Town Theatre

Connett-McLendon Enterprises Circuit built two new theatres in 1950 to complement the twenty year old Palace Theatre. It would build the Ritz Drive-In in 1950 opening in 1951 and the Town Theatre which launched August 31, 1950. The theatre boasted a Cycloramic Screen - the first installed in Mississippi which was “the Magic Screen of the Future” which “makes every seat a good seat”.

The Town Theatre was actually designed in 1945 but World War II shortages delayed the theatre. It was a new-build structure that replaced the Conyers Mercantile Company building. It launched on September 4, 1950 with June Haver starring in “The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady” supported by Pete Smith’s “Water Trix”, a Grantland Rice’s Sportlight entitled, “Outboard Shenanigans”. Its launch would reduce the Palace Theatre to weekend operation only. The Palace Theatre closed on September 27, 1957 as did the Ritz Drive-In.

In 1979, John Polk bought all of the Connett Theatres operating the the Town Theatre to closure. The Town Theatre closed on June 11, 1988 with “Critters 2”. The theatre was donated to the city of Forest in 1993 which undertook a study to refurbish the building. When that proved too expensive, the Town Theatre joined the parking lot brigade in March of 1995 becoming a 50-car lot. In 2011, a movie night in that lot brought back films for that evening.

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