Rex Theatre
115 E. Center Street,
Sikeston,
MO
63801
115 E. Center Street,
Sikeston,
MO
63801
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The Rex Theatre opened on March 31, 1935 with Charles Laughton in “Ruggles of Red Gap”. This was one of two operating theatres in Sikeston at the time, the other was the Malone Theatre on W. Malone Street. The Rex Theatre seated 300 and closed in 1946 to be enlarged. It reopened in 1947 with 423 seats and was still operating in January 1969 screening adult movies. It was closed in 1971 and has since been demolished.
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Chris1982
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O. W. McCutchen remodeled a former Ford automobile dealership on East Center Street into the Rex Theatre in early 1935. The house was built to operate during McCutchen’s planned rebuilding of the Malone Theatre, which took place later that year. After the Malone reopened in October, 1935, the Rex continued to operate seasonally, being closed part of the year, open on weekends at other periods, and open daily during holiday seasons such as Christmas. Later it became a full-time house
McCutchen continued to improve the Rex, installing a new marquee and sound system in 1937, later installing air conditioning, and frequently redecorating. In its later years, the Rex ran a lot of westerns, and a lot of “drive-in” movies. In November, 1958, for example, you could see a double feature of The Blob and I Married a Monster From Outer Space. The Rex was advertised in the local newspaper at least as late as January, 1969.
The Rex must have gone through a good size remodel in 1946. It is listed as closed in 1946 and then open in 1947 with the seat count going from 300 to 423
The Rex Theatre launched March 31, 1935 with “The Ruggles of Red Gap” supported by the short, “In the Spotlight” and a cartoon in downtown Sikeston. The theatre was given a streamline moderne makeover just two years later.
In 1956, the Rex was retrofitted with widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles. But when the Rex booked an X-rated feature in 1970 in the porno chic era of movie exhibition, public sentiment took a turn for the worse at the 35-year old Rex.
On February 22, 1971, the Rex was shut down with Debbie Osborne in “Tobacco Roody.” The theatre made a brief comeback but appears to have either stopped advertising or closed after the Debbie Osborne X-rated opus, “Cindy and Donna” On April 11, 1971.