Comments from dallasmovietheaters

Showing 3,076 - 3,100 of 5,571 comments

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about UA DeVargas Mall Cinema 6 on Mar 18, 2021 at 7:11 am

Arguably, this was the most successful of all of the American Automated Theatres Inc. Circuit (AATI) locations. J. Cooper Burks out of Oklahoma City identified Ralph Lindell as the franchisee late in 1973. The theatre launched February 16, 1974 as The Movies! 1 & 2 - De Vargas Center Mall. New operators took on the location and in June of 1980 it lost its exclamation mark as the more sedate, Movies Twin - DeVargas Mall. The theatre closed at the end of a ten-year leasing agreement.

The theatre relaunched as Movies. Commonwealth ran the theatre as the Movies Twin and then the De Vargas Twin before selling out to United Artists. The theatre closed on January 10, 1992 for a major remodel as UA was shuttering twin-screen locations in favor of 6-screen and 8-screen multiplexes. The theater re-emerged on May 22, 1992 as the UA De Vargas 6. UA closed at the end of a 15-year lease opt out on January 22, 2017. At 44 years of operation, this was the longest-running of any of the AATI venues.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Showplace on Mar 18, 2021 at 6:47 am

Sorry to be five years late in response, but this wasn’t a Jerry Lewis Cinema. Not in concept and not when in business - the company, Network Cinema Corporation, was already out of business. It was The Movies! - Brookhollow as stated above by American Automated Theatres Inc. Circuit by J. Cooper Burks out of Oklahoma City and franchisee was Major Walt Mergenhagen.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Sunset Cinemas on Mar 18, 2021 at 6:16 am

The Sunset Plaza was a $1 million retail strip built theatre-less in 1959 and opening in 1960. In February of 1971, American Automated Theatres, Inc. announced its second location to be built at the Plaza. AATI was in the vein of Jerry Lewis Theatres and National General in putting classified ads that basically asked for a franchise fee in exchange for blueprints for a fully automated, one-button touch movie theater that would operate itself and watch the profits roll in.

Don E. and Carol Porter were the franchisees and launched the Movies! 1 & 2 June 30, 1971 with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “One More Train to Rob.” And it didn’t take long for both parties to be in court as on April 5, 1972, the two were engaged in a legal suit over the franchise contract. It was the first of many court dates for American Automated Theatres' venture and not its last in Salina. In June of 1972, the Porters were out at the Sunset Plaza and AATI took on the venture, itself.

On July 23, 1974, with AATI on the ropes, Dickinson Theaters took on the venue renaming it the Sunset Cinemas. AATI would be in court for allegedly not paying for radio advertisements to KINA radio. On January 14, 2000, Dickinson repositioned the theatre as a discount sub-run $1 ticket and concession house as a test run for the circuit. It was a failure and the theatre closed soon thereafter and offered for lease.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Radford Hills Cinema 3 on Mar 18, 2021 at 6:03 am

The Radford Hills Movies! was announced in 1974 as part of the American Automated Theatres Inc. circuit based in Oklahoma City. AATI offered one-button theatre operation blueprints for a franchise fee. But the theatre operator was oft-suied as was the case here where AATI was brought into two different suits, the first of which it lost in December of 1974 by default and the second of which was in 1976 at which time the Radord Hills Shopping Center figured out that there was no chance of a Movies!

Fast forward to August 5, 1977 and E&B Enterprises took over the project and launched the Radford Hills Cinema 3 in the shopping center of the same name. E&B’s Circuit had 35 theaters at the time it opened teaming with Cinema Southwest Inc. The 9,900 sq. ft. facility was built at a cost of $580,000 with each identical auditorium seating 300 and screen size of 14x28'. Each screen had its Optical Radiation Corp. Orcon II platter projection system and was automated.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Movies 1 & 2 on Mar 18, 2021 at 5:18 am

This was the first location for the circuit known as American Automated Theatres, Inc. It was known as The Movies! 1 & 2 - Altus Plaza.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about South Shields Mall Twin on Mar 18, 2021 at 4:02 am

Correction: American Automated Theatres opened the theater after Spectro decided against the quad-plex. (and technically, it’s original name was The Movies! and not Movies )

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Movies 1 & 2 on Mar 18, 2021 at 4:00 am

The City of Moore Shopping Center was a retail plaza that opened theatre-less in 1963. Joseph Cooper Burks of American Automated Theatres Inc. (AATI) announced the Moore The Movies! in 1971 as the fledgling circuit’s fourth location. Like the Jerry Lewis Circuit and National General Circuit, AATI would show family films in theaters that were placed in or often behind strip shopping centers. They were also pitched as “one button” operations that had a nickelodeon vibe. It opened on November 19, 1971 with free films, “A Man Called Horse” and “Tarzan’s Jungle Rebellion.”

AATI would go out of business not finishing its proposed Reding IV - which would have been the circuit’s first non-twin or single screen venture. Additionally, Burks would end up in other problems soon thereafter. But new operators took on the Moore The Movies! venue in March of 1975. The Movies! turned to discount, sub-run films in 1980 under manager Kerry Rogers. There was no more Moore’s The Movies! which closed on January 31, 1985 with “Pinocchio.”

And, by the way, the name of the theater was The Movies!

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Shepherd Twin Cinema on Mar 17, 2021 at 7:43 pm

The land of George T. Shepherd became home to Oklahoma City’s first enclosed shopping center announced in 1963 as Shepherd’s Plaza. The “L”-shaped mall had 725,000 square feet and attracted downtown stalwart J.C. Penney’s and Kerr’s leading to retailers leaving downtown and moving to suburban plazas. It opened theatre-less in September 1964. Announced on January 9 1966, the theater was operated by Earl Snyder and John Ashley. The Shepherd Twin opened on May 25, 1966 with Jason Robards in “A Thousand Clowns” & James Garner in “A Man Could Get Killed”. The theatres each seated 550 patrons for a total seat count of 1,100.

Marge Snyder owned the theatre after Earl’s death until selling it to Bill Warren’s American Entertainment (AE) in 1979. In 1982 Commonwealth acquired AE from Warren taking over the Shepherd Twin on June 5, 1981. United Artists acquired the theatre in 1989 from Commonwealth Theatres. UA closed the theatre on September 3, 1989 with a double feature of “Indiana Jones” and “Star Trek 5” and “Wired.” It also shuttered its Quail Plazam2, Reding 4, and French Market aging locations as it wanted to concentrate on 6- and 8-screen multiplexes instead of twins and aging quads.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Reding 4 Theatre on Mar 17, 2021 at 7:42 pm

Cooper Burks of American Automated Theatres Inc. (AATI) announced the Reding Movies IV as its first theater that didn’t have a single or twin screen set-up. The circuit had just 20 theaters in 1973 but announced that it would have 100 more in 1974, alone. But none of that really worked out and AATI stumbled failing to launch the four-screener.

Commonwealth Theatres picked up the project as the Reding 4 Theatre launching April 23, 1975 with 45 cent admission for films “Paper Moon,” “Neptune Factor,” “True Grit” and “When Legends Die.” The theatre had 4 identical 400-seat auditoriums for 1,600 total seats. United Artists acquired the theatre in 1989 from Commonwealth. UA closed the theatre on September 3, 1989 along with the Shepherd Twin, Quail Plaza, and French Market aging locations as it wanted to concentrate on 6- and 8-screen multiplexes instead of twins and aging quads.

The venue got one more shot as a sub-run discount house known as Dollar Movies 4 on January 4, 1990. It appears to have closed December 29, 1990 as many of the area’s discount theaters struggled in the video store age.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Park Terrace Theatre on Mar 17, 2021 at 7:00 pm

Heritage Theaters dropped the twin-screen Park Terrace on January 14, 1990 after showings of “Tango & Cash” and “Transylvania Twist” splitting with “All Dogs Go To Heaven.”

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Chieftain Theatre on Mar 17, 2021 at 4:02 pm

The former adult theatre turned to Hispanic films in 1985 known as the Chieftain Twin Theatre. It closed January 3, 1985. When the South Shields Mall was converted to an all outdoor plaza, the South Shields Twin was booted out of the mall. The operators found their new home here at the former at the former Chieftain Twin. The New Airline Twin launched on April 11, 1986, with “Rocky IV” and “Back to the Future (ad in photos) The theater’s last advertisement was on August 16, 1987 - perhaps its closing date. But it’s very likely that it returned to Hispanic screenings that were likely held there up to 1990 unadvertised in the local newspaper.

The theatre was converted for other uses which included a cabinet factory. And in the 2020s, the venue was used as a place of worship for the La Roca Community Church.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about South Shields Mall Twin on Mar 17, 2021 at 2:38 pm

Shields South Mall was announced in 1971 and Woolworth’s big box store, Woolco, would join Safeway Grocers in being there at the opening along with Furr’s Cafeteria. Spectro Theaters Circuit signed on in 1972 to add a four-screen theater to open at Christmas of 1972. Spectro was a subsidiary of U.S. Cinema Corporation which had the MacArthur Park and Northpark quads.

When the mall opened, retailers randomly switched between calling the plaza, South Shields Mall and Shields South Mall. Behind schedule, Spectro’s The Movies! turned out to be a twin-screen venue inside the mall. The theatre definitely opened there on October 19, 1973 as The Movies! and it preferred the South Shields variant. So sometimes it was referred to as The Movies! I & II South Shields to distinguish it from Moore’s The Movies!

The Movies! launched with Roger Moore as James Bond in “Live and Let Die” and the Oklahoma City shot feature “30 Dangerous Seconds” starring Robert Lansing. The theatre was not a success but was the Mall would not let it live and then die. Instead, it found a new operator which rebranded as the South Shields Mall Twin launching on November 9, 1979 as a sub-run discount house.

The multiplex, especially 6- and 8-screen venues were in vogue and mini-neighborhood enclosed malls were passé by the mid-1980s with regional and larger malls decimating the aging centers and multiplexes hurting twin-screeners. With 10-year leases coming due in 1982/3, a number of Shields Mall retailers in the inner part of the mall left and the original Woolco began its going out of business sale in November of 1982 closing in 1983 as the Shields Mall reached greyfield status. The inner stores were uprooted when the “Mall” concept finally failed and BSW Architects of Tulsa took on what would be a $1 million renovation that took the retail location formerly known as South Shields Mall to totally outdoor Shields Plaza.

BSW’s designs would uproot the twin-screen theatre and everyone else in the interior section of the plaza. When the movie operator left and found its new home at the New Airline Twin launching on April 11, 1986, certainly the days of movie exhibition were over at the Shields shopping complex. But BSW also didn’t let the theatre live and let die. Instead, it gave a spot to a low-cost $400,000 8-plex replacement that would launch as the Super Saver South Shields 8 which ran from February 6, 1987 to MI cinemas operation in 1999 to closure on May 2, 2000.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about South Shields 8 on Mar 17, 2021 at 11:22 am

South Shields Mall was a minor shopping center that opened in 1972. It contained the South Shields 2 / The Movies in 1979. But the “Mall” concept failed and BSW Architects of Tulsa took on what would be a $1 million renovation that took the retail location from South Sheilds Mall to totally outdoor Shields Plaza. BSW’s designs uprooted the twin screen theatre and gave a spot to a low-cost $400,000 8-plex replacement that would launch as the Super Saver South Shields 8.

The discount sub-run house was operated by Super Saver Cinemas along with the Lakeshore Mall. Super Saver proclaimed them as “Oklahoma’s Most Luxurious Theaters.” Divergent opinions were easy to find but they were certainly the most luxurious theaters located in the Shields Plaza and Lakeshore Mall. In 1999, MI Theatres, which operated the Northpark 7, added the Lakeshore Mall and Shields Plaza. They upped the discount moniker pledging not only $1.50 admission with $1 Tuesdays but also $1 concessions across the board. But by that time, the megaplexes including the AMC Quail Springs 24 and the Cinemark Tinseltown USA were destroying the aging multiplexes.

MI dropped the Lakeshore first on January 6, 2000. The Shields Plaza was unceremoniously shuttered on May 2, 2000.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about AMC Rivercenter 11 on Mar 17, 2021 at 6:15 am

Announced as the Rand Theaters Rivercenter Mall 9 in 1989, the project was one of the fledgling circuit’s most ambitious projects. The mall had launched with an IMAX theater in 1988. Dillards had purhcased the existing former Joske’s Department Store during the mall’s construction deciding to take just a portion of the future anchor. Tony Rand’s company took an upper portion for the multiplex.

But Rand was making national news for all of the wrong reasons that year and it was the Rand Nakoma 8 elsewhere in San Antonio that brought the circuit to an end with tales of shady business practices that landed him in jail. Fortunately, AMC stepped into the unfinished project and completed what would become a successful theater that continued into the 2020s with the circuit operating both the IMAX and the multi-screen theater.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Alamo Drafthouse San Jose on Mar 16, 2021 at 6:11 pm

Closed for year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater reopened on March 19, 2021.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Hi Vue Drive-In on Mar 15, 2021 at 6:29 am

This ozoner launched August 27, 1959 with “Some Like it Hot” in CinemaScope. Owned by Adrian Mueting, he held a name-the-theater contest won by Mary Kneifl who suggested “Hi-Vue.”

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Southpark Cinema Four on Mar 13, 2021 at 12:28 pm

Closed as a $1 discount, sub-run house on November24, 1988 with “Die Hard,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “Cocktail” and “Alien Nation.”

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Elmwood Plaza 8 on Mar 13, 2021 at 12:07 pm

The AMC Elmwood Plaza 8 launched in the multiplex era on April 13th, 1984 on a 20-year lease. It closed at the end of that lease on January 4, 2004. AMC cited megaplexes such as the 18-screen NCG Cinemas at Eastwood Towne Center as the key factor in the non-renewal. It was converted to the Zap Zone, a gaming center that included laser tag later in 2004. It was still operating in the 2020s.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Downtown Arts Theatre on Mar 13, 2021 at 6:00 am

On September 28, 1957 rebooted as the Palms Theatre. On October 12, 1961 rebooted as the Downtown Art Theatre and later the Downtown Arts Theatre. Closed in 1970 as part of an urban renewal project.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Louisville Theatre on Mar 13, 2021 at 3:38 am

Update - Also known as the Louisville Picture Theatre in the 1930s

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Majestic Theatre on Mar 11, 2021 at 8:16 am

Lembach and Wiese luanched the Majestic Theatre on November 9, 1915 with a live play.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Motor Movie Drive-In on Mar 11, 2021 at 8:13 am

Loton Todd announced the construction of the Motor Movie Drive-In Theatre in November of 1951. He, his wife, and daughters launched the Motor Movie on May 1, 1952 with Lew Ayres and Marilyn Maxwell in “New Mexico.”

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Ashton Theatre on Mar 6, 2021 at 10:26 am

In 1958, the former Ashton Theatre was converted to the office for the Bureau of Reclamation.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Marblehead Auditorium Theatre on Mar 4, 2021 at 4:52 am

Just a quick update. The Marblehead Auditorium Theatre discontinued movies after the February 15, 1931 silent film presentation of William Haines in “Way Out West” as it couldn’t afford to convert to sound. The venue was used for a handful of sporadic live events. But on October 10, 1936, ir re-emerged with a sound system playing talkies starting with Barbara Stanwyck in “A Message to Garcia” and Buster Keaton in “Grand Slam Opera.”

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters commented about Six Flags Cinema 1-5 on Mar 3, 2021 at 5:44 pm

Update: Demolished in 2017.