Elberta Theatre

Joe Vogel on July 23, 2021 at 4:39 am

This item appeared in the October 10, 1941 issue of Film Daily:

“The old Riddell Theater, Clarksville, Ark., has been shuttered for extensive remodeling. According to Manager Jack Thomas, it will reopen shortly as the Elberta Theater in honor of that sector’s chief crop, Elberta peaches.”

I’ve been unable to find any other mentions of the Elberta Theatre in the trade journals, but it is listed in FDY’s from 1943 through 1947. The 1948 FDY doesn’t list individual theaters, only circuits, and I can’t find the Elberta there. It does not appear in the individual theater listings in the 1949 Yearbook, which lists only the Strand for Clarksville. Oddly, the 1942 Yearbook lists a house called the “Riddle” which was probably a typo for the Riddell. Most likely the name change to Elberta wasn’t submitted to the FDY in time for inclusion in the 1942 edition.