The Thomas Theatre opened its doors on November 12, 1936 with Barbara Stanwyck in “The Bride Walks Out” along with an unnamed cartoon and an MGM News Of The Day newsreel. For its first thirteen years of operation, the Thomas Theatre served as Kingfisher’s first-run theater until the launch of the 89er Theatre on the former site of the Temple Theatre on September 27, 1949. Since the 89er’s launch, both theaters began to share an equal amount of first-run features but this didn’t last long.
Due to the popularity of the 89er Theatre, the Thomas Theatre tried again by renaming the theater the Marcy Theatre in June 1950. The Marcy retaining only a minimum of first-run films such as Walt Disney’s “Treasure Island” and a few then-latest Abbott and Costello films, but this was an ultimate failure. The 89er Theatre became the only first-run movie theater in Kingfisher, which forced the Marcy Theatre to downgrade to an almost all-B-film theater until closing in March 1951.
The Paramount-Publix chain opened the Arcadia Theatre on October 10, 1930 with Charles Delaney in “The Lonesome Trail” and Rin Tin Tin The Wonder Dog in Chapter 1 of “The Lone Defender”.
The Billings Theatre was first constructed in April 1920 with an estimate $125,000 under the direction of Walt Billings, and opened its doors on February 22, 1921 with Agnes Ayres in “Forbidden Fruit” with no extras. It was renamed the Criterion Theatre on March 31, 1922.
After a short remodel, the theater reopened as the Chief Theatre on May 21, 1940 with Joan Blondell in “2 Girls From Broadway” along with a travelogue short on New Hampshire and a March Of Time reel on the mounting war fever on the Philippines.
The 416-seat Rita Theatre opened its doors on Christmas Day 1933 with Lew Cody in “By Appointment Only” along with an unnamed comedy, unnamed musical, and an unnamed cartoon. It was renamed the Rivoli Theatre on February 7, 1937, and closed in 1940.
The Miller Theatre opened its doors on May 27, 1947 with Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” with no extras. It was first owned by Maurice DeFord and managed by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. M.H. Miller.
The Miller originally housed 960 seats when it opened (with 780 seats in the orchestra pit and 180 seats in the balcony) as well as Western Electric’s “Voice Of The Theatre” sound system.
The Arbuckle Drive-In opened its gates on September 18, 1952 with Joseph Cotton in “Untamed Frontier” and Tom Ewell in “Finders Keepers” with no extras. The Arbuckle name came from a theater naming contest led by manager Walter T. Kerr. The second and third place names went with “77” and “Moonlite”.
The Liberty Theater was tripled in 1979 and was renamed Liberty Triplex. Unfortunately I cannot find any information about the theater being a quad. In January 1995, one of the three auditoriums closed and the theater was reverted as a twin until closing for the final time in 1996.
On September 29, 1994, the Liberty became headlines following a shooting that took place inside Screen 1. Nobody was hit with gunfire nor injured.
The Skytrain Theatre was first owned by Lewis Burton with an estimate of $95,000, and opened its doors on November 3, 1944 with Jack Carson in “Make Your Own Bed” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
The State Theatre opened its doors on April 14, 1939 with George Brent in “Wings Of The Navy” along with an unnamed cartoon.
The fire on September 9, 1950 not just destroyed the State Theatre but it also destroyed the neighboring Whittaker Grocery Store causing an estimate $50,000 in damages (with $15,000 each for the theater and the store). The fire was caused by the ignition of a barrel filled with roofing tar, in which John Rychlee and his son were painting the roof on the building being occupied by the grocery store. According to John, he replied that a scrap of blazing paper from a trash fire in the rear of the store was to blame for the fire. Fire departments from as far as Shawnee and Oklahoma City were able to fight the blaze.
The State Theatre reopened on January 16, 1951 with James Stewart in “The Jackpot” (unknown if extras added). It was still operating as a movie theater as late as late-1962 but I cannot find any advertisements from 1963 and beyond, meaning that it either closed as a movie house in late-1962 or may’ve continued without advertising.
The actual opening date is August 17, 1937 with Kenny Baker in “Mr. Dodd Takes The Air” along with the Ina Ray Hutton short “Swing, Hutton, Swing”, the Charlie McCarthy and Edger Bergen short “Double Talk”, and the Merrie Melodies cartoon “Sweet Sioux”.
The December 11, 1944 explosion and fire happened exactly 30 minutes after its last show, “Irish Eyes Are Smiling”, have ended at 11:45 PM, with an estimate cost of $75,000 in damages. The entirety of the fire was caused by a gas furnace located in the rear of the building. The manager, Tom Kirkham, also reported that the fire lost all of their furniture from inside his office, as well as damage being reported at the neighboring Howard Hands Auto Parts store. Although the theater was completely burned down, the projection booth was still standing with all of its projection and film being attached. The fire forced the Tower’s movie schedule to move to the Midwest Theatre.
The Tower Theatre reopened on June 14, 1946 with Barbara Stanwyck in “The Bride Wore Boots” along with an unnamed cartoon, a unnamed musical short, and a sportsreel. The Tower Theatre was still open in 1965.
The Liberty Theatre began running movies in April 1923 after an extensive remodel, which also includes original installations of the Gardiner Velvet & Gold Fiber Screen that was also used in many theaters in New York City at the time.
The Thomas Theatre opened its doors on November 12, 1936 with Barbara Stanwyck in “The Bride Walks Out” along with an unnamed cartoon and an MGM News Of The Day newsreel. For its first thirteen years of operation, the Thomas Theatre served as Kingfisher’s first-run theater until the launch of the 89er Theatre on the former site of the Temple Theatre on September 27, 1949. Since the 89er’s launch, both theaters began to share an equal amount of first-run features but this didn’t last long.
Due to the popularity of the 89er Theatre, the Thomas Theatre tried again by renaming the theater the Marcy Theatre in June 1950. The Marcy retaining only a minimum of first-run films such as Walt Disney’s “Treasure Island” and a few then-latest Abbott and Costello films, but this was an ultimate failure. The 89er Theatre became the only first-run movie theater in Kingfisher, which forced the Marcy Theatre to downgrade to an almost all-B-film theater until closing in March 1951.
The State Theatre opened on December 2, 1936 with Irene Dunne in “Show Boat” (unknown if any extras added), and closed on April 26, 1941.
The Ann Theatre opened on August 8, 1934 with Joe E. Brown in “Circus Clown” (unknown if any extras added). The Ann Theatre closed in early-1953.
The actual opening date is February 23, 1927 with Antonio Moreno in “The Temptress” along with an unnamed Aesop’s Fables and Pathe News.
The Paramount-Publix chain opened the Arcadia Theatre on October 10, 1930 with Charles Delaney in “The Lonesome Trail” and Rin Tin Tin The Wonder Dog in Chapter 1 of “The Lone Defender”.
The Billings Theatre was first constructed in April 1920 with an estimate $125,000 under the direction of Walt Billings, and opened its doors on February 22, 1921 with Agnes Ayres in “Forbidden Fruit” with no extras. It was renamed the Criterion Theatre on March 31, 1922.
After a short remodel, the theater reopened as the Chief Theatre on May 21, 1940 with Joan Blondell in “2 Girls From Broadway” along with a travelogue short on New Hampshire and a March Of Time reel on the mounting war fever on the Philippines.
Reopened as Esquire Theatre on December 22, 1950 with Patricia Neal in “Three Secrets” with no extras.
The 416-seat Rita Theatre opened its doors on Christmas Day 1933 with Lew Cody in “By Appointment Only” along with an unnamed comedy, unnamed musical, and an unnamed cartoon. It was renamed the Rivoli Theatre on February 7, 1937, and closed in 1940.
Renamed Thompson Theatre on February 14, 1940.
The Miller Theatre opened its doors on May 27, 1947 with Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” with no extras. It was first owned by Maurice DeFord and managed by the husband-and-wife team of Mr. and Mrs. M.H. Miller.
The Miller originally housed 960 seats when it opened (with 780 seats in the orchestra pit and 180 seats in the balcony) as well as Western Electric’s “Voice Of The Theatre” sound system.
The Caddo Drive-In opened its gates on June 22, 1951, and was first owned by Shirl Butler.
Opened with Ray Milland in “California” (unknown if extras added).
Opened on April 30, 1997.
Closed on November 29, 1981 with Walt Disney’s “Alice In Wonderland” and Walt Disney’s “Swiss Family Robinson”.
Closed on January 5, 2003.
The Arbuckle Drive-In opened its gates on September 18, 1952 with Joseph Cotton in “Untamed Frontier” and Tom Ewell in “Finders Keepers” with no extras. The Arbuckle name came from a theater naming contest led by manager Walter T. Kerr. The second and third place names went with “77” and “Moonlite”.
The Sequoyah Theatre had been closed since the early-2010s. It was already closed by 2013.
The 600-seat Valley Theatre opened its doors on November 28, 1950 with June Haver in “I’ll Get By” with no extras, and was first owned by Homer Payne.
Opened with Rod Cameron in “The Plunderers” along with two unnamed cartoons as well as a fireworks display after the show.
Closed as a RKO movie theater on October 31, 1979 with “Halloween” and “Coma”.
The Liberty Theater was tripled in 1979 and was renamed Liberty Triplex. Unfortunately I cannot find any information about the theater being a quad. In January 1995, one of the three auditoriums closed and the theater was reverted as a twin until closing for the final time in 1996.
The Skytrain Theatre was first owned by Lewis Burton with an estimate of $95,000, and opened its doors on November 3, 1944 with Jack Carson in “Make Your Own Bed” along with an unnamed cartoon and a newsreel.
The State Theatre opened its doors on April 14, 1939 with George Brent in “Wings Of The Navy” along with an unnamed cartoon.
The fire on September 9, 1950 not just destroyed the State Theatre but it also destroyed the neighboring Whittaker Grocery Store causing an estimate $50,000 in damages (with $15,000 each for the theater and the store). The fire was caused by the ignition of a barrel filled with roofing tar, in which John Rychlee and his son were painting the roof on the building being occupied by the grocery store. According to John, he replied that a scrap of blazing paper from a trash fire in the rear of the store was to blame for the fire. Fire departments from as far as Shawnee and Oklahoma City were able to fight the blaze.
The State Theatre reopened on January 16, 1951 with James Stewart in “The Jackpot” (unknown if extras added). It was still operating as a movie theater as late as late-1962 but I cannot find any advertisements from 1963 and beyond, meaning that it either closed as a movie house in late-1962 or may’ve continued without advertising.
The actual opening date is August 17, 1937 with Kenny Baker in “Mr. Dodd Takes The Air” along with the Ina Ray Hutton short “Swing, Hutton, Swing”, the Charlie McCarthy and Edger Bergen short “Double Talk”, and the Merrie Melodies cartoon “Sweet Sioux”.
The December 11, 1944 explosion and fire happened exactly 30 minutes after its last show, “Irish Eyes Are Smiling”, have ended at 11:45 PM, with an estimate cost of $75,000 in damages. The entirety of the fire was caused by a gas furnace located in the rear of the building. The manager, Tom Kirkham, also reported that the fire lost all of their furniture from inside his office, as well as damage being reported at the neighboring Howard Hands Auto Parts store. Although the theater was completely burned down, the projection booth was still standing with all of its projection and film being attached. The fire forced the Tower’s movie schedule to move to the Midwest Theatre.
The Tower Theatre reopened on June 14, 1946 with Barbara Stanwyck in “The Bride Wore Boots” along with an unnamed cartoon, a unnamed musical short, and a sportsreel. The Tower Theatre was still open in 1965.
The Liberty Theatre began running movies in April 1923 after an extensive remodel, which also includes original installations of the Gardiner Velvet & Gold Fiber Screen that was also used in many theaters in New York City at the time.