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Pictured below is the Anthology Film Archives’ “Invisible Cinema”, circa early 1970’s. Designed by the Avant Garde filmmaker/preservationist, Peter Kubelka, the concept featured stadium style seating and isolation barriers around each patron. Adding to the immersive experience, the auditorium was painted jet black and devoid of lighting; relying on a spotlight being cast on screen for pre/post show illumination (thus, ensuring the screen remained the center of focus).

While modern day public safety codes ultimately disallowed such a venue, the Anthology Film Archives lives on in New York City, as the world’s preeminent Avant Garde film center.

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Today, March 17, marks the 133rd birthday of one of Hollywood’s greatest showmen, Sid Grauman.

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The excellent Orange County history site O.C. History Roundup currently features a post about the 1979 destruction of downtown Anaheim, including several pictures of the Anaheim Fox Theatre’s demolition. The post and pictures can be viewed here.

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As several county multiplexes currently undergo transformations in to luxury boutique cinemas, Orange County’s original boutique venue has fallen vacant once more. Earlier this year, the onetime Brookhurst Loge was vacated by long time resident, The James Albert Beauty School.

Opened in 1970, the Brookhurst Loge offered an experience which was quite similar to the present day onslaught of specialty cinemas. Enforcing an “adults only” admission policy and showing movies in a setting which was billed as “comfortable and intimate”, the theatre was targeted at a more mature and affluent audience. This luxury screening room approach met with some degree of success, but, by the mid 80’s, the concept was abandoned and the Loge became little more than a holdover screen for the neighboring Brookhurst Theatre. The Brookhurst Loge was closed in 1996 and soon taken over by the fore mentioned cosmetology school.

Now shuttered again and likely awaiting further retail use, one can’t help but wonder if the current crop of boutique cinemas will meet a similar fate.

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The former Edwards Rancho Santa Margarita 6 has officially been green lighted for conversion in to a luxury boutique cinema.  Earlier this month, the Rancho Santa Margarita planning commission signed off on remodeling plans by new operator, Cinepolis. Much like the outfit’s current effort in Laguna Niguel, the theatre will be gutted and transformed in to a high end “fork and screen” venue; featuring in seat dining, a lounge, bar, and screening room auditoriums (reducing the total seating capacity from 1,472 to 509). If all goes to plan, the remodeled theatre will open in the summer of 2012.

Depicted above is an architectural rendering of the front lobby (courtesy of SMS Architects) and a photo I took of the same area a couple of years ago.

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Today marks the 103^rd anniversary of the Temple Theatre. Opened on February 1, 1909, at a cost of a then whopping $15,000, the theatre was among the first cinemas to operate in Orange County. The first county cinema title belongs to either the “opera house” of the 2^nd Spurgeon Building or the Santa Ana Electric Theatre, depending on how one chooses to define cinema. Yet, no matter which location truly deserves the founding moniker, the Temple unquestionably pioneered and popularized the concept of movie going in Orange County.

A bit of trivia on the Temple Theatre: the venue’s first manager, A.M. “Doc” Roberts, formerly ran the county’s “first” cinema, the Santa Ana Electric Theatre.

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While the end was seemingly inevitable, we start the new year off with the sad news that Mann Theatres has officially gone dark. The once mighty Mann chain came to an end on December 27, 2011, as the Westlake Village 8  closed it’s doors; making way for conversion to a Cinepolis luxury boutique cinema.

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In what could easy be viewed as one of the more surprising of survival stories, the Santa Ana/South Coast Metro area’s Village Theatre turned forty last week. Opened on December 22, 1971, this modest triplex has managed to outlast all of its area peers and currently stands as Orange County’s fifth oldest theatre, in continuous operation. An achievement of particular note, when one stops to consider the Village reached such a milestone without the benefit of historical significance, unique architecture, or even additions/modernization. A forty year old three screen, running art/reparatory programming for well over twenty of those years, located adjacent to tony South Coast Plaza; the figurative oxymoron success story of Orange County cinema.

While the interior decor has been changed out several times over the past four decades, there remain a few hints of the theatre’s roots, hidden from public view. The Village’s projection/office stairwell is still lined with United Artists logo carpeting; a remnant from the venue’s original operator.

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We here at OC Cinema and Cinelog would like to wish you a Happy Holiday.

As we enjoy the holiday season and look forward to the new year ahead, let us remember, to not only celebrate our cinema past, but to take part in cinema present. Support your local cinemas; go out and watch a movie as it was meant to be seen. Keep the magic of movie going and theatres alive.

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Forty years ago this week, the Fullerton area was host to a “star studded” grand opening for the Yorba Linda Cinema (aka Yorba Linda Jerry Lewis Mini Cinema). In addition to mingling with area VIPs and cutting the customary opening ribbon, the celebrities in attendance, Debbie Reynolds and Glen Ford, also left their hand prints in a commemorative tile outside the theatre.

While surely eventful for the local crowd, Reynolds and Ford were almost making a second career out of grand opening appearances at the time. During the early 70’s, the twosome had become the go to celebrities for grand openings, of all kinds, and were virtual contract players for most Jerry Lewis Mini Cinema openings of the day.

The Yorba Linda Cinema had a relatively short run after its big night. As with most of the Jerry Lewis Mini Cinemas (a subject covered in an earlier post), the theatre soon fell on hard times and never quite managed to establish a steady business level. By mid decade the site was closed and converted to retail. Today, there is no sign of the former cinema left, with even the “for all eternity” concrete hand prints having vanished from existence.

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