I was a K-B Theatres relief manager in the early 1970’s. One of the houses that I regularly worked at was the K-B Baronet when A. Paul Kershner was the manager. At that time, 1970-71, the only concessions were dispensed from machines in the back of the house and, if we were doing good business, they had to be filled during the show as they had to be ready for the next performance. Woe unto the usher that dropped the metal lid of the popcorn hopper during the showing of a feature.
The theatre organ (not the original) was stored back stage and had not yet been installed.
The projection booth was hung on the back of the auditorium like a tree-house and was accessed by a fire exit out of the back of the auditorium next to the concession machines and then up a set of metal stairs that went up to the door to the booth. It was tricky during snow or icy conditions when carrying a couple of film cans.
The K-B front office was adamant that the highest standards be maintained in their theatres but sometimes the bookings were a little strange. During the spring school holiday in 1971 we were scheduled to be open for “Kiddie Matinees” all week showing a different truly lame cartoon feature each day. We had a total of 26 kids on Monday and then the word got out and we didn’t get 25 more kids during the remaining four days. The weekend matinees were “The Wizard of Oz” which I was assured had not been exhibited in the area for several years. We didn’t expect a lot of business. WRONG! When I arrived at 11:00 am Saturday, the line for the still unopened box office went down to the corner of East-West Highway and around the corner for over a hundred feet! It was a amazing! There were children with and without parents, parents with and without kids, teenagers, elderly people, people from the local area and people who had come from the Virginia suburbs and from the district. The exhibition contract limited us to showing only the matinees but it was exciting.
I was a K-B Theatres relief manager in the early 1970’s. One of the houses that I regularly worked at was the K-B Baronet when A. Paul Kershner was the manager. At that time, 1970-71, the only concessions were dispensed from machines in the back of the house and, if we were doing good business, they had to be filled during the show as they had to be ready for the next performance. Woe unto the usher that dropped the metal lid of the popcorn hopper during the showing of a feature.
The theatre organ (not the original) was stored back stage and had not yet been installed.
The projection booth was hung on the back of the auditorium like a tree-house and was accessed by a fire exit out of the back of the auditorium next to the concession machines and then up a set of metal stairs that went up to the door to the booth. It was tricky during snow or icy conditions when carrying a couple of film cans.
The K-B front office was adamant that the highest standards be maintained in their theatres but sometimes the bookings were a little strange. During the spring school holiday in 1971 we were scheduled to be open for “Kiddie Matinees” all week showing a different truly lame cartoon feature each day. We had a total of 26 kids on Monday and then the word got out and we didn’t get 25 more kids during the remaining four days. The weekend matinees were “The Wizard of Oz” which I was assured had not been exhibited in the area for several years. We didn’t expect a lot of business. WRONG! When I arrived at 11:00 am Saturday, the line for the still unopened box office went down to the corner of East-West Highway and around the corner for over a hundred feet! It was a amazing! There were children with and without parents, parents with and without kids, teenagers, elderly people, people from the local area and people who had come from the Virginia suburbs and from the district. The exhibition contract limited us to showing only the matinees but it was exciting.