth in Boston gone forever, but not forgotten.
Well, if you squint, you can sort of see the cinema. Signs about street level use to be the marquee with the listing of films and times. The small glass “house” to the left of the large building was the ticket booth in its final iteration. (You use to buy tickets inside down the stairs, and then wait in the lobby, but later USA Cinemas changed the flow by trying to keep large and rowdy crowds on the street, which Boston Police did not like and forced them to hire paid details.) The main entrance was next to the ticket booth, and the other entrances were exits from the theaters.
Nothing at this address (50 Dalton Street) resembles a cinema either in the interior or exterior. The building is currently leased to the Summer Shack, a restaurant and billiards hall which features a smashing Salmon burger.
I saw a number of movies at the Cheri. One thing I also remember about it was the fact that it was in kind of a secluded, isolated place.
Regarding that “fourth auditorium”—-sounds as if you are referring to one of the two original lower level auditoriums. The lower level auditorium on the right side was subdivided in 1989. The lower level auditorium on the left side, which I assume is that “fourth auditorium,” was never subdivided. The left wall of that auditorium was immediately adjacent to Scotia Street.
I’ve just read all the comments on this thread and am completely blanking out on where the ‘fourth’ auditorium of the Cheri was physically located. I remember the two (the result of the 1989 split?), located up those few stairs to the left of the concession stand, and the staircase leading to the upstairs auditorium (in the space the Summer Shack currently occupies), but I can’t recall where the fourth one was. (This is embarrassing, considering how many films I saw at the Cheri.) Can someone fill me in?
I worked for a local radio station in the early 00’s and went to a lot of sneak previews and premires here. Including the terrible movie “Whipped” and the not terrible movie “Cecil B. Demented”
Regarding EricH’s last post, you’re right, again, EricH! It’s weird to realize that my memory gets foggy when it comes to many of these films. “Cabaret” did indeed open at the Gary. I remember because I managed that theater for a time while it was playing there. But I also remember it playing in Cheri 2 for a while, too.
If I can’t remember the details about the films too well, at least I most vividly remember the people – i.e. the staff and customers.
My first time working at the Gary as a manager was for the film “Shaft”. I remember THAT vividly because a pregnant woman fainted at my feet and threw up on my new, shiny black shoes.
But THAT’S a story I should probably post on a section devoted to the Gary…
I saw many movies here in the mid 1990s, including invite-only sneak previews of Pulp Fiction, Interview with the Vampire, and Wyatt Earp. I saw Jurassic Park there in a sold-out opening weekend crowd. The main theater’s floor had a very gentle slope, which made sitting behind tall folks problematic. Today’s stadium seating not only makes for great sightlines, but I think it also minimizes overheard voices in the theater.
A quick clarification about the above reference to the “Cabaret” engagement in Boston. “Cabaret” opened at the Gary on a general admission basis in February 1972; it was not a roadshow. Although the Gary continued to operate for another 5 years or so, “Cabaret” was probably the last high profile film to play there exclusively.
Most, if not all, of the “roadshow” pictures started out as assigned seat and eventually became general admission in the same theater. “Oliver” was one of them.
After the musical “Oliver!” won the Academy Award for Best Picture (of 1968) in the spring of 1969, I made a point of going to see it at The Cheri. I guess it must have been one of the 70mm blow-up prints (since the original negative was 35mm), as it certainly looked nice on the screen. However, I do not remember getting an assigned seat at all. So wouldn’t that be just a general admission run by then? Or were the reserved-seat roadshow releases in 1969 just congregating people in certain general sections of the cinema according to price, such as everyone in the center orchestra paying the highest ticket price but grabbing whatever seats were available in that section? When we saw “The Sound of Music” at the Gary Theater in the summer of 1965, it was definitely with assigned reserved seats, like a live theatrical show. Any thoughts on this issue?
Sorry, EricH, for misunderstanding your posting.
I had completely forgotten that “Funny Lady” played there. My mistake.
There were many “roadshow” pictures that played at the Cheri Theater complex, largely due to the fact that it really was such a showplace (at the time) for the entire Sack Theater chain.
“Oliver” was one I remember. And I believe “Cabaret” was also.
“Funny Lady” came much later and it wasn’t as big a deal as when “Funny Girl” opened in all three theaters, so I had forgotten all about it.
Very interesting comments, J-Semp, and thanks for sharing.
A quick clarification to your posting when you mentioned my earlier remarks. I was referring to the simultaneous roadshow/general admission engagements of “Funny Lady” in 1975—-not “Funny Girl.” I recall seeing the sequel at the Cheri soon after the opening; the general admission engagement was in the smaller auditorium on the upper level and the roadshow run was in one of the two larger auditoriums on the lower level. I saw the general admission version (no intermission). Also, “How Lucky Can You Get” was in “Funny Lady” and not “Funny Girl.”
On the Loew’s State page there are many comments about a May 1968 concert by Judy Garland, which took place immediately before that theatre was demolished. This was a few months before you met her, since Funny Girl was released in September of that year. The Loew’s State (by then called the Back Bay Theatre) was just two blocks from the Cheri.
It’s interesting that you described her as looking ‘elderly’, as she would have been only 46 then. She died less than a year after you met her.
I came of age at the Cheri Theater complex and I have very fond, vivid memories of working there. I started working at the Cheri Theaters in 1968 as a ticket-taker. I was fifteen, and legally they shouldn’t have even hired me. I had lied about my age, but I turned sixteen a few weeks later. Over the next seven or eight years I worked there on and off, mostly during school summer vacation and weekends, eventually working my up to becoming a manager.
The Cheri Theater Complex was the first three-theater complex in Boston at that time. Part of the challenge of working there was crowd-control. The complex frequently hosted sellout crowds in all three theaters, especially on weekend nights. But when it had been designed, nobody had given any thought to where patrons would line up, so keeping all of those long, weaving lines in some semblance of order was a huge task. I remember many nights of standing outside, often in cold weather, shouting directions into a megaphone.
We had a very funny manager at one time named Rick Garcia. He had nicknamed himself “Theater Rick”, which was what we called him. One winter night, “Theater Rick” grabbed the megaphone out of my hands and started talking to an imaginary “suicide jumper” on top of the building across Dalton street, urging him not to jump. Rick basically did an entire comedy routine. People in line were totally mystified. I doubled over with laughter.
The Cheri complex was the flagship theater of Ben Sack’s cinemas at that time because it was the newest and prettiest, so our theaters got all of the big premieres, with lots of stars. One of the most memorable was the world premiere of “Alice’s Restaurant”. I worked as a ticket-taker at the door for Cheri 2 that night, which was where they screened the movie. I met Claire Bloom, Liza Minelli (in town shooting “Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon” directed by Otto Preminger), director Arthur Penn, producer Hillard Elkins (at that time Claire Bloom’s husband) and the cast of the film, including the real Alice (Brock) and Arlo Guthrie.
But nothing was bigger than the Boston premiere of “Funny Girl”. To correct the statement that ErikH made above, “Funny Girl” had its Boston premiere in all three Cheri Theaters, and all three theaters originally had it as a “roadshow” event, with reserved seating. It was reduced to a lower status much later in its run.
Also to correct 70MMLover’s statement above, “Funny Girl’s” intermission happened after the number “Don’t Rain on My Parade” – NOT after “How Lucky Can You Get.” I know this because I frequently worked as an usher, and we ushers used to sell juice drinks right inside the theater as soon as the curtain closed. So I saw that pre-intermission musical number about a zillion times.
One afternoon, late in “Funny Girl’s” run at the complex, when it was down to playing in only one theater (Cheri 2), an elderly, slight women and her male companion quietly sauntered out of the theater, through the spacious lobby, up the long stairway and out the door. Having been alerted by my co-worker, Eileen Riordan, to watch out for her, I can now lay claim to having been smiled at by the legendary Judy Garland, who had been escorted there by Garson Kanin (Garland frequently came to Boston for medical treatment back in those days).
Another celebrity whom I met in the same lobby at a different time was Miles Davis. I actually did gather up enough courage to talk to him. I had recently seen him perform in New York on a double bill with Laura Nyro.
By the way, to answer Ian M. Judge’s posted query above, the correct pronunciation of the word “Cheri” (at least as far as the staff was concerned) was “sheREE” with the accent on the “REE”.
So many memories, so little space.
If any of my fellow Cheri co-workers are reading this, shout out and let me know you’re here. If you knew me well enough, you can guess my real name by my handle.
My favorite experience at the Cheri was being one of only two people in the main theatre during the opening night of Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles – a sign, saddy, that the end was nigh. That said, hearing the firetrucks and traffic scream by on the street during the movies there was not exactly “endearing”.