Studs at the Pussycat Theatre

During the early-mid 1970’s, this theater(along with the Pussycat in Buena Park aka the Grand) was Pussycat’s premiere showhouse. Porn films for the Los Angeles area would premier here and play at this theater(and Buena Park) first before filtering through to the rest of the Pussycat chain. Unusual (for porn theater standards) was that during this period, there were also no double bills. Also, the films often would have multiple month runs instead of weekly changeovers. Other notable porn films that premiered here: Devil in Miss Jones, Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, Naked Came the Stranger, Opening of Misty Beethoven

This would largely change in 1977, when business dropped due largely to the LA Times new policy of no longer carrying advertisements for X-rated films. Pussycat had spent over $1 million a year advertising in the LA Times alone. Business dipped by over 10% as a result. Both this theater and Buena Park would become like most any Pussycat theater, showing double bills. It had lost its “uniqueness”.

After the Pussycat sign was removed, the old “Monica” lettering was visible for a few weeks until the new sign was installed. The theater appears VERY briefly in the drag race scene in the AIP flick “Hot Rod Gang” (freeze framing helps).