Buckhead Theatre
3110 Roswell Road NW,
Atlanta,
GA
30305
3110 Roswell Road NW,
Atlanta,
GA
30305
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 38 comments
I sit corrected! I do recall seeing the Out of Towner’s playing there. I guess what threw me off was never having to wait in a long line to get tickets as was the case at Phipps and Lenox. So glad that the Buckhead and the Marietta Strand have so far missed the wreaking ball.
I agree with Stan Malone. The Capri was a first-run theater in the 70s. 70mm, like Cinerama, was rare. The number of screens became more important as multiplex theaters grew. With multiple screens and staggered showtimes, management could keep staff busy. Theaters like single-screen Phipps Plaza, were split into two screens. With competition from quality, home-theater systems, streaming options, and hybrid releases (theater/streaming), what draws moviegoers to theaters? … Marvel Universe, Avatar, Top Gun: Maverick, etc.?
To the contrary, from the years 1968-1977 the Capri was one of if not THE top presenter of first run films in Atlanta. Of course no theater can get all of the hits, but for those years the Capri had more than any other. Every Christmas and summer you could count on the Capri to offer a big, highly anticipated movie. Because these bookings required big, upfront advances that required runs often exceeding four or five months it may have seemed like this was not a consistently major player, but it was. Among those attractions were Funny Girl, To Sir With Love, Out of Towners, Love Story, The Godfather, Poseidon Adventure, Pappion, Earthquake, and others that could certainly be described as showcase attractions. Even when not showing what is now referred to as tent pole movies, the bookings were strong with such as New Centurions, Oklahoma Crude, Dollars, and If.
There seems to be some sort of misconception that if a film was not presented in 70MM, assuming that it was even available in that format, then it was not a prestigious booking. If that were true then Atlanta was a cinema backwater as there were comparatively few 70MM engagements in that period. Such 70MM worthy movies as Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Lion In Winter, Thoroughly Modern Milly, That’s Entertainment, Ryan’s Daughter, Patton, Scrooge, Deliverance, Rollerball, Star Wars, and Funny Lady just to name a few played in 70MM equipped theaters for the most part but were run in 35mm usually 35mm mono. The fact that in those days many of the big theaters still had union contracts that called for two projectionists or time and a half pay for one on 70MM presentations gave theater owners little incentive to run a 70MM print even if one were available. It was not until 1978 when the Fox Theater reopened with its summer movie series using the 70/35mm projectors purchased from the Loews Grand that most of the 70MM releases from this era were finally shown in that format in Atlanta.
As for the Capri, that is a moot point as it never had 70MM equipment anyway. While none of its lengthy list of “showcase” worthy hits, or a shorter list of failures like Gable and Lombard or Lost Horizon ran in 70MM that did not mean that it was not a major player in the first run movie business of those years.
Why wasn’t the Capri part of the first run showplaces of the 1970s? It was in the heart of Buckhead and would have been ideal for big screen epics. Don’t recall their ever being a 70mm film being presented there. There was also talk of “twining” it just before it morphed into the Cinema & Drafthouse.
LOST HORIZON played for quite a while at the Capri. I remember the big lit up marquee for it. I wonder if anyone took pictures of the Capri’s marquees back then. I would love to see it.
I remember riding the bus from Hapeville to Buckhead to see movies when this was the Capri. The first movie I saw here was “Funny Girl.” I remember seeing “Earthquake” and “Roller Coaster,” both in Senserround. “Roller Coaster” was the last movie to play at the Capri.
Stan Malone, you’re right about the extended runs at the Capri. I think they often used the term “road show” for those extended runs. The Capri had numbered seats … and I think some of these “road shows” were possibly reserved seats.
“The Taming of The Shrew” with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor was a 1967 run. I reached a point where I was repeating dialogue from “Shrew” and “To Sir, With Love” after seeing them so often. I also worked some shifts at The Fine Art in ‘67 while “A Man For All Seasons” (6 Oscars including Best Picture, Director and Actor) was playing.
This reopened as the Buckhead Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse on July 18th, 1980. Small ad posted.
Closed as Capri in 1977. More to come.
This reopened as the Capri theatre on June 29th, 1962. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
This opened on June 2nd, 1930.
Website: http://www.thebuckheadtheatre.com/
Would love to re connect with former Capri Cinema employees..I was one of the managers for the Weiss Theatre chain..I managed Peachtree Battle, Fine Arts,Broadview and the Capri in the middle 70s..Steve Crisp was one of my best friends…Lost contact after he moved to North Carolina.Saddened to hear of his death.. There were many box office robberies during that era..I was managing one evening when “Granny” the cashier was robbed. Never heard an 85 year old lady scream so loud everyone heard her. I JUST GOT ROBBED. AGAIN!!! Fond memories….I’m sure Sidney Katz has also passed…Please contact Donald Edwards
I worked at the Capri Theater as an usher in 1962 and 1963. It was my first job for $1.10 an hour. I was 15/16 years old and we lived right in Buckhead at the time, after moving from Florida. The Capri was a first run Theater in the ‘60’s I remember two big films that I worked were “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Barabbas” with Anthony Quinn. I still remember the formula for the popcorn machine; 1 cup popcorn, 1 cup “Popcorn” salt, and 3 pumps of melted Coconut butter. It the BEST! And only the one size of red and white boxes, I think it sold for .25 or .35 cents. The lobby was so small that for big films like “Mockingbird” the people would buy tickets and then stand in line up Roswell Rd. waiting for last show to let out. I think I saw Mrs. Carter once, but I most fondly remember “The Manager” He was a dapper little man always dressed to the 9’s Tux and black opera shoes. Arriving at work 15 minutes before opening by taxi or more often then not in a chauffeured Cadillac or Lincoln, he would alight from the back door and I saw him kiss more the one extended gloved hand. He was a Gentleman and quite a character. I can’t ,for the life of me remember his name, But I remember his cigars and to misquote a new favorite film of mine; “He was a most liberally perfumed man”, I can still see him in my minds eye. I believe that the resemblance that the character of Monsieur Gustave H., The Concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel bares to “Our Manager of Capri Cinema” is why I like the film so much. I have fond memories of the “Capri” 22 May 2015 Francis C. Howland Jr. Msg.USA ret Oxford-on-the-Choccolocco, Al
Theatre has no seats , as it is a concert venue now.
I also posted this obituary for Ruth Carter, former owner of the Brookhaven and Garden Hills/Fine Art theatres.
CARTER, Ruth Goss Ruth Goss Carter, one of Atlanta’s last Grande Dames, died on September 22, 2009. She was 94 years old. Mrs. Carter was born in 1915 in Charlotte, North Carolina, attended Hollins College in Virginia, and married John Hennen Carter of Atlanta, in 1936. She and her husband were co-owners of the Brookhaven, the Buckhead “Capri” and the Garden Hills “Fine Art” theaters. Mrs. Carter was a devoted bridge player and a life Master of the American Contract Bridge League. She was an avid history buff and worked as a docent at the Swan House adjacent to the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta. She will be missed by her friends and surviving family: her son, John Hennen Carter Jr. of Stockbridge, Georgia; her grandchildren, John Carter III and Kimberly Marx of Atlanta, Georgia, Erik Perschmann of Carver, Minnesota, James Gardner of Stockbridge, Georgia, and Amy Castillo of Jackson, Georgia; and her great-granddaughter, Therese (Princess) Carter. The memorial service will be held at Peachtree Road Methodist Church on October 17, 2009 at 2 o'clock pm.
Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on October 11, 2009
Although Ruth Carter was a co-owner with her husband, John, I remember her as the most visible in day-to-day business activities when I worked there in 1967.
Re: Robbery at the Roxy-you might want to check the archives at the main branch (downtown) of the Atlanta/Fulton County Library. Start with the Atlanta Journal/Constitution microfiche for 1974 and no doubt you will soon hit your mark.
I hope someone here can help me…..My husband and I met on a Sat in Jan 1974 and our first date was to the Roxy the next day. We saw Pappilon and after we left the theater, it was robbed. I don’t know the date we met, so if anyone knows the date that the Roxy was robbed in Jan 1974, please let me know.
As a teenager at Bass High School in the 60s, my orbit was downtown, the Emory area and, of course,
Little Five Points. Buckhead was the Edge of the Known World to me, but I sometimes did venture into
Buckhead to browse Jim Sallee’s record shop, located to the right of the Capri, toward Roswell Road.
About 1966 I saw my first movie(s) at the Capri – a double feature, The Haunting and Lolita, sort of a
strange pairing. Lolita, (Kubrick) as I remember, had been out a few years, so I guess the Capri was
not a first run house at the time. Then in 1972, on a cold winter’s Saturday afternoon, I saw The
Godfather there. The house was packed for that very popular movie. Some time in the 80s, after the
Capri morphed into the Roxy, I saw rockabilly performer Robert Gordon play there. Admission was
worth it just to see his hair.
I’m in exile now in Arizona, so thanks, J.B., for the good news that the old place had reopened in yet
another incarnation.
Yes Stan,I got in on the tail in too.1974-83.Saw the ending of the good old days and days coming I wanted no part in.Abc Theatres.Plitt.and GCC.
Sounds good.
Last weekend I drove by the theater and a new computerized marquee is now up and the new Buckhead Theater is open for live events.
Last week I rode by the theater and it looks as if they are doing some renovation. There is a sign in front that says the Buchead Theater coming soon. I doubt if this will be a cinema but hopefully it will be preserved.
I saw The Poseidon Adventure, as well as Papillon, in the early ‘70s. In the late '70s Alex Coolly, the concert promoter had several concerts at the Capri. I saw several, most notably The Patti Smith Group in 1978. In the audience that night were several members of The Cars, a rock band that had played The Omni the night before(I was there as well). One night Coolly had a showing of the documentary film The Kids Are Alright, about The English band The Who. The film kept stopping, so Coolly said all drinks were free while they tried to get the film going again.
The Roxy/Buckhead Theatre has closed and it’s fate is uncertain. Since LiveNation/Clear Channel terminated their lease of the theatre in February 2008, bookings for the venue have been few and sporadic. The Buckhead area is currently in limbo with plans to make it into the “Rodeo Drive of the South†on hold. The jewel box Garden Hills Theatre located just down the street shuttered in 2007 and remains vacant.