Of the three theaters listed by judyh it appears the Admiral lasted the longest and the Murray went first. The Baltis closed second of the three for good on Sunday, May 23, 1954, with Katharine Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart in the 1951 John Huston film THE AFRICAN QUEEN, John Wayne & Randolph Scott in the 1942 film PITTSBURGH, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy in the 1941 film LOOK WHO’S LAUGHING. [Kansas City Star]
Informational advance story on the Plaza’s Sunday closing was in the Star’s Preview supplement, Friday, April 2, 1999, pp. 10, “It’s Curtains for the Plaza Theater.” (The article claimed 1500 seats.)
Closed by Dickinson for good on Sunday, April 4, 1999, with Clint Eastwood in TRUE CRIME, the cannibalism-centered film RAVENOUS, Rankin-Bass' animated version of THE KING AND I, and THE OTHER SISTER. [Kansas City Star]
After several days of a small box ad stating, “5 Incredible Gifts for KC! THE BANNISTER MALL CINEMAS' GRAND OPENING” (with no indication it was a Commonwealth house), it finally opened Friday, December 19, 1980, with Jane Fonda in 9 TO 5 in three auditoriums, Marlon Brando and George C. Scott in THE FORMULA, and Disney’s THE ARISTOCATS. (Local radio station KY-102—now known as KCKC—along with the theater offered a Puerto Vallarta vacation for two in a premiere contest.)
Closed by UA on Thursday, February 4, 1999, with STAR TREK INSURRECTION, RUGRATS, A BUG’S LIFE, DOWN IN THE DELTA, and STEPMOM.
Re-opened Friday, September 3, 1999, as an independently-owned $1.50 house with Brendan Fraser in THE MUMMY, Disney’s TARZAN, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, MUPPETS IN SPACE, Will Smith in WILD WILD WEST, LAKE PLACID, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER & UNCUT, and BIG DADDY.
Limped along for a month before finally shuttering for good on Sunday, October 3, 1999, with THE HAUNTING, THE MUMMY, Omar Epps in THE WOOD, Disney’s TARZAN, MUPPETS IN SPACE, WILD WILD WEST, BIG DADDY, and THE MATRIX. [Kansas City Star]
Wednesday evening Kansas City Star edition of May 13, 1981, readers noticed a page-center caricature ad of Clark Gable intoning: “Frankly, K.C., you don’t want to miss the Grand Opening of AMC Theatres' newest…THE BANNISTER SQUARE 6…this Friday and Saturday across from Bannister Square Mall…THE BANNISTER SQUARE 6—it’s "Cina-mazing [sic].” (Following day’s Star and opening day ad featured a Woody Allen-type: “My analyst really couldn’t believe it.”).
Opened Friday, May 15, 1981, with HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, Oliver Stone’s THE HAND, TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT, THE JAZZ SINGER, THE COMPETITION, and a double-feature of 10 and CADDYSHACK. (and a local AMC sister theater, the Brywood, “went dollar” the same day).
Closed permanently without ever having been a discount house on Thursday, April 29, 1999, with Eddie Griffin in FOOLISH, LOST & FOUND, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in LIFE, THE MATRIX, DOUG’S 1ST MOVIE, and BABY GENIUSES. [Kansas City Star]
Closed as the Cameo by Commonwealth on Sunday, January 2, 1977, showing a Rudy Ray Moore (Rudolph Frank Moore)/‘Dolemite’ double-feature of 1976’s THE HUMAN TORNADO and his self-titled debut from 1975, DOLEMITE. (Kansas City Star)
Closed for good on Sunday, November 23, 1952, showing Gregory Peck in a year and half old movie, ONLY THE VALIANT, and a retitled film from 1947, Barbara Stanwyck in MAN KILLER aka THE OTHER LOVE. (Kansas City Star)
Just for the record: theater has been upgraded by B&B, recliner seats, etc.: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/cityscape/article115106718.html
Man, when they closed a theatre in this town, they covered it—on page 1! (“Tulsa’s Continental Theater Has Its Last Picture Show/Site Yielding to Office Complex,” Monday, March 16, 1981, Tulsa World).
Opened on the day of the second “Watts Riots,” Wednesday, March 16, 1966, with a five month-old movie, Carol Reed’s film of Irving Stone’s book, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY in an invitation only premiere for the Tulsa Psychiatric Foundation (public seats the next day.)
Closed for good practically on its 15th birthday (kennyjrz memory is correct) with TV producer Jerry Leider’s troubled feature remake of THE JAZZ SINGER, on Sunday, March 15, 1981. Manager Van Lee Lowe was already contending with reduced staff (“Another girl quit Thursday.”) when the curtain finally went down (“This is a shame…”).
If I can upload the actual article and striking B&W picture soon it will explain itself but…
Several of the single-screen B-picture theatres of Tulsa all closed around September 1960 for some reason (perhaps simple urban decay). A Tulsa Tribune story, “Final Curtain Falls at Cozy/Nearly Half Century of Screening Ends,” pp. 30, featured a same-day interview with the Cozy’s owner, 65 year-old Ben Wright (looking in the distance with the Cozy’s now-blank marquee behind him), lists the address as 2 Main Street instead of 8 Main, and closed on Tuesday, September 13, 1960, the final double-feature being Brigette Bardot in BABETTE GOES TO WAR, and Alec Guinness & Burl Ives in OUR MAN IN HAVANA.
The News Journal’s telephone contact person must have misheard the over-the-phone spelling of Raquel Welch’s name when they were transcribing the requested ad copy…
Began its porn period phase (“Under New Management”) on Friday, July 7, 1978, with THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN and BABARA BROADCAST after several weeks of being closed. (Tulsa World)
The closing had its own same-day Tulsa World story, Tuesday, July 4, 1978 (“Brook Theatre Marquee Going Blank”, pp. A20), which noted some earlier local censorship trouble when they tried to exhibit Antonioni’s 1968 classic BLOW-UP. The sendoff: Jimmy Osmond in THE GREAT BRAIN adapted from John D. Fitzgerald’s childrens book series.
Became a UA bargain house in September 1985. Purchased by Hollywood Theatres in the mid-nineties who alternated the price between $1-$2 admission. Shut down for good on Monday, December 26, 2005. Showing at expiration: the race horse drama DREAMER; ZATHURA; GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'; JARHEAD; Meryl Streep in PRIME; NORTH COUNTRY (Tulsa World).
Closed as the Annex 7 on Sunday, May 10, 1998. Owner Hollywood Theatres was instead trumpeting their Promenade Mall Palace 12 location opening five days later. The final marquees: Jackie Chan in MR. NICE GUY; DANGEROUS BEAUTY; THE BIG LEBOWSKI; AS GOOD AS IT GETS; THE APOSTLE, MY GIANT; PRIMARY COLORS.
Closed by UA on the same day as the Spectrum Twin, Monday, September 4, 1989, showing in one auditorium Sylvester Stallone in LOCK UP, and in the other, the James Bond film LICENCE TO KILL. (Tulsa World)
Closed alongside the Boman Twin by UA on Monday, September 4, 1989, showing in one auditorium a double-feature of STAR TREK V and “Ind. Jones 3” [sic; referring to INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE] and in the other, the controversial John Belushi biopic WIRED. (Tulsa World)
Another chase scene whizzing past the Los Angeles is in the 1972 adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh’s book THE NEW CENTURIONS, when Stacy Keach is hanging from the driver’s side door of a moving car. More “Adult Entertainment” fare appears to have been featured at that time: the 1968 British “X-Certificate” import BABY LOVE, and future SNL contributor Nelson Lyon’s experimental film TELEPHONE BOOK.
Viewable in a couple of scene establishing shots in the Season 12/1980 Hawaii Five-0 episode, “For Old Time’s Sake.” The place must have already descended to its itch-house period; I don’t have access to expensive zoom software, but based on the word length and letter formations on the marquee, my guess is the Queen was showing at the time of filming two films from 1975: the cabin-crisis XXX-er WINTER HEAT, and director Wes Craven’s sole erotic venture, FIREWORKS WOMAN.
Appears quickly in separate footage in the Season 12/1979 Hawaii Five-O episode “A Lion in the Streets,” during the opening credits, and appears to be showing Mark Robson’s 1968 film of Jacqueline Susann’s VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. There is no double-marquee, so this could not be the Waikiki 1 & 2; perhaps some previous stock footage not used until then (5-0 aficionados can confirm if the shot is re-used in another show.).
Originally a Farris Shanbour/Oklahoma Cinema Theatres project—his largest to that time—but he died a month or two before its opening, and the ownership for this one was sold to Commonwealth. Some of the veteran IATSE projectionists from Shanbour’s North Park Theatre transferred here. Oddly, although neither company had had anything to do with one another until then, both chains dressed their lower staff in the exact same black and red polyester-fiber uniforms.
The Almonte Mall itself has always been an small, standard, unpretentious one-block strip mall in a comfortably working-/middle-class-part of town a half-mile from the interstate and 2 miles from the airport, which may partly have decided its construction. Dow 100-level industries and billion-dollar-level real-estate developers at that time however did not run to establish factories and mansions in far southwest OKC so why the Almonte 6 was built there—knowing full well that both the cable TV and home-video/VCR revolutions were about to occur with no huge population spike predicted for the nearby area and not even placed at a particularly high-traffic intersection (the 2-miles-away SW 74th & Penn crossing has always been more of a local headache)—was never revealed.
There was a community rumor the ushers here were particularly on the lookout for auditorium jumpers.
The largest auditorium, directly behind the front lobby, had 70mm capability although it was hardly ever used for the life of the theatre. 2010 with Roy Scheider was exhibited here in that format on its December 1984 U.S. opening day.
On the day of the Apollo 15 moon landing, AMC opened the Midland 3 (combining the Midland with The Screening Room and the Studio Theatres under one name literally overnight) on Friday, July 30, 1971, with Sean Connery in THE ANDERSON TAPES (the ‘old’ Midland) while adding in their respective ‘new’ auditoriums Debbie Reynolds in Curtis Harrington’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (prev. Screening Room) and Woody Allen in BANANAS (prev. Studio). There was no explanation for this new iteration.
The Midland 3 and the Empire 4 on 14th & Main were suddenly combined without explanation by AMC to create the Midland-Empire 7 on Wednesday, September 11, 1974. The Midland itself would be listed first as Auditorium 1 in the new designation. It was showing Rollin Binzer’s 1973 documentary LADIES & GENTLEMEN, THE ROLLING STONES.
AMC closed the Midland/Midland 3 permanently on Thursday, September 24, 1981 while leaving the previous Empire 4 open. The Midland was showing Tony Anthony’s 3D import COMIN' AT YA! (the features changed the next day so much at the remaining Empire that it’s impossible to tell what the Midland’s other two auditoriums were showing at closing, perhaps THE ELEPHANT MAN & ORDINARY PEOPLE going by descending listed order).
The manager here during the early 80s used to have an 8X10 color picture of himself on his office wall at the Universal Studios/E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL tour attraction riding the ‘floating’ bicycle with ET in the milk-crate basket.
Mann Theatres turned this to an “Any Seat/50c/Anytime” house (as they had with the Uptown before its closing) on Wednesday, April 10, 1974, with a double feature of BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES and the 1971 Charles Bronson/Toshiro Mifune co-starrer RED SUN. Within half a year the bargain programming netted double features like THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN with THE TRAIN ROBBERS or Disney’s HERBIE RIDES AGAIN! with the independently-made 1972 family film GEORGE!
Admission goes up to 75c-any-seat on Wednesday, November 27, 1974 with a double feature of Robert Redford in THE GREAT GATSBY and Woody Allen in PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM.
Adult admission lifted AGAIN to $1 starting Wednesday, April 2, 1975 with Marlon Brando in Bertolucci’s LAST TANGO IN PARIS and Woody Allen’s film of EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (This marquee was sandwiched in-between family double-features on either week. Children’s tickets were 50c afterward).
A deafening public outcry must certainly have frightened Mann into reducing the uniform ticket price back down to 75c on Wednesday, May 14, 1975 for THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK and the 1972 rattlesnake terror of STANLEY.
Began alternating bargain with special programming on Sunday, August 24, 1975 with the 70mm presentation of the X-rated PANORAMA BLUE. HELLO, DOLLY! in 70mm followed in September. By late December, the bargain emphasis was eliminated. By Spring 1976, it was back again. On Friday, October 1, they advertised a “New Fall Policy of 1st Run Engagements” starting with Lina Wertmuller’s ALL SCREWED UP and showed artistic films until around Christmas…
On Wednesday, December 8, 1976, the Brookside unexplainedly went from their usual program of foreign and high-art films (typified by the previous week’s showing of the short films “Jimi Plays Berkeley” from 1971 and the Beatles' 1967 TV film “Magical Mystery Tour”) to the 1974 XXX stag film HAPPY DAYS (not to be confused with the then-current ABC/Garry Marshall TV show with Ron Howard and Henry Winkler; up to three other KC theaters were showing it and the weekday ad just suddenly states “HAPPY DAYS (X)” with its showtimes.) This was its ignominious final marquee when it closed for good on Tuesday, December 14, 1976. [Kansas City Star]
Whoever owned the Mary Lue before Tuesday, May 31, 1949 gave up ownership that day showing John Wayne in WAKE OF THE RED WITCH and Brian Donlevy & Maria Montez in 1941’s SOUTH OF TAHITI. Copy in next day’s space-saver ad: “Closed For Remodeling! Watch For Opening Date”. Re-opened under the same name (“Opens Tonite-6:30-Under New Management!”) on Friday, July 15, 1949, with a cartoon, newsreel, a 3 Stooges short, and double-feature of Esther Williams in TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME and Abbott & Costello in 1942’s PARDON MY SARONG. There were two closed but unannounced days on Saturday-Sunday December 15-16, 1951. On Monday, December 17, 1951 the new ad for the Comet simply states, “Formerly Mary Lue” while presenting William Holden in FORCE OF ARMS and Jeanne Crain in TAKE MY LITTLE GIRL. The final triple bill plus cartoons as the Comet on Sunday, May 4, 1952, was: Abbott & Costello in 1946’s LITTLE GIANT, the East Side Kids in 1944’s BLOCK BUSTERS, and 1949’s RED STALLION OF THE ROCKIES (sic). The next-day’s space-saver ad optimistically states, “Closed Temporarily!,” but the Beaufort/Mary Lue/Comet Theatre had shut down for good.
Of the three theaters listed by judyh it appears the Admiral lasted the longest and the Murray went first. The Baltis closed second of the three for good on Sunday, May 23, 1954, with Katharine Hepburn & Humphrey Bogart in the 1951 John Huston film THE AFRICAN QUEEN, John Wayne & Randolph Scott in the 1942 film PITTSBURGH, and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy in the 1941 film LOOK WHO’S LAUGHING. [Kansas City Star]
Informational advance story on the Plaza’s Sunday closing was in the Star’s Preview supplement, Friday, April 2, 1999, pp. 10, “It’s Curtains for the Plaza Theater.” (The article claimed 1500 seats.)
Closed by Dickinson for good on Sunday, April 4, 1999, with Clint Eastwood in TRUE CRIME, the cannibalism-centered film RAVENOUS, Rankin-Bass' animated version of THE KING AND I, and THE OTHER SISTER. [Kansas City Star]
After several days of a small box ad stating, “5 Incredible Gifts for KC! THE BANNISTER MALL CINEMAS' GRAND OPENING” (with no indication it was a Commonwealth house), it finally opened Friday, December 19, 1980, with Jane Fonda in 9 TO 5 in three auditoriums, Marlon Brando and George C. Scott in THE FORMULA, and Disney’s THE ARISTOCATS. (Local radio station KY-102—now known as KCKC—along with the theater offered a Puerto Vallarta vacation for two in a premiere contest.)
Closed by UA on Thursday, February 4, 1999, with STAR TREK INSURRECTION, RUGRATS, A BUG’S LIFE, DOWN IN THE DELTA, and STEPMOM.
Re-opened Friday, September 3, 1999, as an independently-owned $1.50 house with Brendan Fraser in THE MUMMY, Disney’s TARZAN, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, MUPPETS IN SPACE, Will Smith in WILD WILD WEST, LAKE PLACID, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER & UNCUT, and BIG DADDY.
Limped along for a month before finally shuttering for good on Sunday, October 3, 1999, with THE HAUNTING, THE MUMMY, Omar Epps in THE WOOD, Disney’s TARZAN, MUPPETS IN SPACE, WILD WILD WEST, BIG DADDY, and THE MATRIX. [Kansas City Star]
Wednesday evening Kansas City Star edition of May 13, 1981, readers noticed a page-center caricature ad of Clark Gable intoning: “Frankly, K.C., you don’t want to miss the Grand Opening of AMC Theatres' newest…THE BANNISTER SQUARE 6…this Friday and Saturday across from Bannister Square Mall…THE BANNISTER SQUARE 6—it’s "Cina-mazing [sic].” (Following day’s Star and opening day ad featured a Woody Allen-type: “My analyst really couldn’t believe it.”).
Opened Friday, May 15, 1981, with HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, Oliver Stone’s THE HAND, TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT, THE JAZZ SINGER, THE COMPETITION, and a double-feature of 10 and CADDYSHACK. (and a local AMC sister theater, the Brywood, “went dollar” the same day).
Closed permanently without ever having been a discount house on Thursday, April 29, 1999, with Eddie Griffin in FOOLISH, LOST & FOUND, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in LIFE, THE MATRIX, DOUG’S 1ST MOVIE, and BABY GENIUSES. [Kansas City Star]
Closed as the Cameo by Commonwealth on Sunday, January 2, 1977, showing a Rudy Ray Moore (Rudolph Frank Moore)/‘Dolemite’ double-feature of 1976’s THE HUMAN TORNADO and his self-titled debut from 1975, DOLEMITE. (Kansas City Star)
Closed for good on Sunday, November 23, 1952, showing Gregory Peck in a year and half old movie, ONLY THE VALIANT, and a retitled film from 1947, Barbara Stanwyck in MAN KILLER aka THE OTHER LOVE. (Kansas City Star)
Just for the record: theater has been upgraded by B&B, recliner seats, etc.: http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/cityscape/article115106718.html
Man, when they closed a theatre in this town, they covered it—on page 1! (“Tulsa’s Continental Theater Has Its Last Picture Show/Site Yielding to Office Complex,” Monday, March 16, 1981, Tulsa World).
Opened on the day of the second “Watts Riots,” Wednesday, March 16, 1966, with a five month-old movie, Carol Reed’s film of Irving Stone’s book, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY in an invitation only premiere for the Tulsa Psychiatric Foundation (public seats the next day.)
Closed for good practically on its 15th birthday (kennyjrz memory is correct) with TV producer Jerry Leider’s troubled feature remake of THE JAZZ SINGER, on Sunday, March 15, 1981. Manager Van Lee Lowe was already contending with reduced staff (“Another girl quit Thursday.”) when the curtain finally went down (“This is a shame…”).
If I can upload the actual article and striking B&W picture soon it will explain itself but… Several of the single-screen B-picture theatres of Tulsa all closed around September 1960 for some reason (perhaps simple urban decay). A Tulsa Tribune story, “Final Curtain Falls at Cozy/Nearly Half Century of Screening Ends,” pp. 30, featured a same-day interview with the Cozy’s owner, 65 year-old Ben Wright (looking in the distance with the Cozy’s now-blank marquee behind him), lists the address as 2 Main Street instead of 8 Main, and closed on Tuesday, September 13, 1960, the final double-feature being Brigette Bardot in BABETTE GOES TO WAR, and Alec Guinness & Burl Ives in OUR MAN IN HAVANA.
The News Journal’s telephone contact person must have misheard the over-the-phone spelling of Raquel Welch’s name when they were transcribing the requested ad copy…
Began its porn period phase (“Under New Management”) on Friday, July 7, 1978, with THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN and BABARA BROADCAST after several weeks of being closed. (Tulsa World)
The closing had its own same-day Tulsa World story, Tuesday, July 4, 1978 (“Brook Theatre Marquee Going Blank”, pp. A20), which noted some earlier local censorship trouble when they tried to exhibit Antonioni’s 1968 classic BLOW-UP. The sendoff: Jimmy Osmond in THE GREAT BRAIN adapted from John D. Fitzgerald’s childrens book series.
Became a UA bargain house in September 1985. Purchased by Hollywood Theatres in the mid-nineties who alternated the price between $1-$2 admission. Shut down for good on Monday, December 26, 2005. Showing at expiration: the race horse drama DREAMER; ZATHURA; GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'; JARHEAD; Meryl Streep in PRIME; NORTH COUNTRY (Tulsa World).
Closed as the Annex 7 on Sunday, May 10, 1998. Owner Hollywood Theatres was instead trumpeting their Promenade Mall Palace 12 location opening five days later. The final marquees: Jackie Chan in MR. NICE GUY; DANGEROUS BEAUTY; THE BIG LEBOWSKI; AS GOOD AS IT GETS; THE APOSTLE, MY GIANT; PRIMARY COLORS.
Closed by UA on the same day as the Spectrum Twin, Monday, September 4, 1989, showing in one auditorium Sylvester Stallone in LOCK UP, and in the other, the James Bond film LICENCE TO KILL. (Tulsa World)
Closed alongside the Boman Twin by UA on Monday, September 4, 1989, showing in one auditorium a double-feature of STAR TREK V and “Ind. Jones 3” [sic; referring to INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE] and in the other, the controversial John Belushi biopic WIRED. (Tulsa World)
Michael Caine must have been amused to find out his part in HURRY SUNDOWN was taken by Michael Parks lol.
Another chase scene whizzing past the Los Angeles is in the 1972 adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh’s book THE NEW CENTURIONS, when Stacy Keach is hanging from the driver’s side door of a moving car. More “Adult Entertainment” fare appears to have been featured at that time: the 1968 British “X-Certificate” import BABY LOVE, and future SNL contributor Nelson Lyon’s experimental film TELEPHONE BOOK.
Viewable in a couple of scene establishing shots in the Season 12/1980 Hawaii Five-0 episode, “For Old Time’s Sake.” The place must have already descended to its itch-house period; I don’t have access to expensive zoom software, but based on the word length and letter formations on the marquee, my guess is the Queen was showing at the time of filming two films from 1975: the cabin-crisis XXX-er WINTER HEAT, and director Wes Craven’s sole erotic venture, FIREWORKS WOMAN.
Appears quickly in separate footage in the Season 12/1979 Hawaii Five-O episode “A Lion in the Streets,” during the opening credits, and appears to be showing Mark Robson’s 1968 film of Jacqueline Susann’s VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. There is no double-marquee, so this could not be the Waikiki 1 & 2; perhaps some previous stock footage not used until then (5-0 aficionados can confirm if the shot is re-used in another show.).
More Almonte 6 miscellanea:
Originally a Farris Shanbour/Oklahoma Cinema Theatres project—his largest to that time—but he died a month or two before its opening, and the ownership for this one was sold to Commonwealth. Some of the veteran IATSE projectionists from Shanbour’s North Park Theatre transferred here. Oddly, although neither company had had anything to do with one another until then, both chains dressed their lower staff in the exact same black and red polyester-fiber uniforms.
The Almonte Mall itself has always been an small, standard, unpretentious one-block strip mall in a comfortably working-/middle-class-part of town a half-mile from the interstate and 2 miles from the airport, which may partly have decided its construction. Dow 100-level industries and billion-dollar-level real-estate developers at that time however did not run to establish factories and mansions in far southwest OKC so why the Almonte 6 was built there—knowing full well that both the cable TV and home-video/VCR revolutions were about to occur with no huge population spike predicted for the nearby area and not even placed at a particularly high-traffic intersection (the 2-miles-away SW 74th & Penn crossing has always been more of a local headache)—was never revealed.
There was a community rumor the ushers here were particularly on the lookout for auditorium jumpers.
The largest auditorium, directly behind the front lobby, had 70mm capability although it was hardly ever used for the life of the theatre. 2010 with Roy Scheider was exhibited here in that format on its December 1984 U.S. opening day.
On the day of the Apollo 15 moon landing, AMC opened the Midland 3 (combining the Midland with The Screening Room and the Studio Theatres under one name literally overnight) on Friday, July 30, 1971, with Sean Connery in THE ANDERSON TAPES (the ‘old’ Midland) while adding in their respective ‘new’ auditoriums Debbie Reynolds in Curtis Harrington’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (prev. Screening Room) and Woody Allen in BANANAS (prev. Studio). There was no explanation for this new iteration.
The Midland 3 and the Empire 4 on 14th & Main were suddenly combined without explanation by AMC to create the Midland-Empire 7 on Wednesday, September 11, 1974. The Midland itself would be listed first as Auditorium 1 in the new designation. It was showing Rollin Binzer’s 1973 documentary LADIES & GENTLEMEN, THE ROLLING STONES.
AMC closed the Midland/Midland 3 permanently on Thursday, September 24, 1981 while leaving the previous Empire 4 open. The Midland was showing Tony Anthony’s 3D import COMIN' AT YA! (the features changed the next day so much at the remaining Empire that it’s impossible to tell what the Midland’s other two auditoriums were showing at closing, perhaps THE ELEPHANT MAN & ORDINARY PEOPLE going by descending listed order).
The manager here during the early 80s used to have an 8X10 color picture of himself on his office wall at the Universal Studios/E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL tour attraction riding the ‘floating’ bicycle with ET in the milk-crate basket.
Mann Theatres turned this to an “Any Seat/50c/Anytime” house (as they had with the Uptown before its closing) on Wednesday, April 10, 1974, with a double feature of BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES and the 1971 Charles Bronson/Toshiro Mifune co-starrer RED SUN. Within half a year the bargain programming netted double features like THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN with THE TRAIN ROBBERS or Disney’s HERBIE RIDES AGAIN! with the independently-made 1972 family film GEORGE!
Admission goes up to 75c-any-seat on Wednesday, November 27, 1974 with a double feature of Robert Redford in THE GREAT GATSBY and Woody Allen in PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM.
Adult admission lifted AGAIN to $1 starting Wednesday, April 2, 1975 with Marlon Brando in Bertolucci’s LAST TANGO IN PARIS and Woody Allen’s film of EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (This marquee was sandwiched in-between family double-features on either week. Children’s tickets were 50c afterward).
A deafening public outcry must certainly have frightened Mann into reducing the uniform ticket price back down to 75c on Wednesday, May 14, 1975 for THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK and the 1972 rattlesnake terror of STANLEY.
Began alternating bargain with special programming on Sunday, August 24, 1975 with the 70mm presentation of the X-rated PANORAMA BLUE. HELLO, DOLLY! in 70mm followed in September. By late December, the bargain emphasis was eliminated. By Spring 1976, it was back again. On Friday, October 1, they advertised a “New Fall Policy of 1st Run Engagements” starting with Lina Wertmuller’s ALL SCREWED UP and showed artistic films until around Christmas…
On Wednesday, December 8, 1976, the Brookside unexplainedly went from their usual program of foreign and high-art films (typified by the previous week’s showing of the short films “Jimi Plays Berkeley” from 1971 and the Beatles' 1967 TV film “Magical Mystery Tour”) to the 1974 XXX stag film HAPPY DAYS (not to be confused with the then-current ABC/Garry Marshall TV show with Ron Howard and Henry Winkler; up to three other KC theaters were showing it and the weekday ad just suddenly states “HAPPY DAYS (X)” with its showtimes.) This was its ignominious final marquee when it closed for good on Tuesday, December 14, 1976. [Kansas City Star]
Whoever owned the Mary Lue before Tuesday, May 31, 1949 gave up ownership that day showing John Wayne in WAKE OF THE RED WITCH and Brian Donlevy & Maria Montez in 1941’s SOUTH OF TAHITI. Copy in next day’s space-saver ad: “Closed For Remodeling! Watch For Opening Date”. Re-opened under the same name (“Opens Tonite-6:30-Under New Management!”) on Friday, July 15, 1949, with a cartoon, newsreel, a 3 Stooges short, and double-feature of Esther Williams in TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME and Abbott & Costello in 1942’s PARDON MY SARONG. There were two closed but unannounced days on Saturday-Sunday December 15-16, 1951. On Monday, December 17, 1951 the new ad for the Comet simply states, “Formerly Mary Lue” while presenting William Holden in FORCE OF ARMS and Jeanne Crain in TAKE MY LITTLE GIRL. The final triple bill plus cartoons as the Comet on Sunday, May 4, 1952, was: Abbott & Costello in 1946’s LITTLE GIANT, the East Side Kids in 1944’s BLOCK BUSTERS, and 1949’s RED STALLION OF THE ROCKIES (sic). The next-day’s space-saver ad optimistically states, “Closed Temporarily!,” but the Beaufort/Mary Lue/Comet Theatre had shut down for good.