I’ll bet people would turn off their cellphones in the theater if the manager was armed. This is from the Madison (WI) Capital Times in February 1931:
CHICAGOâ€"Three Negro bandits held up the Granada theater at 6247 Sheridan Road Friday night and fled before the revolver fire of J.J. Katz, the manager, who gave chase after he had been notified of the robbery by a girl cashier. One of the holdup men was believed to have been wounded.
The chase and shooting were witnessed by hundreds of motorists and pedestrians, as it occurred about 10 o'clock, while the crowds from the first performance were still leaving the theater.
A youthful asserted holdup gang led by a 14-year-old boy gunman yesterday was captured by Santa Monica police in a wild 80-mile-an-hour chase that followed a holdup of the Bundy Theater in Santa Monica. According to police, the gang, led by Johnny Alvaro, 14, obtained $39 from E.B. Abrams, manager of the theater, and fled in a car said to have been stolen.
Santa Monica police officers gave chase as their radio told them of the robbery and the car’s description answered that of the machine reported at the theater. Alvaro’s companions were booked by Santa Monica police as Joe Bergin, 17, driver of the car, Henry Ford, 21, and Joe Berrard. Berrard admitted, police said, that he and Alvaro held up the theater manager. The gun used by Alvaro was owned by Ford, police said.
Alvaro admitted firing five shots at the pursuing police automobile before the bandit car overturned on a sharp curve outside the Sepulveda tunnel. One shot narrowly missed one of the officers. One boy was arrested in the car and the other three were rounded up by civilians and police as they were hiding in brush-covered hills. Alvaro gave his address as Ninth and Grand Ave., Los Angeles.
Opening soon of the new Picwood theater at Pico and Westwood Blvd. has been announced. The new structure has 1500 seating capacity, 1000 on the first floor. The theater is owned by Earl Collins and will be managed by Phil Isley, of Dallas.
In view of the success of its current screening of Ingmar Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries†and “The Magicianâ€, NT&T’s Lido Theater on Pico will present Bergman’s “A Lesson in Love†for an exclusive engagement starting Friday June 3.
A hastily ironic comedy of morals, “A Lesson in Love†catches Bergman in a mischievous mood, the style being reminiscent of “Smiles of a Summer Nightâ€, the film that first won him the attention of American audiences. Starring Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand, this will be the first showing of this film in the greater Los Angeles area.
Here is part of an August 1963 article in the LA Times:
With the U.S. premiere if “Cielo Rojo†as the piece de resistance and an appearance by Latin movie queen Sonia Furio, plus young Rodolfo de Anda, the State Theater splashes into the Spanish-language film field. “Cielo Rojoâ€, filmed in what must be the best Eastmancolor photography yet applied to movies shot in outdoor Mexico, deserves some comparison to another Latin epic of recent years, “Black Orpheusâ€.
With Patricia Conde, Miss Furio and young de Anda as the stars, “Cielo Rojo†explores the lives of Acapulco’s world-famed divers. It peeks into their social drawbacks, the main theme being illegitimacy and the ultimate righting of same. In young de Anda’s acting, one sees the promise of excellent things to come.
WEST COVINA-Theater operator George Voss faces a new trial May 21 at Citrus Municipal Court after his first trial on obscenity charges for showing “Deep Throat” at his Rowland Heights Theater ended in a hung jury. The jury of nine men and three women was dismissed Tuesday after the foreman reported that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked at 7-5 for acquittal. After a 16-week run, the film is no longer being shown and the theater is closed.
Here is part of a July 1977 article in the LA Times. I’m not sure if the first word in the story was used intentionally.
COVINA-Aroused by plans of the Covina Cinema to show X-rated films, city councilmen will meet Monday to consider placing a moratorium on so-called “adult†entertainment, pending a zoning study.
The theater at 104 N. Citrus Ave. has adopted a policy of showing a smattering of foreign films, old classics and recent offbeat films such as “Harold and Maude†and “The Rocky Horror Picture Showâ€. No film plays for more than two days. Included in the upcoming schedule for July and August are such X-rated films as “Last Tango in Parisâ€, “Emmanuelle†and “Super Vixensâ€.
City manager Richard Miller has written to Great Western Theaters, which runs the Covina Cinema, saying, “Your films are not suited to our entertainment tastes and we will attempt to seek whatever remedies or support, public or private, we can to influence you to conform to family entertainment that is acceptable to our city.†Miller said that he recently received a four-page reply from Steven Lane, president of Great Western Theaters, chastising him for setting himself up “as a censor for the mores and tastes of the community.â€
Miller conceded that Covina Cinema’s X-rated films tend to be “soft-core†pornography rather than hardcore. But, he said, his fear is that X-rated films will be shown with increasing frequency and the degree of sexual explicitness will increase.
Great Western Theaters, headquartered in Tarzana, leased the theater four months ago and began offering a variety of films, with programs changing every day or two. Lane said the Covina Cinema is not at this point a financial success. But, he said, it has a mailing list of more than 2,200 persons who have expressed interest in the theater’s programs. He noted that it took six months for the company’s theater at Newport Beach to become a success after it adopted the kind of programming being tried in Covina.
Here is another 1985 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/newrdu
Which I’m sure was minimal to begin with.
Here is a 1959 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/lydr85
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/kwca5s
Here is a February 1959 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/lbmoq3
There is an older photo of the Ritz on this August 2009 blog:
http://tinyurl.com/ltfgn3
I’ll bet people would turn off their cellphones in the theater if the manager was armed. This is from the Madison (WI) Capital Times in February 1931:
CHICAGOâ€"Three Negro bandits held up the Granada theater at 6247 Sheridan Road Friday night and fled before the revolver fire of J.J. Katz, the manager, who gave chase after he had been notified of the robbery by a girl cashier. One of the holdup men was believed to have been wounded.
The chase and shooting were witnessed by hundreds of motorists and pedestrians, as it occurred about 10 o'clock, while the crowds from the first performance were still leaving the theater.
Here is a 2005 night photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m87hsp
Here is some more information:
http://tinyurl.com/lda4ut
Here is a B&W photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mhpv66
Here is a marquee photo:
http://tinyurl.com/l6jg85
Here is the 1965 photo posted on 1/18/05:
http://tinyurl.com/l587x2
Here is a 1986 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mcymku
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/nh2qkj
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mf2odv
Here is a September 1943 story from the LA Times:
A youthful asserted holdup gang led by a 14-year-old boy gunman yesterday was captured by Santa Monica police in a wild 80-mile-an-hour chase that followed a holdup of the Bundy Theater in Santa Monica. According to police, the gang, led by Johnny Alvaro, 14, obtained $39 from E.B. Abrams, manager of the theater, and fled in a car said to have been stolen.
Santa Monica police officers gave chase as their radio told them of the robbery and the car’s description answered that of the machine reported at the theater. Alvaro’s companions were booked by Santa Monica police as Joe Bergin, 17, driver of the car, Henry Ford, 21, and Joe Berrard. Berrard admitted, police said, that he and Alvaro held up the theater manager. The gun used by Alvaro was owned by Ford, police said.
Alvaro admitted firing five shots at the pursuing police automobile before the bandit car overturned on a sharp curve outside the Sepulveda tunnel. One shot narrowly missed one of the officers. One boy was arrested in the car and the other three were rounded up by civilians and police as they were hiding in brush-covered hills. Alvaro gave his address as Ninth and Grand Ave., Los Angeles.
The last ads in the LA Times for the Center are in early 1971.
Here is a 1983 night photo:
http://tinyurl.com/mv7bvd
Here is another 1983 night photo:
http://tinyurl.com/lweadp
This is from the LA Times on November 7, 1948:
Opening soon of the new Picwood theater at Pico and Westwood Blvd. has been announced. The new structure has 1500 seating capacity, 1000 on the first floor. The theater is owned by Earl Collins and will be managed by Phil Isley, of Dallas.
Here is a May 1960 item from the LA Times:
In view of the success of its current screening of Ingmar Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries†and “The Magicianâ€, NT&T’s Lido Theater on Pico will present Bergman’s “A Lesson in Love†for an exclusive engagement starting Friday June 3.
A hastily ironic comedy of morals, “A Lesson in Love†catches Bergman in a mischievous mood, the style being reminiscent of “Smiles of a Summer Nightâ€, the film that first won him the attention of American audiences. Starring Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand, this will be the first showing of this film in the greater Los Angeles area.
Here is part of an August 1963 article in the LA Times:
With the U.S. premiere if “Cielo Rojo†as the piece de resistance and an appearance by Latin movie queen Sonia Furio, plus young Rodolfo de Anda, the State Theater splashes into the Spanish-language film field. “Cielo Rojoâ€, filmed in what must be the best Eastmancolor photography yet applied to movies shot in outdoor Mexico, deserves some comparison to another Latin epic of recent years, “Black Orpheusâ€.
With Patricia Conde, Miss Furio and young de Anda as the stars, “Cielo Rojo†explores the lives of Acapulco’s world-famed divers. It peeks into their social drawbacks, the main theme being illegitimacy and the ultimate righting of same. In young de Anda’s acting, one sees the promise of excellent things to come.
Here is an April 1974 item from the LA Times:
WEST COVINA-Theater operator George Voss faces a new trial May 21 at Citrus Municipal Court after his first trial on obscenity charges for showing “Deep Throat” at his Rowland Heights Theater ended in a hung jury. The jury of nine men and three women was dismissed Tuesday after the foreman reported that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked at 7-5 for acquittal. After a 16-week run, the film is no longer being shown and the theater is closed.
Here is part of a July 1977 article in the LA Times. I’m not sure if the first word in the story was used intentionally.
COVINA-Aroused by plans of the Covina Cinema to show X-rated films, city councilmen will meet Monday to consider placing a moratorium on so-called “adult†entertainment, pending a zoning study.
The theater at 104 N. Citrus Ave. has adopted a policy of showing a smattering of foreign films, old classics and recent offbeat films such as “Harold and Maude†and “The Rocky Horror Picture Showâ€. No film plays for more than two days. Included in the upcoming schedule for July and August are such X-rated films as “Last Tango in Parisâ€, “Emmanuelle†and “Super Vixensâ€.
City manager Richard Miller has written to Great Western Theaters, which runs the Covina Cinema, saying, “Your films are not suited to our entertainment tastes and we will attempt to seek whatever remedies or support, public or private, we can to influence you to conform to family entertainment that is acceptable to our city.†Miller said that he recently received a four-page reply from Steven Lane, president of Great Western Theaters, chastising him for setting himself up “as a censor for the mores and tastes of the community.â€
Miller conceded that Covina Cinema’s X-rated films tend to be “soft-core†pornography rather than hardcore. But, he said, his fear is that X-rated films will be shown with increasing frequency and the degree of sexual explicitness will increase.
Great Western Theaters, headquartered in Tarzana, leased the theater four months ago and began offering a variety of films, with programs changing every day or two. Lane said the Covina Cinema is not at this point a financial success. But, he said, it has a mailing list of more than 2,200 persons who have expressed interest in the theater’s programs. He noted that it took six months for the company’s theater at Newport Beach to become a success after it adopted the kind of programming being tried in Covina.
OK, I guess the name stays the same. Easier to find it under Silent Theater anyway.