Notice the Hollywood FOX theater, then called THE IRIS Theater to the right…… It was later remodelled in the late 1960s, so it looks nothing like that today and now sits boarded up and used as a warehouse, unfortunately.
KenRoe, YES, it most certainly was carried out, and I put a picture postcard view on my website so you can see it! The view is from 1956, and this is how I remember the theater… the IRIS is on the right side…..
I recall seeing “Krakatoa: East of Java” and how awful the special effects were. Even then, it was pretty lame. The theater, however, was amazing, and was worth the admission to see it alone! I also remember the press later said that Krakatoa was not “east of Java”, but rather “west of Java”, so they renamed the film “Volcano” for the European release in 1975 and added “Sensurround”… remember that?
I understand it was only at the very end of the fun of “Earthquake” that the net was added, so most people who went to see it never saw the net rigging. I was there in the last week or two of the run. I do remember that the stories of falling plaster were from patrons, not the management of the theater. I myself never saw any plaster bits or even dust coming down during the film I do recall I was a little concerned, which is why we sat towards the rear of the theater, and not under the ornate light fixture. Is it possible the net was added by request of the insurance company and not because of some “hype?”
The information on the sound system is enlightening… I never knew how the process worked! I also did not know that many films were made in “Sensurround”. I think with the advent of THX, the process is pretty much obsolete now. Yes Vito, it sure was fun!
Hi Jim, You are probably right about the “Sensurround” hype to gain audiences, but I can tell you without any reservation that when it came time for the earthquake sequences in the film, the huge black speakers at the back of the auditorium rumbled with some heavy ultralow frequencies, which were nothing short of terrifying. Added to that, they must have had other speakers somewhere else, because there were the sounds of screams and breaking glass at the rear of the theater along with the low rumbling sounds at the back of the lower floor. After the movie, I remember many of us went over to look at the massive speakers. I don’t recall any sound system that intense until the advent of THX sound.
I also totally agree with your comment that the old theaters were BUILT… and built far more sound proof and far more substantial than todays boxes. They were more spectacular, beautiful, stylish and atmospheric than almost any modern “theater” today. They were as much of the show as the movies were.
On my first trip to New York in May, 1977, “Smokey and the Bandit” was playing it’s first run. However, I was so excited to see the big apple on my first of only 3 days, we went ONLY to see the Rockettes perform. I ordered a box of popcorn in the lobby and recall that the poor salesgirl had to repeat herself several times since I had never heard a thick Bronx accent before and could not understand what she was saying to me. I felt so bad for her, but she was very kind and finally spoke very slowly so I could get her message. The stage show was about 20 minutes, then there was a short subject and some trailers. When the film started, we left to continue exploration of Times Square. I still have not seen the film!
I remember how incredibly massive everything was around me, and though worn and old, it was still very beautiful. Thank God the owners have lavished some money and time on one of the greatest of all Art Deco structures…. and it’s worth a visit to New York JUST TO SEE THIS THEATER!
I found an early view of the Egyptian Theater Courtyard taken in 1924. The photo shows the space as almost a carnival-like atmosphere … certainly entertaining …
I was raised in Hollywood in the 1950s and the El Capitan was called “The Paramount” in those days. There was a huge marquee over the entrance, and I found a photo of it as it looked then…..
I visited this theater as a child. We lived at Gower and Selma, only a few blocks away so it was a short walk. I found a 1935 photo at the following link showing it as the “Mer-Cal.”
Here is a photo of the interior. Note the right side of the stage is the volcano which was animated with red glowing crater and white smoke which rose towards the ceiling.
KenRoe, found out that the play Helen Hayes was in for the 1954 re-opening was not “What Women Want” (as I thought) or “What Every Woman Wants” (what you thought), but rather “What Every Woman KNOWS” … I found a photo of the front of the theater on opening night … (isn’t this fun?) …
The caption on the photo is “ Opening night—celebrities and first nighters are shown arriving at the new million dollar theater, the Huntington Hartford Theater, for its premiere performance. The theater, located in Hollywood, is the first legitimate theater to open in America in 27 years. Movie fans standing in bleachers cheer as screen stars enter the lobby of the theater. Photo dated: October 2, 1954.”
I used to go to the IRIS Theater as a child with my mom. It had a spectacular marquee. The facade was remodelled in 1955. An artists sketch and caption was published in the Herald Examinar Newspaper at the time… it read…
“Artist’s sketch of the Fox Iris Theater at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. on February 11, 1955, to open soon with lavish movieland premiere fanfare. The 816-seat showcase has been remodeled at a cost of $100,000.”
The Vogue was remodelled in 1959 to it’s present “modern” appearance by architect “J. Arthur Drieloma, A.I.A.” and cost $250,000 (a substantial sum in those days). The grand re-opening took place on June 29, 1959.
This is an incredible 3 hour vaudeville style show. I understand it is one of the very few vaudeville shows still being performed in the United States and successfully so. The show includes the showgirls, but also song and dance numbers, a puppeteer, a juggler and infamous announcer and stage comedian “Riff Markowitz”, who created the show. The performers are all over 50, but the show is highly energetic, glamourus, lavish and completely professional. They screen movie clips and trailers from the 1930s for the half hour before the show begins to put the audience in the proper retro mood for the show.
January 6-17 is the PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. The stars coming for this event are amazing. The official website is http://www.psfilmfest.org
This is one of 3 venues for the festival this year. The others are the Signature Theaters on Taquitz Canyon and Palm Springs High School auditorium. All theaters are located within a few blocks of each other.
From what I am told, the negative element on the boulevard that reached a peak in the 1980s, has improved every year. My strong feeling is that when you have a building or business in good repair or maintain an area, it shows you care…. and people naturally respect it for the most part. If something is boarded up and left to decay, graffiti and vandalism generally follow and it goes downhill from there.
The boulevard has a built in reputation as historically being the capital of motion pictures, and for years tourists have come and been disappointed. That is now changing, thank goodness. The apparent success of the new Hollywood Highland Center and El Capitan, Chinese Theater and Pantages restorations have caught the attention of intelligent big business who are now looking to develop and partially restore the “old Hollywood” that is left. They see these renewed areas are not being vandalized or trashed, but enjoyed and attracting a lot of attention, and money. Tourism dollars will potentially be a huge payoff if they play their cards right. Those of us who care about our history and culture can only benefit by seeing some of the glamour return to the area to be enjoyed at last on some level once more.
KenRoe, your information is invaluable. Thanks so much for the update. When you research on the internet, sometimes you get conflicting information and gaps that you almost have to guess at. I appreciate the clarifications! I also found out that the Lux Radio program was called that because “Lux Soap” was the sponsor. By the way, I have Rosemary Lord’s book, but bought it only for the older photos. Some of her information is inaccurate however and I think the modern photos do not match up to the historic ones from angle or time of day.
I understand the architect Myron Hunt also designed some other significant buildings. Pasadena’s Huntington Hotel, Public Library, Rose Bowl, the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino and Occidental College and the Ambassador Hotel Theater in Los Angeles.
Joe, THANKS a lot. I apprecite the information a great deal. The photos at LAPL are fantastic and there are so many! Those should be a great help in my research of the Montalban! Happy New Year!
KenRoe… THANKS for the additional information. Also for the correction on the Helen Hayes play of 1954. Also did not know about the names “Mirror Theater” and “Studio Theater” during the 30s. Great information and it’s appreciated.
I attended that play, but was only 4 years old at the time! I lived only 2 blocks from this theater on Vista Del Mar at the time, so we walked over to the playhouse. We often ate at the Brown Derby in the coffee shop across the street.
Also want to add that Huntington Hartford, who took over the theater in 1954 was the heir of the A & P Supermarket Chain and he spent a lot of his fortune on this and other entertainment ventures. He was not fond of the grocery business himself.
I am currently doing historic research for this theater for Nosotros, the new owners of the theater, who want to do some kind of historic display, and would apprecite any other information on this
beautiful venue.
The Carthay Circle Theater demolition is one of the greatest of needless losses of Los Angeles history. It rivals the demolition of the Fox in San Francisco and Roxy in New York. Senseless and unimaginably stupid. I remember this great theater and seeing “Around the World in 80 Days”. It was still grand the last time I saw it in 1965. The neighborhood association keeps the memory of this architectural masterpiece alive with their name and an image of the theater tower in their logo.
I found a great picture postcard of the theater from 1956 and posted it on the following link …
View link
Notice the Hollywood FOX theater, then called THE IRIS Theater to the right…… It was later remodelled in the late 1960s, so it looks nothing like that today and now sits boarded up and used as a warehouse, unfortunately.
KenRoe, YES, it most certainly was carried out, and I put a picture postcard view on my website so you can see it! The view is from 1956, and this is how I remember the theater… the IRIS is on the right side…..
View link
The view also shows the Warners Cinerama Theater on the left side…. which is shown on cinema treasures at /theaters/18/
I recall seeing “Krakatoa: East of Java” and how awful the special effects were. Even then, it was pretty lame. The theater, however, was amazing, and was worth the admission to see it alone! I also remember the press later said that Krakatoa was not “east of Java”, but rather “west of Java”, so they renamed the film “Volcano” for the European release in 1975 and added “Sensurround”… remember that?
I understand it was only at the very end of the fun of “Earthquake” that the net was added, so most people who went to see it never saw the net rigging. I was there in the last week or two of the run. I do remember that the stories of falling plaster were from patrons, not the management of the theater. I myself never saw any plaster bits or even dust coming down during the film I do recall I was a little concerned, which is why we sat towards the rear of the theater, and not under the ornate light fixture. Is it possible the net was added by request of the insurance company and not because of some “hype?”
The information on the sound system is enlightening… I never knew how the process worked! I also did not know that many films were made in “Sensurround”. I think with the advent of THX, the process is pretty much obsolete now. Yes Vito, it sure was fun!
Hi Jim, You are probably right about the “Sensurround” hype to gain audiences, but I can tell you without any reservation that when it came time for the earthquake sequences in the film, the huge black speakers at the back of the auditorium rumbled with some heavy ultralow frequencies, which were nothing short of terrifying. Added to that, they must have had other speakers somewhere else, because there were the sounds of screams and breaking glass at the rear of the theater along with the low rumbling sounds at the back of the lower floor. After the movie, I remember many of us went over to look at the massive speakers. I don’t recall any sound system that intense until the advent of THX sound.
I also totally agree with your comment that the old theaters were BUILT… and built far more sound proof and far more substantial than todays boxes. They were more spectacular, beautiful, stylish and atmospheric than almost any modern “theater” today. They were as much of the show as the movies were.
On my first trip to New York in May, 1977, “Smokey and the Bandit” was playing it’s first run. However, I was so excited to see the big apple on my first of only 3 days, we went ONLY to see the Rockettes perform. I ordered a box of popcorn in the lobby and recall that the poor salesgirl had to repeat herself several times since I had never heard a thick Bronx accent before and could not understand what she was saying to me. I felt so bad for her, but she was very kind and finally spoke very slowly so I could get her message. The stage show was about 20 minutes, then there was a short subject and some trailers. When the film started, we left to continue exploration of Times Square. I still have not seen the film!
I remember how incredibly massive everything was around me, and though worn and old, it was still very beautiful. Thank God the owners have lavished some money and time on one of the greatest of all Art Deco structures…. and it’s worth a visit to New York JUST TO SEE THIS THEATER!
I found an early view of the Egyptian Theater Courtyard taken in 1924. The photo shows the space as almost a carnival-like atmosphere … certainly entertaining …
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater3/00015761.jpg
Here is an early photo of the auditorium from when it was still the La Mirada, circa 1930.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014709.jpg
I was raised in Hollywood in the 1950s and the El Capitan was called “The Paramount” in those days. There was a huge marquee over the entrance, and I found a photo of it as it looked then…..
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014773.jpg
Here is a great photo showing the IRIS only a few days before it’s grand opening on July 31, 1934.
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics40/00039934.jpg
I visited this theater as a child. We lived at Gower and Selma, only a few blocks away so it was a short walk. I found a 1935 photo at the following link showing it as the “Mer-Cal.”
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014713.jpg
The original artists conception art….
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044369.jpg
Here is a photo of the interior. Note the right side of the stage is the volcano which was animated with red glowing crater and white smoke which rose towards the ceiling.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014687.jpg
Here is an interior shot of the Apollo Hollywood from 1946.
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater1/00014448.jpg
KenRoe, found out that the play Helen Hayes was in for the 1954 re-opening was not “What Women Want” (as I thought) or “What Every Woman Wants” (what you thought), but rather “What Every Woman KNOWS” … I found a photo of the front of the theater on opening night … (isn’t this fun?) …
The caption on the photo is “ Opening night—celebrities and first nighters are shown arriving at the new million dollar theater, the Huntington Hartford Theater, for its premiere performance. The theater, located in Hollywood, is the first legitimate theater to open in America in 27 years. Movie fans standing in bleachers cheer as screen stars enter the lobby of the theater. Photo dated: October 2, 1954.”
Here is the photo: http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics34/00036905.jpg
I used to go to the IRIS Theater as a child with my mom. It had a spectacular marquee. The facade was remodelled in 1955. An artists sketch and caption was published in the Herald Examinar Newspaper at the time… it read…
“Artist’s sketch of the Fox Iris Theater at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. on February 11, 1955, to open soon with lavish movieland premiere fanfare. The 816-seat showcase has been remodeled at a cost of $100,000.”
The artist’s sketch (now owned by the L.A. Public Library) is located here….
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044348.jpg
The Vogue was remodelled in 1959 to it’s present “modern” appearance by architect “J. Arthur Drieloma, A.I.A.” and cost $250,000 (a substantial sum in those days). The grand re-opening took place on June 29, 1959.
The artists conception is located here…
http://jpg1.lapl.org/pics49/00044346.jpg
This is an incredible 3 hour vaudeville style show. I understand it is one of the very few vaudeville shows still being performed in the United States and successfully so. The show includes the showgirls, but also song and dance numbers, a puppeteer, a juggler and infamous announcer and stage comedian “Riff Markowitz”, who created the show. The performers are all over 50, but the show is highly energetic, glamourus, lavish and completely professional. They screen movie clips and trailers from the 1930s for the half hour before the show begins to put the audience in the proper retro mood for the show.
January 6-17 is the PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. The stars coming for this event are amazing. The official website is http://www.psfilmfest.org
This is one of 3 venues for the festival this year. The others are the Signature Theaters on Taquitz Canyon and Palm Springs High School auditorium. All theaters are located within a few blocks of each other.
From what I am told, the negative element on the boulevard that reached a peak in the 1980s, has improved every year. My strong feeling is that when you have a building or business in good repair or maintain an area, it shows you care…. and people naturally respect it for the most part. If something is boarded up and left to decay, graffiti and vandalism generally follow and it goes downhill from there.
The boulevard has a built in reputation as historically being the capital of motion pictures, and for years tourists have come and been disappointed. That is now changing, thank goodness. The apparent success of the new Hollywood Highland Center and El Capitan, Chinese Theater and Pantages restorations have caught the attention of intelligent big business who are now looking to develop and partially restore the “old Hollywood” that is left. They see these renewed areas are not being vandalized or trashed, but enjoyed and attracting a lot of attention, and money. Tourism dollars will potentially be a huge payoff if they play their cards right. Those of us who care about our history and culture can only benefit by seeing some of the glamour return to the area to be enjoyed at last on some level once more.
KenRoe, your information is invaluable. Thanks so much for the update. When you research on the internet, sometimes you get conflicting information and gaps that you almost have to guess at. I appreciate the clarifications! I also found out that the Lux Radio program was called that because “Lux Soap” was the sponsor. By the way, I have Rosemary Lord’s book, but bought it only for the older photos. Some of her information is inaccurate however and I think the modern photos do not match up to the historic ones from angle or time of day.
I understand the architect Myron Hunt also designed some other significant buildings. Pasadena’s Huntington Hotel, Public Library, Rose Bowl, the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino and Occidental College and the Ambassador Hotel Theater in Los Angeles.
Joe, THANKS a lot. I apprecite the information a great deal. The photos at LAPL are fantastic and there are so many! Those should be a great help in my research of the Montalban! Happy New Year!
KenRoe… THANKS for the additional information. Also for the correction on the Helen Hayes play of 1954. Also did not know about the names “Mirror Theater” and “Studio Theater” during the 30s. Great information and it’s appreciated.
I attended that play, but was only 4 years old at the time! I lived only 2 blocks from this theater on Vista Del Mar at the time, so we walked over to the playhouse. We often ate at the Brown Derby in the coffee shop across the street.
Also want to add that Huntington Hartford, who took over the theater in 1954 was the heir of the A & P Supermarket Chain and he spent a lot of his fortune on this and other entertainment ventures. He was not fond of the grocery business himself.
I am currently doing historic research for this theater for Nosotros, the new owners of the theater, who want to do some kind of historic display, and would apprecite any other information on this
beautiful venue.
The Carthay Circle Theater demolition is one of the greatest of needless losses of Los Angeles history. It rivals the demolition of the Fox in San Francisco and Roxy in New York. Senseless and unimaginably stupid. I remember this great theater and seeing “Around the World in 80 Days”. It was still grand the last time I saw it in 1965. The neighborhood association keeps the memory of this architectural masterpiece alive with their name and an image of the theater tower in their logo.