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Memories
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March 21, 2011
70mm in Rochester, NY?
I’m trying to research 70mm engagements in my hometown with the help of the info posted by Michael Coate and Bill Kallay on in70mm and From Script to DVD. Mike has also asked me to help with his Cinerama project and that info should be posted within a few weeks.
Mainly what I’m looking for is information on any possible 70mm engagements in the late 80s/early 90s, as the local newspapers stopped advertising sound systems (Dolby/stereo/70mm) in their film ads around 1989. Before then, most 70mm runs were prominently mentioned in the Democrat & Chronicle/Times-Union. (At least that’s what the microfilm says…)
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March 8, 2011
Memories of Cape May’s Beach Theatre linger even as demolition looms
CAPE MAY, NJ — As its demolition nears, residents look back at their beloved Beach Theatre.
Beach Theatre owner Frank Investments plans to demolish the theater to build condominiums. The proposal is bringing back childhood memories for area residents and visitors. Some memories date to the theater’s opening on June 29, 1950.
They are memories of movies played long ago, favorite candies at the concession stand, the Kiddie Land amusement park outside, the television room people crowded into when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and the big Christmas parties every year.
Read more in the Press of Atlantic City along with an additional article about its former owner William C. Hunt.
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March 4, 2011
Baltimore’s old movie theaters
Baltimore’s movie theaters were featured on WYPR (Baltimore’s NPR affiliate)on Feb. 15, 2011. The guests were theater historian and author Robert K. Headley and photographer/author Amy Davis, who is working on a photo book called “Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore’s Forgotten Movie Theaters.” Both the radio show and a 3-minute QuickTime slide show by Amy Davis can be found at this link. Scroll to program listed for Feb. 15, 1-2pm.
To hear the podcast on Baltimore Movie Theaters, click on the link above, then scroll down to the Feb. 15, 1-2pm archive. Click on the red letters, “play now.”
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February 9, 2011
Colonial Twin goes to the dogs!
POMPTON LAKES, NJ – The Colonial Twin proves to be a better animal shelter than a movie theater, when a lost dog shows up in the latest episode of the reality series, Colonial Twin Follies!!! Enjoy!
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February 8, 2011
Theater photos from Maryland Historical Society’s archive
Want to see gorgeous old photos of some of Baltimore’s memorable theaters? “Timeless Classics,” an article by Amy Davis in the winter 2011 issue of the Maryland Historical Society’s magazine are showcased in Maryland Life magazine. The article highlights the extensive collection of theater photographs in the Md. Historical Society’s H. Furlong Baldwin Library. The Auditorium, Valencia, Palace, Harlem and Centre theaters are featured.
Here’s the link.
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February 4, 2011
The Double Feature
CHICAGO, IL – I grew up in the shadow of the Rhodes–used to play softball in its parking lot, age 10-12. I recently made a video about it and put it on YouTube. Hope you like it.
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January 28, 2011
Meaning behind cinema names
Not quite news, but nowhere else to post.
Has anyone researched the derivation of what I (in my younger years) took to be perfectly ‘normal’ cinema names, yet are really quite strange?
Locally (in North Staffs) we had the Essoldo, Danilo, Gaumont, Odeon, Ritz, Roxy, Rio and probably a few more that I can’t recall.
My brief research reveals:
Essoldo – from Esther, Solomon & Dorothy Schenkman
Gaumont – from Leon Gaumont – French cinema entrepreneur
Odeon – small Greek amphitheatre
Ritz – Cezar Ritz of classy hotel fame.I can’t find anything relevant to the remainder
Thank you
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December 23, 2010
The fall of the Colonial Twin Theater is documented in Reality Series.
POMPTON LAKES, NJ – Episode 4, of the reality series Colonial Twin Follies depicts a theater in dire straights. A building in disrepair, a projector plagued with technical difficulties, disgruntled customers, not to mention the callous crew! Watch it all unfold, in an episode I thought my friends at Cinema Treasures would appreciate. Enjoy. And Happy Holidays to all!
(May you all paint your masterpiece in memories!) -
December 10, 2010
Ave Atque Vale: Let’s hear it for skilled projectionists as they pass into history
It is probably fair to say that most moviegoers never think too much about film projection (unless something goes wrong during a showing) or about the generations of the skilled technicians that have kept us entertained with little or no recognition. From the earliest days of the movies, getting the show on the screen used to be a craft that required skill and training and incredible adaptability, and in the days of nitrate film, the willingness to work in in a hazardous environment.
Two New York projectionists, Joe Rivierzo and Jose Ramos recently reflected, with anecdotes, on the decline of their profession in a recent fascinating article that appeared at Slate.com by Grady Hendrix. The piece traces the decline of the need for skilled projectionists as changes in technology and other factors are eliminating a position that was once was absolutely essential to a quality cinema experience.
“Digital will eliminate us completely,” Rivierzo says. “All you have to do is load it and play it, and a lot of this stuff can be done off-site. We have theaters now running with 35 percent of the house digital. Once they go over 51 percent running digital, and they run it that way for 90 consecutive days, they can eliminate the presence of a projectionist. Our only saving grace is they can’t manufacture these digital machines fast enough.”
You can read the whole article here in the Slate.
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November 8, 2010
Looking for a theater that is long gone…….
The first 10 years of my life, 39' to 49', I lived in the Almeda area of Houston, TX. and would frequent the Almeda Theater on Almeda and the Delman Theater on So. Main. But there was a 3rd theater in that same area that my brother & I would ride our bikes to. We liked going there because it specialized in films geared to kids. You know, the B westerns, Dog pictures, Tarzan, Bomba etc.. It always played double features and changed programs 3 or 4 times a week. We could spend the entire afternoon there. I think it closed in the early 50’s. I believe it was located in the Holman area but it wasn’t the Holman Theater which was located further toward UH.
Can anyone remember?