Photos favorited by Gerald A. DeLuca

  • <p>November 18, 1943</p>
  • <p>Provincetown Theatre facade piece as it appeared on June 20, 2019. Cinema archeology in the sand.</p>
  • <p>The Provincetown Theatre, at 239 Commercial Street,<br>in Provincetown, Massachusetts, was built in 1919.<br>It had 614 seats, 441 on the main floor, and 173 in the balcony.</p> <p>In May of 1941, it was listed as mainly a venue of MGM productions, and was Provincetown’s only venue for motion pictures. That would change into the 1950’s, as other cinematic theatres opened, and The Provincetown Theatre would screen productions from other studios. Collected information from various recollection of townies reveal that Universal Pictures screened many of their famous classic monster films there, including, “Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man” (1943), “The Creature From The Black Lagoon” (1954), and later on in the 1960’s, United Artists screened The Beatles first feature; “A Hard Day’s Night”, at The Provincetown Theatre.</p> <p>By the 1970’s, the theatre was an independent art house theatre, known as “The Movies”, with Monte Rome managing. “The Movies” would screen classic films, as well as foreign films, and a cult film at midnight. A classic Warner Brothers Looney Tune or two would be screened before the feature.</p> <p>On various summer evenings over the years in that 1970’s and 1980’s, I was fortunate enough to have watched more than a couple of classic Marx Brothers films at “The Movies”, and others as well, including Roman Polanski’s “MacBeth” (1971),<br> “The Story of O” (1975), Mel Brook’s “Silent Movie” (1976), and Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian” (1979). The most memorable experience I had at “The Movies”, was seeing David Lynch’s 1977 Cult Classic “Eraserhead” at a midnight screening. The psilocybin mushroom’s that our party ingested before the screening were completely unnecessary. If you haven’t seen it, “Eraserhead” is already like watching a hallucinogenic trip, and a disturbing one at that. The internet movie data base’s brief description of “Eraserhead”, is “Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.”</p> <p>“The Movies” had stopped operation by the mid-1980’s, and on February 10th, 1998, a fire at Whaler’s Wharf destroyed the entire building. The old Provincetown Theatre sign now rests, in a pile of pieces, on the shore of Provincetown Harbor..</p>
  • <p>From Jan-Feb 1958 program flyer.</p>
  • <p>In 1950.</p>
  • <p>August 22, 1963</p>
  • <p>December 1, 2000.</p>
  • <p>September 12, 1959</p>
  • <p>February 27, 1941.</p>
  • <p>Bernard,Francis and Rudy Santos in front of the Provincetown Movie Theater.</p>
  • <p>August 24, 1939</p>
  • <p>Spurce: Motion Picture Exhibitor, November 28, 1956</p>
  • <p>A 1941 photo. Looks like a private home was converted into a theatre for the public.</p>
  • <p>Orleans Theatre at launch</p>
  • <p>Opening night June 15, 1936. The first film was was Duvivier’s “Poil de carotte.” Live classical music performances filled out this initial program.</p>
  • <p>Decatur’s Empress Theatre seen in winter of 1926 showing “4 Devils” starring Janet Gaynor. A Fox Pictures silent film later re-released as a talking picture. From one of the advertisements of the day: “HERE in an unfailing and unforgettable story that breathes the irresistible spirit of the circus. The hardships and humors of trapeze performers are depicted by the world’s most winsome quartet in JANET GAYNOR, CHARLES MORTON, BARRY NORTON and NANCY DREXEL, radiating the matchless quality of youth. Miss Gaynor, who has been called “the perfect screen actress,” has the perfect climax when she must smother her heartbreak to keep from killing herself and the man who has been untrue to her…” Unfortunately, 4 Devils is a film lost to time.</p>
  • <p>July 14, 1960</p>
  • <p>From the Provincetown Advocate, December 25, 1952. Artist’s depiction of façade.</p>
  • <p>A 1961 image. The center building behind the tree would house the Art Cinema which became the Metro Cinema. On the right is the town hall. From Wikipedia.</p>
  • <p>With more than 600 seats, the Provincetown Theater was a coming-of-age statement for the town when it opened in 1919. It looked like a big-city cinema, a solid work of masonry in a town of lumber, unabashed in identifying itself in big chiseled letters under the exterior proscenium arch.</p>
  • <p>July 20, 1961</p>
  • <p>October 31, 1961. The run for “La Dolce Vita” was extended before being shown yet again for another week or more at the Art Cinema. It was probably one of the largest audiences for a movie in this small town where films played typically for one to three days. The subject matter truly affected the residents and summer visitors.</p>
  • <p>A 1925 movie program…a century ago.</p>
  • <p>July 16, 1931</p>
  • <p>The Independent Film Journal “Drive-In” Issue 1950</p>
  • <p>June 17, 1954</p>