cinelog.org » History

An Unlikely Survivor At 40

ccrouch — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:49:22 +0000

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.

A Star Studded Grand Opening Past

ccrouch — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:01:35 +0000

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.

Cinema Oddity: The Traveling Theatre

ccrouch — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:18:24 +0000

Today’s oddity comes from a 1938 edition of “Popular Mechanics”. This unique idea involved converting a fifty-five foot commercial truck trailer in to a traveling theatre, as a way to bring movies to rural communities.

The “World’s First Traveling Theatre” sat sixty people, had a fully functional projection booth, and even featured a small stage for “vaudeville or lectures”. Leaving nothing to chance, there was an on-board generator available for areas lacking accessible power supplies.

While the concept never caught on as a true movie going option, similar mobile theatres still pop up from time to time; usually serving to promote a new technology, service, or product.

Disneyland’s Main Street Cinema

ccrouch — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:09:37 +0000

A novel anniversary, as Disneyland’s Main Street Cinema opened on this week, back in 1955. Some might argue that this is more of a theme park attraction than true cinema, but, when one gets down to it, the Main Street Cinema is actually a throwback to the storefront nickelodeons of movie going’s founding years.

Today, the theatre runs classic Mickey Mouse shorts on a continuous loop, but, as can be seen in this picture from the cinema’s early days, the Main Street once featured William S. Hart westerns and Keystone Kops comedy short subjects (both highly popular staples of 1915 – 1920 cinema).

A Completist View

ccrouch — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:15:10 +0000

As mentioned in an earlier post, restrooms are likely the least documented feature of cinemas. Despite this long standing decorum fueled omission, here are two pictures of what might be the most famous cinema restroom in existence; the men’s room of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Nothing fancy or truly unique to be seen, just your run of the mill facilities. However, at a theatre that has been thoroughly photographed from top to bottom, for over eighty years, this is one area that hasn’t received much attention. If for nothing else, a submission for completist sake.

Do It Yourself Cinema in 1907

ccrouch — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:30:37 +0000

Pictured below is an advertisement which ran somewhat regularly in “Popular Mechanics” throughout 1907. Capturing the novice, “do it yourself”, attitude, which drove the early years of film exhibition, the ad promotes one of the many outfits that offered “start your own motion picture business” packages.

Companies like Amusement Supply and the Miles Brothers (profiled in an earlier post) sold all of the equipment and promotional materials necessary to launch your own cinema (initially more portable than permanent), but their true business was in renting films. A lucrative business model, once they had sold an aspiring exhibitor the startup supplies, they pulled in a steady revenue through regularly supplying the new operator with films to screen.

Orange Drive-In 70th Anniversary

ccrouch — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:27:14 +0000

This week marks the 70th anniversary of Orange County’s first drive-in, the aptly branded Orange Drive-In. Opened on June 18, 1941, the Orange enjoyed a fifty-three year run as a cinema, was the launching pad for Robert Schuller’s ministry, and hosted a popular weekend swap meet for nearly thirty years. Today, the location is little more than another heavily developed area beside the I-5, but the memories created there remain a cornerstone of Orange County cinema history.

The Big Snip: Spring VIP Ceremonies

ccrouch — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:07:13 +0000

Today’s pictures capture the VIP ribbon cutting (for theatres it’s film) of two spring openings from the past.

May 1997 opening of the AMC Fullerton expansion to twenty screens.

May 2003 opening of the Krikorian Buena Park Metroplex 18.

The Fullerton VIP night was a standard AMC corporate affair; involving dry speeches and a modestly catered dinner in the courtyard. In stark contrast, the Buena Park VIP night was quite the social event; industry/city dignitaries, champagne, open bar, sushi chef, gourmet buffet, luxurious ”swag” bags, and a live big band.

The Surf Cinema

ccrouch — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 05:54:14 +0000

Today’s picture is of Huntington Beach’s Surf Cinema (circa early 70′s). Opened as Scott’s Theatre, in 1925, the venue was later renamed the Roxie and settled in to it’s most recognizable incarnation, the Surf, on June 5, 1941.

Owned by a revolving door of notable Orange County cinema operators, including Santa Ana’s Walker family, the theatre became a local hotspot during the 60′s and early 70′s, specializing in youth oriented independent films (surf and ski titles being the most popular). For a time, the Surf was ground zero in the Surf City U.S.A. “hipster” scene. However, by the 80′s, the Surf had fallen on hard times and closed in a state of extreme disrepair. Unable to procure a new operator, who was willing to invest in a much needed refurbishment, the theatre was razed in late 1986. The site of Huntington Beach’s former cinema hub is now a city run parking lot.

Forgotten Cinema: The City Center Theatres

ccrouch — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:48:34 +0000

The area of Orange, running beside Interstate 5, has long been known for a string of popular cinemas. From the Orange Drive-In, to the Cinedome Theatres, and to the present day AMC Block 30, this short stretch of real estate has been home to movie going hotspots for seventy years. Yet, amid these period titans, there once stood a theatre that never quite achieved the same popularity, despite offering one of the best presentations in the county.

The City Center Theatres were opened by ABC, on April 7, 1972, as a satellite addition to the, then high end and extremely popular, City Shopping Center. Featuring two 700+ seat auditoriums, the facility was designed in a somewhat similar fashion to ABC’s much lauded Century City cinema complex; forgoing aesthetic charm in favor of offering the best in presentation quality. The theatre’s cold box exterior and bland earth tone decor providing little hint that this place was truly designed for a “big” movie experience. Continually keeping pace with the day’s technology, the theatre’s equipment was regularly upgraded and even included a run with the fleeting Sensurround sound system. Even after changing operators, to Plitt, the City Center continued a focus on presentation; perhaps, finding it’s greatest notoriety with an extended run of “Star Wars” in 1977 (a generation of county cinephiles still rave about the experience).

Perhaps, owing to it’s isolated location on the perimeter of the shopping center, this grand movie experience always struggled against stiff competition from the near bye Century Cinedomes and a lesser cinema United Artists ran within the City Shopping Center. By the 80′s, the theatre changed hands once again, being taken on by the Cinedomes’ operator, and was tragically divided in to a four screen venue. Losing the theatre’s single notable attribute, the subdivided version of the City Center quickly followed the overall mall’s decline.

By the 90′s, the City Center had become a move over discount location for Century, showing films that had already run their course at the Cinedomes. Adding to the theatre’s woes, the shopping center had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and became a hangout for a less desirable element. Following a fatal shooting in the theatre’s lobby, the end came relatively swiftly and the venue was closed for good. After the property was purchased in the mid 90′s, by the Mills Corporation, the entire center was torn down and redeveloped as the Block of Orange lifestyle center in 1998. Today, the former site of the theatre is nothing more than another row of spaces in the complex’s parking lot.

While long forgotten, the City Center Theatres and their former namesake shopping plaza have manifested themselves in an oddly cyclical bit of history, as the present day theatre and complex now struggle with the same shifting fortunes that once doomed their predicessors.