I had a friend who worked for Mann Theaters for years, so I know most of the history.
I was at a screening of a short film at the Vogue about four years ago. I was shocked at the state the theater was in – it was, quite frankly, disgusting – smelled bad, and was filthy. A shame, really. Is it for sale? m
I’ve been going to the Dome since it first opened with Mad World. One thing that hasn’t been pointed out and should be is that one of the reasons their current three-panel Cinerama isn’t quite the real deal was their inability to install a proper slatted Cinerama screen. Hence, the projection is not as bright as it should be. The other lesser problem is that the screen really isn’t tall enough – the Dome was never designed to house a true Cinerama screen. I saw Seven Wonders of The World, HTWWW and Brothers Grimm, all at the Warner Cinerama on Hollywood Blvd. and it was a higher screen (and maybe even a bit wider) – I’ve never seen anything like it before or since, and the image was incredibly bright and beautiful thanks to the louvered screen.
My father owned a bar just south of the Rivoli on the opposite side of the street. It was very much like the Lido Theater in LA and frequently played the same double bills. I was never in it when it was the Rivoli, but was after its name changed.
When I went to LACC I frequented the Cinema quite a bit. It’s where I saw Mudhoney and Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill (Russ Meyer), and The Balcony. I do remember the outrageous marathon showing of the original Batman serial circa 1966 or so.
I worked at the Del Mar (my first job) as as usher and everything else. This was back in 1965. The manager/owner was a real jerk and his employees really didn’t care for him. I used to open sometimes, and I’d go up in the booth and play with opening and closing the curtains. Very small screen, but would show interesting final destination double bills. While working there, I saw From Russia With Love, Viva Las Vegas, and quite a few others. Very plain inside.
While the Huntington Hartford was definitely a legit house all throughout the 60s they did, in fact, show one motion picture – Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
Just saw a digital screening of the “restored” South Pacific. It was so great to be sitting in the theater. I was surprised at how nice it was inside the auditorium. The lobby isn’t so swell right now – it would be wonderful if it could be restored and used in the way Disney uses the El Capitan – obviously that renovation worked for Disney and certainly it wasn’t cheap.
I went to the Iris a few times, and then, much later, a film I wrote and directed premiered at the Fox. I have a photo somewhere of the marquee – what a thrill!
Between Earl Carrol and the Aquarius, that building was Frank Sennes' Moulin Rouge. They used to tape Queen For A Day there.
The Paramount was a gorgeous theater in the 50s and 60s. The first thing I consciously remember seeing there was Pardners with Martin and Lewis – afterwards, my parents took me to C.C. Brown’s for a sundae. I saw Vertigo there, and The Music Man and Dr. Dolittle and tons of others.
It was a nice little theater in the late 50s/early 60s. On Saturdays they had a talent contest for the kiddie matinee. I won it. I do remember seeing The Court Jester there, back in 1956.
If you want to see the incredible neon marquee of the Pix, just rent or buy the DVD of The First Nudie Musical – there’s a really long tracking shot during a musical number where you see it for a very long time (The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud is playing. In the same number there’s also a great shot of the Hollywood.
I, too, worked at the World for a few weeks in 1967, if I remember correctly. I worked the snack bar. I also ushered at the Pantages, when they were showing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I adored the World back then – went there all the time and saw great triple bills.
I had my first kiss in the back row of the Four Star – during Where The Boys Are. I also saw The Angry Red Planet there, and Pepe, and a real oddity called Behind The Great Wall, which was a documentary that had been retrofitted with smells to compete with Scent of Mystery in Smell-o-Vision, that was playing down the street at the Ritz. Behind the Great Wall was in Aromarama. I continued to go to the Four Star all during the 80s when they were a revival house. And yes, for a short time they went porno, and Behind The Green Door ran there for quite a while.
My mother always described the Ritz as a “white elephant”. She also had some mishap in the theater that she enjoyed talking about. The only film I remember seeing there was Haji Baba, and, of course, the unique and strange Scent of Mystery in ToddAO and Smell-O-Vision. When it became the Lindy Opera House, I saw several legit shows there, including a tour of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Another of my childhood theaters gone. Shameful. I saw Rebel Without A Cause there, The Subterraneans, Strangelove (so much fun to see that postcard someone posted), Umbrellas of Cherbourg, That’s Entertainment, Tom Jones, and heaven knows how many others. In the 50s I was fascinated by the clock near the screen – it advertised some car – like a Renault or some other sports car. The things you remember. In the 60s, my favorite thing was to walk to Bevery Hills, lunch at the Ontra, and then go to the Beverly.
Spent many happy days and evenings at the Fine Arts, all throughout the late 50s and early 60s. Saw The Miracle Worker there, David and Lisa, Never on Sunday, That Man From Rio, and many, many others. A terrific little jernt, and glad to see it’s open again.
One of my all-time favorite theaters, I grew up ten minutes from there. I saw many wonderful shows there, including Let’s Make Love, Birdman of Alcatraz, To Kill A Mockingbird, Exodus, Sound of Music, The Five Pennies, Sand Pebbles, Madding Crowd, and hundreds of others.
What can I say about the Wiltern? My father owned a wonderful steak house a block from there, on Serrano and 8th, called the Kiru. As a kid, I would go with him and hang out, then have the chef make me a turkey sandwich, and I’d walk over to the Wiltern and stay there all day. I loved that theater more than any other. The first film I have a conscious memory of seeing there was Lisbon with Ray Milland. I saw the opening day of Tammy and the Bachelor there, with Miss Debbie Reynolds appearing in person and giving away signed 45s of the title song (which I still have), I saw Li'l Abner there, I saw Hercules there, and Jack the Ripper, and Pay or Die, and, best of all, North by Northwest, which I saw every day for a week, and on and on and on. I can’t remember the last time I was there, but I think it was the late 60s and it hadn’t been kept up very well. The Wiltern figures prominently in my first three novels, a trilogy about my childhood growing up in LA.
Considering I lived five minutes from the Carthay Circle, I was only there twice – once for El Cid and once for the reissue of Gone With The Wind. But those two times left an indelible impression on my – it was a spectacular theater, and El Cid looked amazing there.
The Village was a fabulous place to see movies in the 50s and 60s. They had a huge Cinemascope screen (one of the first), and I saw all the Fox scope films there. It was also a great “preview” house, and I saw more sneak previews there than anywhere else, and there were always stars and directors and producers in attendance. I saw two Blake Edwards' previews there, High Time and Experiment In Terror – Blake was there for both of them. Much later, I saw the first of the 70s Pink Panthers previewed there – Blake and Julie were there, and it was such a disaster that they reshot just a little under half the film.
I have VERY fond memories of seeing The High and The Mighty at the Village, and The Tender Trap, when I was a wee lad.
This is the best site in the history of the Internet!!! So much fun. I loved the Picwood – saw The Birds there, saw Midnight Lace there, saw Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend there, and on and on. I went to Hami (and Louis Pasteur and Crescent Heights – I lived by Pico and La Cienega and mostly frequented the Stadium, the Lido, and the Picfair. I used to love going to the Picwood in the early 60s because I’d go to Scot’s (or was it Scottie’s) burger joint next door – they had really cheap and excellent hamburgers), then just sit all afternoon in that glorious theater. I remember the neon sign very well, because whenever we’d come home from visiting relatives in Long Beach, you could see it for miles coming up the 405 (no tall buildings back then).
So nice to read these posts. Over the last few years I’ve written a thinly-veiled fictional trilogy of my childhood growing up in LA – all my childhood theaters play a big part in each book, and that includes the Picwood.
I had a friend who worked for Mann Theaters for years, so I know most of the history.
I was at a screening of a short film at the Vogue about four years ago. I was shocked at the state the theater was in – it was, quite frankly, disgusting – smelled bad, and was filthy. A shame, really. Is it for sale? m
Thanks for the info about the Vogue – very helpful. My film played the Fox in 1976 for several weeks.
Thanks – I’ll look them up now.
I’ve been going to the Dome since it first opened with Mad World. One thing that hasn’t been pointed out and should be is that one of the reasons their current three-panel Cinerama isn’t quite the real deal was their inability to install a proper slatted Cinerama screen. Hence, the projection is not as bright as it should be. The other lesser problem is that the screen really isn’t tall enough – the Dome was never designed to house a true Cinerama screen. I saw Seven Wonders of The World, HTWWW and Brothers Grimm, all at the Warner Cinerama on Hollywood Blvd. and it was a higher screen (and maybe even a bit wider) – I’ve never seen anything like it before or since, and the image was incredibly bright and beautiful thanks to the louvered screen.
My father owned a bar just south of the Rivoli on the opposite side of the street. It was very much like the Lido Theater in LA and frequently played the same double bills. I was never in it when it was the Rivoli, but was after its name changed.
When I went to LACC I frequented the Cinema quite a bit. It’s where I saw Mudhoney and Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill (Russ Meyer), and The Balcony. I do remember the outrageous marathon showing of the original Batman serial circa 1966 or so.
I worked at the Del Mar (my first job) as as usher and everything else. This was back in 1965. The manager/owner was a real jerk and his employees really didn’t care for him. I used to open sometimes, and I’d go up in the booth and play with opening and closing the curtains. Very small screen, but would show interesting final destination double bills. While working there, I saw From Russia With Love, Viva Las Vegas, and quite a few others. Very plain inside.
While the Huntington Hartford was definitely a legit house all throughout the 60s they did, in fact, show one motion picture – Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
Just saw a digital screening of the “restored” South Pacific. It was so great to be sitting in the theater. I was surprised at how nice it was inside the auditorium. The lobby isn’t so swell right now – it would be wonderful if it could be restored and used in the way Disney uses the El Capitan – obviously that renovation worked for Disney and certainly it wasn’t cheap.
I went to the Iris a few times, and then, much later, a film I wrote and directed premiered at the Fox. I have a photo somewhere of the marquee – what a thrill!
Between Earl Carrol and the Aquarius, that building was Frank Sennes' Moulin Rouge. They used to tape Queen For A Day there.
The Paramount was a gorgeous theater in the 50s and 60s. The first thing I consciously remember seeing there was Pardners with Martin and Lewis – afterwards, my parents took me to C.C. Brown’s for a sundae. I saw Vertigo there, and The Music Man and Dr. Dolittle and tons of others.
It was a nice little theater in the late 50s/early 60s. On Saturdays they had a talent contest for the kiddie matinee. I won it. I do remember seeing The Court Jester there, back in 1956.
If you want to see the incredible neon marquee of the Pix, just rent or buy the DVD of The First Nudie Musical – there’s a really long tracking shot during a musical number where you see it for a very long time (The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud is playing. In the same number there’s also a great shot of the Hollywood.
I, too, worked at the World for a few weeks in 1967, if I remember correctly. I worked the snack bar. I also ushered at the Pantages, when they were showing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I adored the World back then – went there all the time and saw great triple bills.
I only saw a handful of films at the El Rey, but among them was the first run showing of Psycho, so it is forever etched in my memory.
I had my first kiss in the back row of the Four Star – during Where The Boys Are. I also saw The Angry Red Planet there, and Pepe, and a real oddity called Behind The Great Wall, which was a documentary that had been retrofitted with smells to compete with Scent of Mystery in Smell-o-Vision, that was playing down the street at the Ritz. Behind the Great Wall was in Aromarama. I continued to go to the Four Star all during the 80s when they were a revival house. And yes, for a short time they went porno, and Behind The Green Door ran there for quite a while.
My mother always described the Ritz as a “white elephant”. She also had some mishap in the theater that she enjoyed talking about. The only film I remember seeing there was Haji Baba, and, of course, the unique and strange Scent of Mystery in ToddAO and Smell-O-Vision. When it became the Lindy Opera House, I saw several legit shows there, including a tour of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Another of my childhood theaters gone. Shameful. I saw Rebel Without A Cause there, The Subterraneans, Strangelove (so much fun to see that postcard someone posted), Umbrellas of Cherbourg, That’s Entertainment, Tom Jones, and heaven knows how many others. In the 50s I was fascinated by the clock near the screen – it advertised some car – like a Renault or some other sports car. The things you remember. In the 60s, my favorite thing was to walk to Bevery Hills, lunch at the Ontra, and then go to the Beverly.
I, too, loved the Warner BH. Saw Lawrence there, of course. The last film I saw there was Swashbuckler, but by then it was in a sad state of affairs.
Spent many happy days and evenings at the Fine Arts, all throughout the late 50s and early 60s. Saw The Miracle Worker there, David and Lisa, Never on Sunday, That Man From Rio, and many, many others. A terrific little jernt, and glad to see it’s open again.
One of my all-time favorite theaters, I grew up ten minutes from there. I saw many wonderful shows there, including Let’s Make Love, Birdman of Alcatraz, To Kill A Mockingbird, Exodus, Sound of Music, The Five Pennies, Sand Pebbles, Madding Crowd, and hundreds of others.
What can I say about the Wiltern? My father owned a wonderful steak house a block from there, on Serrano and 8th, called the Kiru. As a kid, I would go with him and hang out, then have the chef make me a turkey sandwich, and I’d walk over to the Wiltern and stay there all day. I loved that theater more than any other. The first film I have a conscious memory of seeing there was Lisbon with Ray Milland. I saw the opening day of Tammy and the Bachelor there, with Miss Debbie Reynolds appearing in person and giving away signed 45s of the title song (which I still have), I saw Li'l Abner there, I saw Hercules there, and Jack the Ripper, and Pay or Die, and, best of all, North by Northwest, which I saw every day for a week, and on and on and on. I can’t remember the last time I was there, but I think it was the late 60s and it hadn’t been kept up very well. The Wiltern figures prominently in my first three novels, a trilogy about my childhood growing up in LA.
Considering I lived five minutes from the Carthay Circle, I was only there twice – once for El Cid and once for the reissue of Gone With The Wind. But those two times left an indelible impression on my – it was a spectacular theater, and El Cid looked amazing there.
The Village was a fabulous place to see movies in the 50s and 60s. They had a huge Cinemascope screen (one of the first), and I saw all the Fox scope films there. It was also a great “preview” house, and I saw more sneak previews there than anywhere else, and there were always stars and directors and producers in attendance. I saw two Blake Edwards' previews there, High Time and Experiment In Terror – Blake was there for both of them. Much later, I saw the first of the 70s Pink Panthers previewed there – Blake and Julie were there, and it was such a disaster that they reshot just a little under half the film.
I have VERY fond memories of seeing The High and The Mighty at the Village, and The Tender Trap, when I was a wee lad.
This is the best site in the history of the Internet!!! So much fun. I loved the Picwood – saw The Birds there, saw Midnight Lace there, saw Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend there, and on and on. I went to Hami (and Louis Pasteur and Crescent Heights – I lived by Pico and La Cienega and mostly frequented the Stadium, the Lido, and the Picfair. I used to love going to the Picwood in the early 60s because I’d go to Scot’s (or was it Scottie’s) burger joint next door – they had really cheap and excellent hamburgers), then just sit all afternoon in that glorious theater. I remember the neon sign very well, because whenever we’d come home from visiting relatives in Long Beach, you could see it for miles coming up the 405 (no tall buildings back then).
So nice to read these posts. Over the last few years I’ve written a thinly-veiled fictional trilogy of my childhood growing up in LA – all my childhood theaters play a big part in each book, and that includes the Picwood.